Moore County's Black History Month 2023 page

Black History Month 2023

Aberdeen Elementary:  In the library, classes will be learning about biographies and reading books about and written by African Americans.  There will be a book display.  In art, students are being exposed to the works of a variety of African American artists and how their work influences the world.  Each morning during morning announcements, information about African Americans will be highlighted, and there will be trivia questions for the students to answer.  Classroom teachers have developed lessons specifically using African American authors, mathematicians, civic leaders, and scientists.  Our Artist Year fellow and DIF have created a black history month digital presentation and are working with 5th grade students to complete a History of African Americans music presentation. 

Cameron Elementary:  Our students plan to discuss and write about famous black Americans, both current and historical.  Books based on Black History Month are on display in the media center, and are available for students to check out.  Morning announcements will consist of informative facts about influential African Americans.

Carthage Elementary:  Our Pre-K students will read nonfiction books about Martin Luther King, Jr.  We will cut out different sized hearts in different shades of skin colors and glue them on a coaster.  Kindergarten students will focus on African American inventors.  First graders will read the Martin Luther King passage.  Second graders will read Scholastic news articles about famous African Americans.  They will watch videos about Martin Luther King, Jr.  They will be writing an acrostic poem about his dream for America.  They will also create a project about their own dreams for themselves, their school, their family, and the world.  Third graders will research famous African Americans and do presentations on their famous person.  Fourth graders will read several African American biographies and discuss them in groups.  Fifth graders will be reading the novel Bud, Not Buddy, which takes place in the 1930’s.  Topics include the Great Depression, racism, jazz music, segregation, perseverance, and hope.  Our EC students will do a craft for Black History Month.  The media center will feature an African American display.  

Community Learning Center at Pinckney:  ELA classes will continue to integrate a variety of works from Black authors into their studies. Students will continue a yearly tradition of planting a tree on campus and will dedicate the tree to an African American who contributed to our society.  This year we will plant a tree to honor Senator John Lewis.  Daily highlights of history and contributions will be presented during our daily announcements.

Connect! Virtual Academy:  Elementary School - K-5 students will learn about a different famous African American each day. They will be listening or reading stories revolving around famous African Americans like Rosa Parks, Katherine Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr. etc. These activities will be incorporated into the morning meetings, history, and science lessons.  Middle School - Each day for the Activator during the month of February, students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades will have Activators that identify and teach about important individuals, events and accomplishments related to Black History.  Usually, there is a 2-3 minute video about the individual/event/ accomplishment followed by a question, which students enter into the Activator or discussion board.  High School - English classes are analyzing Civil Rights speeches and slave narratives. They are beginning a book study on To Kill a Mockingbird and will be reading informational text about Black History events that connect to events in the novel. American History and Civic Literacy will have content tie ins throughout the month but all classes will take a closer look at Student Activism and Civil Rights that focuses on the Little Rock Nine, Greensboro Four, and Freedom Rides and will be encouraged to visit the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro and submit a reflection on that visit for extra credit. 

Crain’s Creek Middle:  African American student representatives from each grade level will read famous Black History quotes on the morning announcements.  Grade level teams will participate in a Bulletin Board decorating contest focused on the theme of "First in African American History".  On February 24th, a Black History Month Program will be presented to the student body to include guest speakers and guests from local colleges and universities.  

Elise Middle:  Students will participate in lessons that focus on contributions from African American people.  A school-wide trivia competition will take place using questions that stem from historical African Americans.  Displays throughout the school will be showcasing contributions from African Americans.  

Highfalls Elementary:  Students in all grade levels will learn about famous Black Americans in history.  Contributions to society through science, medicine, engineering, cultural arts, military, and the civil rights movement will be studied with connections to historical events, present current events, and future endeavors.  Morning announcements will incorporate celebrations of influential Black Americans who have made an impact on history. 

McDeeds Creek Elementary:  A school-wide read aloud will be held using a book from an African American author.  Read Alouds are also taking place in every classroom each day using one or two books that we have recommended.  During our morning announcements, we will share quotes by famous African Americans.  

New Century Middle: 8th graders will enjoy a Bright Star Touring Theatre performance of Let it Shine: The American Civil Rights Movement at 1:30 p.m. on February 15 at the school. On February 17, Cross Curricular will present on Famous African Americans at 9 a.m. to 6th grade math students who will study and complete a project on Famous African American mathematicians.

North Moore High:  The history department plans to host a special day in honor of Black History Month. This will take place during the 2nd break in the last week of February.  Students will have tables set up with information on black heroes.  Samples of soul food and other well-known African American cuisines will be available.  They will also compile a list of African American alumni to be highlighted on daily announcements.  In Science, students will identify four black scientists who have contributed in the area of science, and whose biographies are compelling. Teachers will give 5-10 minute presentations about them on the Mondays of the month, offer extra credit for students who choose to research them further and report, and include a couple of items about them on our Friday quizzes.  In English, students will learn about the women of NASA, specifically, the black women who were shut out by history.  We will create bulletin boards in the hallway highlighting prominent African Americans.  Poems will be provided to administration for announcements once a week.  Classes will review an excerpt of MLK's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and Jackie Robinson's "Letter to the President".  We will discuss and identify the rhetoric each author used in their letter. Students will then write a short essay where they compare/contrast each author's persuasive techniques.  There will also be a brief study into the history and misconceptions of the voodoo religion when we read Arthur Miller's “The Crucible”.  In Art, we will be introducing students to the African American artist, Romare Bearden. Students will find it interesting that he was born in Charlotte.  We will study his style of collage and painting paper on canvas.  In Theater, we will be exploring the shows of Porgy and Bess, Memphis, and A Raisin in the Sun. All are shows that embrace African American culture and are performed with African American cast. Students will also be presenting PowerPoint presentations on African American actors like Morgan Freeman, Sydney Poitier, Halle Berry, and Will Smith.  Our Band plans to celebrate Black History Month each day by incorporating an element of how black composers have crafted Jazz music in America, specifically, focusing on how their unique rhythms have been adopted throughout musical literature to produce new works that have expanded the literature of wind band, orchestra, choir, and popular music. The contribution of black Americans to the rhythmic vocabulary we now take for granted is a quintessential part of the formation of the musical language we see and use daily. Focusing on this aspect will show how their cultural contribution to music has proven to expand the art form and to cement itself into what we now recognize as American music.  In Orchestra, students will work on performing an African American spiritual.  In our Spanish classes, students will explore the diversity of Afrolatino culture and learn about important and impactful Afrolatino figures. 

Our Health Science classes will look at several different African Americans who have profoundly impacted healthcare. In biomed specifically, students will focus on North Carolina native Kizzmekia Corbett, who played a huge role in the development of the Moderna COVID Vaccine.  Our Automotive classes will highlight black history in the growth of the automotive industry.  Our Business students will research influential black entrepreneurs and complete a PowerPoint on the business and the person's life.  Our Financial Planning students will research the most powerful black traders or investors on Wall Street.  They will complete a PowerPoint on the person's life and explain why they chose the person.  In Agriculture, we will discuss FFA (Future Farmers of America) history and the NFA (New Farmers of America).  We also cover famous agricultural inventors that were instrumental in the ag industry. We also highlight HBCUs particularly NC A&T and the agriculture program there.  In our Culinary classes, we will look at a few articles “Celebrating Culinary Genius Across Generations" and “Six Unsung Black Culinary Heroes of the Past”.  Students will work on class posters to place in the hallway to be displayed all month.  Each week, our Math Department will highlight a famous black mathematician and their contributions to the field of mathematics.  In Media, books written by African American authors will be highlighted and displayed during the month.  Our college adviser will create a display highlighting HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).

Pinecrest High:  Master storyteller, Grandaddy June Bug will do a virtual performance on February 17th.  Caprice Coleman, Pinecrest graduate and wrestler, will present a virtual talk on February 7th.  A slideshow of important Pinecrest people will be on the school website.  

Pinehurst Elementary:  Kindergarten students will read about famous African Americans, including Ruby Bridges, Bessie Coleman, Rosa Parks, Garrett Morgan, and George Washington Carver, and will do research about their significance in American history. In first grade, students will learn about famous and influential African Americans. Our studies will include information on Barack Obama, Sojourner Truth, Jackie Robinson, Ruby Bridges, Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, and Rosa Parks. Second graders will explore the character traits of Ruby Bridges and discuss the impact she made on society, and will finalize with a writing activity. Third grade students will complete a research project.  Students can select from over 50 notable African Americans. Fourth graders will be focusing on a few African Americans including Martin Luther King and Maya Angelou. They will have videos to watch about their lives from Brain Pop and Scholastic. They will complete a short writing activity. Fifth grade students will read aloud a picture book each day that celebrates Black History Month. Students will discuss examples of figurative language such as metaphors and similes. In media classes, cultural-themed books by African American authors and illustrators will be highlighted. During music classes, focus will be on cultural music. 3rd grade students will be learning to sing and sign (ASL) the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”.  They will also be learning about African American composers William Grant Still, J. Rosamond Johnson Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Anthony Kelly. During PE classes, we will discuss inventors and leaders in the health, fitness, and sports industry. During art classes, students will learn about quilt artist Faith Ringgold, and will create a Romare Bearden collage. Guidance lessons will discuss diversity, acceptance, differences, and kindness throughout the month.  

Robbins Elementary:  In PK, our students will read books and participate in crafts about famous African American figures.  We will do a month-long study of our diversity.  We plan to celebrate not just how we are all different, but how we are all the same.  First grade students will be studying a different famous African American each week by reading books.  We will also study black inventors and their inventions that help us in everyday life.  Second grade students will be working on a Martin Luther King, Jr. timeline.  Third graders are planning to do black history biographies and learn more about famous African American entrepreneurs.  Fourth graders will compare first and second hand accounts of biographies and autobiographies.  Fifth graders will be reading “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and “Secret to Frieedom”.  They will make a freedom quilt and will do MLK silhouette art.  They also plan to do research, create posters or JamBoards, and create timelines to display in the hallway.  Our ESL students will be working on reading comprehension articles from NewsELA and Readworks about distinguished African Americans.  We will do a school-wide trivia question each morning during the month of February.  The daily winner will receive a prize.  

Sandhills Farm Life Elementary:  Teachers will be incorporating Black History Month lessons into their instruction throughout the entire month.  Kindergarten students will learn about Dr. King, and will read aloud “Who was Martin Luther King” and “Martin Luther King Jr. Day”.  They will watch “Notable Black Figures in History” and will discuss each person.  A writing station will be created for students to write about what they have learned about famous African American people.  First graders will read a different book each week about famous African Americans.  Students will write about their impact and contributions.  Second graders will read, The Fastest Man in the World, and will complete a timeline of his life.  It is about Marshall Taylor. They will also use biographies of influential African Americans in history such as Rosa Parks and George Washington Carver while learning about nonfiction.  Third grade students will read comprehension passages about four members of the African American community - Sojourner Truth, George Washington Carver, Jesse Owens and Ruby Bridges.  They will write an essay about who they feel had the biggest impact on their communities and why.  Fourth graders will research an influential person during Black History Month.  They will work in groups and create a Google Slide using a template, and techniques previously taught by our DIF.  They will then present them to the class.  Fifth graders will complete a biography research project.  Each of their project papers will be posted in the hallway to make a black history quilt.  

Southern Middle:  In our English Language Arts classes, students are studying the poetry of Langston Hughes and comparing his art to current social issues to consider the world from different perspectives.  Students are also reading about Black History Month and some are creating airplanes in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen.  Other students are learning about Black American Sign Language.  Band students are creating mock Instagram profiles of Black musicians they have chosen to research.  Those profiles will be presented in a Gallery Walk.  Our Music Through History students will be studying jazz music which was created, refined, and made popular by Black musicians.  This study of the history of music in the United States will highlight Black excellence, creativity, and expression. 

Southern Pines Elementary:  During the entire month, all classes will study African American authors during reading instruction.  Quotes and/or poems will be read during the morning announcements each day.

Union Pines High:  Posters and bulletin boards related to Black History Month will be posted throughout the school.  AP US History students have researched and will provide a snapshot of important figures in Black History that will be featured during the morning announcements throughout the month of February.  

Vass-Lakeview Elementary:  Vass will be completing classroom activities with students around Black History Month. Students will participate in research projects, reading books about and by black characters and authors. We will display information throughout the building highlighting black Americans and their contributions to our community. We will highlight black Americans during our announcements. Our Student Council will conduct a performance at 8 a.m. on February 23 based on Motown artists that are African American.

West End Elementary:  Kindergarteners will read about famous African Americans.  First graders will be learning about several black history figures including Dr. King and Rosa Parks.  Second graders will create timelines and do research on some influential African Americans.  Third-grade students will complete STEM activities.  They will also select a scientist from a list and will do research on their chosen person.  Fourth graders will research historical figures and will create a poster.  Fifth graders are learning about various civil rights leaders and the Civil Rights Movement.  Preschool students will read aloud Martin’s Big Words.

West Pine Elementary:  Kindergarten students will be learning about the life and contributions of many African Americans including Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Lewis Latimer, Garret Morgan, Lonnie Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Dr. George Franklin Grant, Henry Box Brown, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.  They will complete a booklet focused on spotlighting African American inventions including the stoplight, peanut butter, ice cream scoop, pencil sharpener and mailbox.  First Grade students began Black History Month with a focus on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. followed by a study of the contributions of Ruby Bridges, Mae C. Jemison and Barack Obama.  Second graders are diving into a unit focused on important figures in Black History to include Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglas, George Washington Carver, Ruby Bridges, Harriet Tubman, Benjamin Banneker, Bessie Coleman, Henry 'Box' Brown, Mary McLeod Bethune, Sarah Breedlove Walker, Sojourner Truth, and Thurgood Marshall.  They will explore the lives of these important figures and identify the contributions they each made.  Third grade students will conduct a research project on a Famous African American in history and present their findings to their classmates.  Fourth Graders are conducting a mini research project on a famous African American born in North Carolina.  Fifth Graders will be learning about current and historical civil rights leaders, athletes/entertainers and singers/musicians that have had a positive impact.  Just to name a few, students will learn about athletes/entertainers Arthur Ashe, Oprah Winfrey, Hank Aaron, and Lena Horne.  They will also learn about civil rights leaders like Medgar Evers and Thurgood Marshall and about singers and musicians like Aretha Franklin and Nat King Cole.  Students will learn about these leaders by participating in a variety of collaborative and interactive activities.  We will also have a school-wide Multicultural Fair, hosted by the West Pine Elementary School PTO on Friday, February 24. 
 
West Pine Middle:  Classroom teachers have various activities planned throughout the month.  We will highlight the contributions of prominent African-American leaders and historical figures via our morning announcements.  Our 6th grade students will attend Mitch Capel’s Want A Story? on March 2 in our school’s gymnasium.  Continuing his family tradition of preserving culture, “Gran’daddy Junebug” teaches personal responsibility, finding your right path, coping with peer pressure, being true to yourself, always striving for excellence and respect for self and others through the African tradition of “call and response”.

Westmoore Elementary:  In the music room, 5th-8th grade students will learn to play “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” on the ukulele.  They will explore the origins of this song, as well as listen to a variety of interpretations of this song.  4th grade students will learn the songs “Funga Alafia” and “Follow the Drinking Gourd”.  They will use percussion and movement with these two songs, as well as learn their origins.  K-3rd grade students will learn singing poems to the songs “Obwisana” and “Kye Kye Koolay”, two songs from Ghana in West Africa.  They will connect these songs to keeping a steady beat as a class, their vocal timbres, and the way of life of the people in Ghana.  Eight graders will be participating in literature circles focused on various topics of the Civil Rights Movement.  Their final project will be an informational essay on a topic related to their chosen book.  Other classes will be doing studies of famous black American through announcements.  
  • Moore County Schools
  • 5277 Hwy. 15-501 South, Carthage, NC28327
  • 910-947-2976
  • 910-947-3011
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