Modern Day African American History Month Unit

African American History Month is next month! I decided I wanted to incorporate Black History into my curriculum for the month of February, but in a way that is more meaningful and relevant for my special needs learners. While Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Thurgood Marshall, Sojourner Truth (to name a few) are all no doubt remarkable and historical African American heroes in our history...but they are irrelevant for my special learners. 

I felt that my students would better benefit from learning about African American Heroes from the 21st century and even the late 20th century. I wanted to teach them about African Americans that they may have seen on T.V., heard on the radio, or possibly even heard their parents speak about. 

I designed this mini-unit to do just that and I will begin implementing it in my classroom next week. Here are the featured heroes. 

BARACK OBAMA

OPRAH WINFREY

GABRIELLE DOUGLAS

JORDIN SPARKS

MICHAEL JACKSON

MUHAMMAD ALI

MICHAEL JORDAN

MICHELLE OBAMA

DAVID ORTIZ

TIGER WOODS

I leveled it to meet 3 levels of learners in my classroom. My high functioning students and students working at a 3rd grade level or higher will be able to complete all of the activities above; a biographical passage, comprehension questions, a Venn Diagram, and write a short summary about each hero. 

For my middle functioning students, I plan to assist them with reading the passage or even read the passage to them. Then, they will complete the Venn Diagram with facts about the hero and the "Name That Person" cut-n-paste activity sheets below. 

For my lowest functioning students, I've included a simple 10-page activity booklet for them. Each page features one of the ten heroes and a couple of important facts about them. Students then circle a picture from a field of three indicating what the hero is known for. They can also complete the cut-n-paste sheets as well. 

I'm super excited to introduce this unit to my students next week! I know they will be much more excited to learn more about some of these role-models that they have probably seen, heard of, listened to, and can better relate to. 

If you think your students would better benefit from a more modern day unit for African American History Month, you can check out this mini-unit in my store here. 

Happy African American History Month!