Four Black History Celebration Ideas
Are you ready to get some Black History Celebration ideas? Of course you are. That’s why you are here. You want to make Black History Month something special, memorable and interesting for your students or children. If you’ve been following me for a while, then you’ve probably heard me talk about “MEMORABLE MOMENTS”.
What are memorable moments?
They are FUN and ENGAGING lessons, activities, games, projects etc. that bring Black History to life.
Once you’ve narrowed down to ONE main thing for your Black History Month celebration, then it’s time to add on these “memorable moments” to make it even more special.
So, have you decided what your one main thing is going to be. For me, it was the Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. skits. I would love to hear what you’re planning for Black History Month. Okay, time those four Black History Celebration ideas. You ready?
Black History Songs, Poems, Chants, or Rap
I decided to put songs, poems, chants, or raps together into one category. If you have any students or children who love music, singing, or dancing; this would be a great memorable moment for them. My 2nd grade students did a fun teamwork chant where they dressed up in jerseys and huddled together saying things like we want:
“Unity at school.”
“Self-control.”
“Kindness.”
“Sharing.”
“Teamwork.”
“Togetherness.”
Here’s a fun Martin Luther King Jr. rap that my students absolutely LOVED. They asked me to play at least once per day.
Character Dress Up Day
Character Dress Up Day is when your students or children choose a Black History hero and dress up just like the person. They BECOME that person. Once they learn a lot of facts about their Black History hero, then you can take it a step further and have them do a fun presentation or video. They can share everything they know about their Black History hero while pretending they are that person. So they could say something like this:
“Hi, my name is Ruby Bridges and I’m in first grade. When I was in Kindergarten, I went to an all black school. Now I’m in 1st grade, and I am the first black girl to go to William Frantz Elementary School, which was an all white school.”
Campfire Black History Story Time or Read In
You’ll want to set the scene for this one. Make it look and feel like everyone is at a real campfire with a pretend or real fire going, logs, trees etc. You can do it outdoors if the weather is nice enough for it. Or you can decorate your classroom, a room in your home, church or community center and do it indoors. Families and/or the community are invited to come and read books about Black History heroes together. Have some smores and any other food items you want.
Black History Month Skit
This is of course my all time favorite way to make Black History Month fun and engaging for kids. For three straight years when I was a 2nd grade teacher, I did a Black History Month Skit with my students. It featured Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. These plays were a huge hit! My Mama helped me make all of the props…check out these handmade props (This was before our Canva days.)
My students just LOVED this props and it really brought my skits to life and made it even more memorable. Now depending if you are a classroom teacher, church leader, homeschool parent, or community leader, you will want to carve out some time to plan out a skit performance. You want to make sure you give yourself enough time to get all the nitty gritty details planned out. Plus, your students are going to need time. Especially if you want them to memorize their parts.
You can pull off the most memorable Black History Month skit celebration. Join our next Coaching Week and let’s plan Black History skit performance together!