Black History Month

The month of February is Black History Month.  Each class is celebrating in various ways.

This year, the Second and Third Grade Class are teaming up with the Fourth Grade and the Fifth Grade in order to study 12 Black Americans (or more!) altogether.

They range from Sojourner Truth to Serena Williams.  We are celebrating their lives and contributions.  We are working to create an art mural on the third floor that will have portraits, quotes, timelines, and much more to showcase who we studied and how we responded after learning more about their lives.

The first Black person we studied in Second and Third Grade was Daniel Hale Williams.  He was a black doctor that performed the first open heart surgery.  He had his reputation on the line when he performed that surgery.  If he failed, others would have thought that black doctors were incapable. We watched a biographical video about Daniel Hale Williams’ life and accomplishments. We heard that he used to work as a shoemaker as a young child. We learned that he started his own hospital named Provident Hospital. Later on, he became the chief surgeon for Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.

After learning more about him, students did some extra research on him using Kiddle on class computers.

The next day, students responded to their learning.  Some chose to create a portrait of Daniel Hale Williams.  Others chose to write a quote of Daniel Hale Williams.

Take a look at some of their work!

Together, our class wrote a “Daniel Hale Williams” acrostic poem.

Yesterday and today, the class learned about Shirley Chisholm, the first African American U.S. congresswoman.  Many of us loved one of her quotes, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair!” Today, students spent time drawing portraits, making quizzes, and writing her quote. Here are a few students at work and some finished products!