February is almost here and so is Black History Month. I love this time of year as it brings light to teaching diversity in our special education classrooms, but I do want to make a point to say that if this is the first time we talk about diversity in our classrooms- we are doing it all wrong. It is so important to teach these themes through the natural environment all year long. Differences are all around us, and our students know that! It’s time to stop ignoring it and start bringing it to light more and more.
Now that I’m off my mini soapbox, let’s talk about my favorite ideas for this month!
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STUDY AN INFLUENTIAL FIGURE.
In most general education classrooms this month, they are studying influential people of color. Some classes read stories and watch movies while others do reports. I try to mimic the curriculum going on in the general education classroom at my students level. I created 16 mini biographies about 16 influential people in black history.
Students can study a person of their choice, read the story and complete the comprehension page and you can even challenge them to make a poster or give a mini speech in front of the class!
You can also pick a person to do a week and fully study them as a whole group class. I love doing this and love seeing what students already know about certain people- so much fun! When we do this I love involving the speech therapist to help put some information into devices so students can speak their thoughts easily in front of the class! When we work together as a team, we are able to make sure all students are able to participate in any activity at their level!
You can also bring these books into inclusion. I love to pull a small group to read and work with my students- and the information is perfect for them too! If you don’t want to push in to interrupt the class during a whole group lesson – you can ask the teacher for some students for reverse inclusion (make sure you get parent permission if you don’t already have it!) The classroom teachers usually can help you pick students that are best for the job- and everyone benefits from this type of learning activity!
Here are some books I love to use this month too! (affiliate links)
(( This post will contain affiliate links. You don’t pay any more, but if you purchase from my link I get a small commission. This allows me to try everything out that I recommend to you and keep my blog running smoothly (and providing you free resources like this one- so thanks for clicking my links!))
I hope this gives you some ideas for Black History Month and ways to get your students learning about important people in our history, themselves, and their world!
