Black History Month Research Lesson for Grades 6, 7, and 8

A poster rubric is included. Give this to students prior to distributing the graphic organizer.

Students choose or teacher assigns a person from the list (134 names).

Distribute graphic organizer for information.

Week One (1 or 2 days): Students go to library to research individual. (Depending on class length, research will take one or two days.) Students record notes for poster on graphic organizer, which also has a place for them to list sources. They will use their notes to create the poster.

Week Two (1 day): Using notes, plan poster.

Week Three (2 or 3 days): Students create a poster about their individual. (This will probably take two or three days.)

Week Four (5 or 10 minutes per student):Students present information to class.

Writing an essay is an alternative to creating a poster. Writing from the graphic organizer should help students avoid plagiarism. (Use your district’s writing rubric to grade essay.)

Poster Rubric

Student’s Name______

Topic______

5 points each

  • Date of birth______
  • Place of birth______
  • Family______
  • Education______
  • Jobs held______
  • 3 interesting facts______
  • Awards & recognition______
  • Date of death______
  • Place of death______
  • Cause of death______
  • Where person lives now______
  • Age______
  • What person does now______
  • Favorite quotation______
  • Photo or drawing of assigned person______

(May be printed from computer or

from magazine or newspaper)

Subtotal (60 possible points)______

Appealing to the eye(15 points)______

Neatness(15 points)______

Spelling(10 points)______

Final Grade______

Hank AaronRalph Abernathy

Muhammad AliMaya Angelou

Louis ArmstrongArthur Ashe

James BaldwinErnie Banks

Count BasieCharles Bolden

Julian BondJames Brown

Ralphe BuncheLeVar Burton

Cab CallowayGeorge Washington Carver

Ray CharlesEldridge Cleaver

Nat “King” ColeJohn Coltrane

Bill CosbyCountee Cullen

Dorothy DandridgeMiles Davis

Ruby DeeLarry Doby

Tony DorsettW. E. B. DuBois

Paul Laurence DunbarMarian Wright Edelman

Duke EllingtonRalph Ellison

Medgar EversElla Fitzgerald

Curt FloodJamie Foxx

Aretha FranklinMorgan Freeman

Althea GibsonBarry Gordy Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr.Archie Griffin

Alex HaleyElvin Hayes

Jimi HendrixBenjamin Hooks

Langston HughesZora Neale Hurston

Roy InnisBo Jackson

Jesse JacksonDerek Jeter

James Earl JonesBarbara Jordan

Michael JordanJackie Joyner-Kersee

B. B. KingCoretta Scott King

Martin Luther King Jr.Queen Latifah

Martin LawrenceSpike Lee

Sugar Ray LeonardCarl Lewis

Joe LouisBernie Mac

Malcom XKarl Malone

Moses MaloneWynton Marsalis

Willie MaysHattie McDaniel

Ronald E. McNair (PH.D)Joe Morgan

Thelonious MonkPres. Barack Obama

Jesse OwensSatchel Paige

Charlie “Bird” ParkerGordon Parks

Rosa ParksWalter Payton

Leontyne PriceKirby Puckett

A. Phillip RandolphOtis Redding

Jerry RiceCondoleezza Rice

Paul RobesonSugar Ray Robinson

Chris RockDarius Rucker

Wilma RudolphBill Russell

Barry SandersDeion Sanders

Gale SayersDred Scott

Tavis SmileyBessie Smith

Emmitt SmithOzzie Smith

Will SmithLynn Swann

Sheryl SwoopesClarence Thomas

Sojourner TruthHarriet Tubman

Nat TurnerCicely Tyson

Gene UpshawLuther Vandross

Denmark VesseyAlice Walker

Sarah “Madame C. J. Walker” WalkerBooker T. Washington

Denzel WashingtonMuddy Waters

J. C. WattsPhyllis Wheatley

Forest WhitakerDominique Wilkins

Serena WilliamsVenus Williams

Flip WilsonOprah Winfrey

Stevie WonderJacqueline Woodson

Alfre WoodardRichard Wright

Andrew YoungJames Van Der Zee

Your name______

Person to research______

Information / Source
Date & place of birth
Family
Education
Jobs held
3 interesting facts about assigned person
Awards & recognition
Date of death(Skip if still living)
Place of death (Skip if still living)
Cause of death(Skip if still living)
Where person lives now (Skip if deceased)
Age (Skip if deceased)
What person does now (Skip if deceased)
Favorite quotation (Something memorable the individual said or wrote.)