Black History Month is observed and celebrated every February in the United States, Canada, and many other countries – and it’s the perfect opportunity to teach your students about black history and the importance of equality!
Black History Month was first observed in 1970 and has since grown to become the most recognized annual celebration of African American history and the achievements of many famous African Americans.
It’s also a celebration of African American culture, African American society, and diversity in general, making it one of the most important subjects to teach kids about.
But it doesn’t have to be a drawn-out history lesson; you can celebrate Black History Month and teach your high school students about black history at the same time with a range of DIY projects that are sure to be thought-provoking, creatively stimulating, and fun.
And to give you inspiration, here are the 10 best Black History Month high school projects that you can try with the class today!
1. Black History Month Posters
Black History Month posters are a great way to get your students to work together, learn, and get creative at the same time.
These posters can be made in a variety of ways too, from celebrating history-making African Americans to sharing ideas on black history and what it represents.
You can get your students to work together on a single poster or create ideas individually that can be put together into one large poster.
Either way, it’s a fun and creative Black History Month school project that promotes togetherness while teaching the students about black history.
2. Black History Month Bulletin Boards
A bulletin board is the perfect way to get everyone to pitch in and create something meaningful and educational!
With a Black History Month bulletin board, you can ask your students to provide their thoughts on black history, what it signifies, and how black history has changed the world.
Like Black History Month posters above, a bulletin board gets the whole class to contribute their ideas, which can be quotes, drawings, facts, or single words that represent what black history means to them.
Making the bulletin board as colorful as possible is also a great way to pay tribute to black history and diversity.
3. Black History Month Door Display
Black History Month door displays are a great project for celebrating Black History Month as the display can be made over a few days or even a few weeks.
This provides plenty of opportunities to teach the students about black history, including various African American history-makers such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
You can fill up the whole door with famous African Americans, black history quotes, inspirational messages, fun facts, and more.
And since you’ll be decorating your classroom door, your Black History Month door display will serve as a large inspirational and educational work to help students remember what Black History Month is about.
4. Black History Month Collage
Collages are always fun to work on, and what better way to teach your high school students about equality and unity than by creating a giant collage together?
Your Black History Month collage can be about black history in general or even serve as a tribute to various important African American figures, which can be as large as you want!
Make the collage by handing all of your students some cardstock (of equal sizes) to write and draw on.
Once they have finished, each piece can be put together on a large canvas to create an eye-catching Black History Month collage that can be displayed in the classroom or around the school.
5. Black History Dream Wall
Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most famous speeches in history. And there’s no better way to teach your students about what the speech signifies than by getting them to write down their dreams and aspirations.
These can be pinned or stuck on the wall to create an inspirational dream wall.
As a result, a Black History Month dream wall is ideal for teaching your students about the importance of fairness, equality, and civil rights, along with the idea that everyone in society should have a fair opportunity to achieve their dreams.
This school project can also be a great way to learn more about your students’ interests and aspirations.
6. Black History Month Word Search
Word searches are simple, but also super fun! There are many Black History Month word searches that can be found online and printed off, but you can also create your own for your students to complete.
Simply create a grid and include the hidden words you want your students to find, then print it off and let them go to work.
With word searches, you can highlight important words that represent Black History Month, such as equality, freedom, and peace, which can help your students to remember what black history is about.
It’s a simple and fun activity to do with your class during Black History Month that’s sure to be just as educational.
7. Black History Month Question Sheet
Black History Month question sheets can provide a great insight into your students and what they have learned so far.
You can choose from a variety of different questions too, such as “What did X do for black history?”, “What does Black History Month mean to you?”, “Why do we celebrate Black History Month?”, and more.
As a result, making Black History Month question sheets is a useful way to find out what your students have learned and what they think.
Depending on the questions, their answers can be shared with the class and discussed or simply collected as a short and easy school assignment.
8. Black History Month Bingo
Create a grid using your computer and fill it with important figures in black history (such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Shirley Chisholm, Bessie Colman, and more) to make a fun bingo activity for your students to do during Black History Month!
The best thing about this Black History Month project is that it will help your students to remember various African American people who made history.
You can also make it into a quiz by asking your students questions about each person, with each correct answer allowing them to complete the bingo sheet.
9. Black History Month Painting
No matter how good your students are at painting, painting is always a fun activity that stimulates the imagination and promotes self-expression.
So what better way to commemorate Black History month than by creating colorful paintings that represent black history and what it’s all about?
You can ask your students to paint portraits of famous African Americans (the paintings don’t have to be perfect!), colorful words and quotes that symbolize Black History month, or even objects that represent black history, such as the flag of Africa or the Rosa Parks bus.
Just give them the paint and let their ideas flow!
10. Black History Month Alma Thomas Art
Alma Thomas was a famous African American artist with a recognizable art style that created images out of colorful oil and watercolor rectangles.
Her work had a distinct mosaic appearance, so another great Black History Month school project you can do with your students is to let them have a go at creating their own Alma Thomas-style mosaics!
All you need for this Black History Month project are colorful paints and blank canvases. Show them examples of Alma Thomas’ work while teaching them about her history, then let their creative juices flow.
To inspire them, you can suggest colorful shapes for them to paint, such as hearts, hands, the shape of Africa, or the African flag.
Conclusion
And that wraps up our list of the 10 best Black History Month school projects that you can try today with your class.
These Black History Month projects are educational, engaging, and lots of fun, as well as great for inspiring creativity and promoting important discussions on what Black History Month represents.
These high school Black History Month projects won’t just teach your students about black history and celebrate the achievements of famous history-making African Americans, but also inspire their behavior in the future and inform them about the importance of equality, diversity, and unity.
The best thing is that most of the above Black History Month school projects can be done by working together, with plenty of opportunities to teach them about black history as you work your way through each project!
Hi, my name is Helena Waters and I was a teacher for 40 years before retiring last year.
During my time as a teacher I dedicated the majority of it to making classrooms as fun as possible, with educational parties, fun activities, and low cost entertainment that made the children excited about learning.
I taught children of all ages, from preschoolers to high school students. Now, with the pandemic having uprooted everything that children once knew about school and learning, I think that the need for my ideas is bigger than ever.
That is why I created School Sparks, a place in which I can write down and share all of my ideas on how to get students excited about going to school again. I hope that you’ll find some useful within a school setting, even at home too!
