Teacher's Guide-Black History Month

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/bhm/tg.html

February is a time of year that comes around for all teachers. For history teachers, who often want to emphasize diversity, February means Black History Month. It is often challenging to find a tool that allows instructors to teach black history in an open-ended, interactive manner that both challenges students and allows them access to pertinent, primary sources. The Teacher's Guide, provided here by the University of Illinois Extension, offers a wonderful way for instructors, including those in elementary, junior and high school, to teach black history.

The site offers a variety of options for students at all levels, which are pretty clearly delineated. There is a small History for Kids section, which teachers can click on to find easily accessible links for early students, such as Black History from A-Z and Black History Links for Kids.

The rest of the site is devoted to material that I believe is excellent for high school teachers. There are, in addition to the History for Kids section, six additional sections along the left hand side of the screen that act as a kind of guide for both teachers an students. These are divided into categories of Teacher's Guides, Community and Culture, History, Museums, Notable African Americans and News. Within each section are useful primary and secondary sources dealing with that particular heading. For example, under notable African Americans, there are links to primary documents that include the Frederick Douglass Papers, Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers and pieces specifically by African-American women writers of the 19th century. There are links to sites on African-American warriors (i.e. in the United States military) and even more specialized topics like Notable Chicago African-Americans. With such a deluge of information teachers can design their course around either large, open-ended topics, such as African-Americans in the military or more specialized topics like African-American women writers in the 19th century.

The news section of this site is also particularly useful because it provides information on areas where African-American history is permeating and links to new, relevant sites that offer students and teachers access to even more crucial information. Diversity is a cornerstone of our education, and in an increasingly interconnected world, it is essential that students and teachers have the tools necessary to educate themselves on it. The Teacher's Guide to Black History Month provides such an opportunity for instructors looking to incorporate it into their curriculum.