Black History Month Elementary Lesson

This Black History Month Library Lesson introduces elementary students to 23 influential African Americans. Includes 2-part presentation, two differentiated scavenger hunts, reading list, and lesson plan template.

This lesson has 57 total slides, and it includes:

• 57-slide Lesson Presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint + Google Slides
  • All body text is editable; you choose which slides you want to use.
  • 15 slides are whole class lesson slides.
  • 42 slides are “scrolling presentation” slides that are great for extending lessons or scrolling in the library during checkout and downtimes.
  • Please note that this presentation is designed to complement a read-aloud. The actual read-aloud story comes from you! Due to copyright laws, read-aloud videos of the books are NOT included.
• Two (2) editable, differentiated scavenger hunts (3 pages, PowerPoint and PDF)
  • Students “hunt” for images and information in the Part 2 scrolling slides part of the presentation. This gives students something to focus on during library checkout and downtime.
  • “Easier” version – Students color the objects as they find them.
  • “Harder” version – Students answer questions about the information in the slides, plus find smaller images.
  • Answer key is included.
• List of 40 recommended books to accompany this lesson (1 page, PowerPoint and PDF)
  • The list is editable and great to hand out to parents, teachers, and students looking for related books.
• Detailed, pre-filled Library Lesson Plan in editable PDF and PowerPoint formats (4 pages), aligned to:
  • AASL National School Library Standards for Learners,
  • National Common Core ELA Standards, and
  • Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
• Google Classroom Basics (4 pages, PDF)
• Troubleshooting help and instructions on how to set up PowerPoint slide timings for scrolling slides (2 pages, PDF)

15 Lesson Slides:

Part 1 is a group guessing game. The slides walk you through the entire game, from start to finish. 

• Why do we celebrate Black History Month?
• Guessing game – Can students use the (very easy!) clues to figure out why these 5 people are famous? (Madam CJ Walker, Misty Copeland, Matthew Henson, Mae Jemison, and Louis Armstrong).
• Slide for your Black History Month read-aloud, if desired (copy/paste the book cover on the slide).
• Checkout reminders slide — add your own reminders!
• “What Should We Do Now?” slide — This is very clear instructions on what students should be doing after the lesson.
• Includes 6 recommended video links – these all go with famous people in the presentation. These are optional to supplement your lesson.

42 Scrolling Slides:

Part 2 is the scrolling slides. Set them on a timer to scroll on a screen during library checkout. Students can use the scrolling slides to complete one of the two Scavenger Hunts. All images and information in the slides relate to Black History Month.

• Vocabulary Words of the Week: “emancipation” and “aviator”
• 3 Would-You-Rathers and 1 This-or-That
• 6 trivia questions with answers
• This week’s birthdays
• Weekly schedule and agenda
• Checkout reminders (you add your own!)
• Tuskegee Airmen
• Emancipation Proclamation
• Juneteenth
• Collective biographies
• Harlem Renaissance
• Countries that celebrate Black History Month
• Black illustrators who won the Caldecott Award and Honors
• Featured African Americans with more in-depth information. They have at least one slide dedicated to their biographical information and accomplishments:
  • Louis Armstrong
  • Frederick Douglass
  • Anna Murray
  • Jackie Robinson
  • Bessie Coleman
  • Bessie Smith
  • Madam CJ Walker
  • Langston Hughes
  • Mae Jemison
  • Coretta Scott King
  • Wallace Amos
  • Matthew Henson
  • George Washington Carver
  • Misty Copeland
• Brief mentions include clipart of the person, plus one sentence about what they are known for. These are mainly on slides for daily agendas and other editable slides:
  • Rosa Parks
  • Arthur Ashe
  • Mary McCloud Bethune
  • Zora Neale Hurston
  • Martin Luther King
  • Maya Angelou
  • Barack Obama
  • Thurgood Marshall
  • Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Standards Addressed:

AASL National School Library Standards – See the AASL Standards Framework for Learners to view full text. 

• Inquire – D.3.
• Explore – C.1.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards –
© Copyright 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.1.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.1.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.1.

Terms of Use
© Mrs. ReaderPants – By purchasing this product, you receive a one-user license. Copying or distributing to others is prohibited. See our Site Terms of Use for more information. For teacher-librarians: You may use this product with all of your classes and students.

Questions before buying? ​If the free preview file does not answer your question, you can contact us through ​​this link with questions.