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Factmonster: Black History Month Famous Firsts by African Americans
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Activity Description
Ever wonder who was the first elected African-American governor, or the first African-American General? The Infoplease site has the answer to that plus many other firsts.
The Fact Monster has a page devoted to Black History Month. Under Special Features you'll find 500 Notable African-American Biographies which can be browsed by occupation (see the right hand column). It has a list of Black Scientists and Inventors with a paragraph stating what they are known for. History and Timelines and Contemporary Issues & Facts have various Civil Rights topics. Further down the page you will find some Quizzes and Crosswords you could use as an activity. You could also use the Example Document and have students select a famous Black American and write a summary.
Preparation
- Become familiar with the Web sites. There is so much available, assignments may vary from year to year.
- Decide what to use for class discussion and what to use for follow-up assignments. Print the Example Document or send it to the students by email or a shared online site such as Dropbox
How-To
- Go through the two Web sites to preview information about famous black Americans.
- Decide how to present the information--could be in discussion as a class or give pairs one name to investigate and then present to the class.
- Follow-up with games/quizzes on who, when, and what they did.
Teacher Tips
These sites can be used as an overview for Black History Month--famous Black Americans or it can be the stepping off point for greater investigation. Students can be assigned in pairs, groups, or work independently.
More Ways
Use the Timelines in FactMonster to discuss Black History in the United States
Program Areas
- ABE: Adult Basic Education
Levels
- Intermediate
- High
Documents
- Black History Summary Writing.docx - Black History Summary Writing