Black History Month is a time to share stories of Black resilience, reinvention, creativity, adventure, and innovation. During this month—and all year long—it’s important to provide students authentic windows into the lived experiences of others and mirrors that reflect their lived experiences. With the right resources, achieving this goal in your ELA classrooms is possible. 

Use our Black History Month lesson plans to kickstart some ideas on bringing these windows and mirrors into your classroom.

• Explore influential Black voices in poetry
• Learn more about influential Black writers of yesterday and today
• Discover the significance of Black history on American history

[Explore influential Black voices in poetry](id-poetry)

Share works from some of the most famous names in Black poetry with your students this February:

Hear from influential Black poets

Dive into the Black experience through rhythm and rhyme with poetry selections like: 

• “When I Rise Up” by Georgia Douglas Johnson
• “The Black Queen” by Carrie Law Morgan Figgs
• “As I Grew Older” by Langston Hughes
• “children do” by Alyssa Gaines
• “America” by Claude McKay

Develop lessons on Black poets and protest

Poetry is a medium of self-expression. That’s why many Black artists use it to make their voices heard and protest injustices. Read some of these protest poems with students, like:

• “Calling on All Silent Minorities” by June Jordan
• “a brief meditation on breath” by Yesenia Montilla
• “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes
• “the lost women” by Lucille Clifton
• “Brotherhood” by Georgia Douglas Johnson

Explore how Black poetry has changed over time

Like any form of art, popular subjects, and styles of poetry change with the times. Take students on a journey through the history of Black poetry and dive into selections like:

• “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• “Absolute” by Jacqueline Woodson
• “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman [Video]
• “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton
• “To the Right Honourable William” by Phillis Wheatley
  

Compare Black poets Phillis Wheatley and Amanda Gorman

Though Phillis Wheatley and Amanda Gorman lived over 200 years apart, their poems have each touched a generation. Introduce students to these two Black female writers and compare and contrast their writing styles and topics with resources like:

• A biography of Phillis Wheatley. 
• A news article announcing Amanda Gorman’s inclusion at President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony.
• Poetry selections from both authors.

[Learn more about influential Black writers of yesterday and today](id-writers)

Beyond poetry, many engaging, insightful Black writers create fiction and nonfiction masterpieces that have captured generations. Let students explore some of their works and build background knowledge of the authors’ lives.

Meet Black writers of the past

Invite students to learn more about Black authors from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries like:

• Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, who portrayed the lives and experiences of working-class Black Americans.
• Writer, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, whose memoir made her the first Black woman with a nonfiction national bestseller.
• Writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, who broke barriers with his literature by discussing both race and social issues in his writing.

Learn more about Black writers of today

Meet current popular and upcoming Black voices in literature who are paving the way for the next generation of diverse authors:

• Learn how comic writer David F. Walker spent a year studying the life of Frederick Douglass to write a graphic novel about his life.
• Discover how poet Amanda Gorman became the nation’s first National Youth Poet Laureate.
• Learn about YA author Angie Thomas’s books like “The Hate U Give” and “On the Come Up” focus on topics teens care about and reflect the experience of being young and Black in today’s culture.

Discover how author Jacqueline Woodson creates inclusive stories

One of author Jacqueline Woodson’s goals is to make her stories—and others—more inclusive and accessible. Use this lesson to help students discover why inclusive storytelling matters.  

• First, ask students to consider the question, “Why is accessible and inclusive storytelling important?”
• Next, have them read an article about Woodson’s work as the education artist-in-residence at the Kennedy Center.
• Extend the lesson by having students consider how they could make an organization they belong to—like their school, sports team, or local library—more accessible.

Want to introduce students to even more Black authors? Explore our Black History Month novel and book studies!

[Discover the significance of Black history on American history](id-history)

Black history is American history. Invite students to explore historical perspectives they may be less familiar with using fiction, nonfiction, and current events texts. 

Research the Harlem Renaissance

Use Black History Month as a catalyst to teach research skills and teach students about the Harlem Renaissance. Have them explore this cultural and intellectual revival of Black American music, literature, art, and inquiry by researching and considering questions like:

• What factors led to the Harlem Renaissance?
• Who were the key figures in the movement?
• What does the poetry from this era show and share about America? 

Debate if descendants of the enslaved deserve reparations 

There is an ongoing debate in the United States about whether the government should pay reparations to the descendants of people who were enslaved from colonial times to the Civil War. Bring this debate to your classroom and resources to help students choose their side, like:

• A pro/con article discussing the benefits and drawbacks of paying reparations.
• A video that explains why some U.S. cities have declared racism a public health crisis.
• An opinion article that gives the sociological definition of systematic racism.

Learn more about abolitionist John Brown

Students may be familiar with famous abolitionists like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, but how much do they know about a man named John Brown? Students can learn more about his mission and work through a paired text analysis:

• Read the fiction story “The Ghost of Harpers Ferry” by Billie Kay Tye about a failed slave revolt John Brown planned. 
• Assign the full text of John Brown’s statement to the court before he was sentenced to death for his involvement in the Harper’s Ferry raid.
• Have students complete a paired text analysis worksheet using the guiding question, “How do the genre and style of each text impact the author’s message?”

Discover the significance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Teach students about the Montgomery Bus Boycott with a paired text lesson:

• Assign the fiction story “Back Door Sugar” by Debbie A. Taylor about a young girl in Alabama who lives through the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• Read an article about the history and significance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• Have students complete a Venn Diagram to compare the way each text compares the events of the boycott.

See why Marvel’s “Black Panther” captivated audiences

“Black Panther” was the first film in the Marvel universe to focus on a Black superhero. It quickly became a cultural phenomenon and a historic box office success. Students can learn more about the movie’s impact by reading articles on topics like:

• How the movie made Oscar history with winners for costume and production design.
• Chadwick Boseman’s acting and cultural legacy.
• How “Black Panther” gave a new generation of superhero fans a new character to root for.

Teach history through a civil rights lens

Teach students about the history of the Civil Rights Movement through nonfiction texts on topics like:

• The Great Migration
• The music of the Civil Rights Movement
• Organizations of the civil rights movement

Go further with your Black History Month lessons

We hope these resources make it easier for you to start engaging, reflective, and thoughtful conversations in your class this February to recognize and celebrate all the richness that Black History Month has to offer. But Newsela’s products have even more great content, interactive activities, and assessment tools you can use all year.

If you’re not a Newsela customer, sign up for Newsela Lite for free. Then, you can start your 45-day trial of our premium content to access everything you need to teach about nearly any Heritage Month or historical event in your classroom.