WES

February is Black History Month.  Black History Month was started in 1976 and honors the achievements of African Americans in American history.  African Americans have played an important role in the history of our country. 

    The 4th grade teachers need help gathering and presenting information about these famous people.  In order to learn more about famous African Americans, you will be researching a famous African American.  You will record all of your information on an organizer template. You will present your project to your class to inform them about the famous African American you researched.

Good Afternoon

The Fourth grade teachers would like for each of you to travel back in time and gather as much information as possible on African American History. Some of you will have to travel back much further than others. When I say far, I mean all the way back to slavery days!

 Your mission is to choose a famous African American to research from the list below. We are excited to learn a lot of important facts about your person.

First, please write your name and the famous person's name on the organizer.

 Using the research organizer provided by your teacher, find a picture of your person. Record their birth date and place of birth or where they were raised. Next tell us about the person using the biography report template. Finally give us Interesting Facts about your person.

When you have completed your organizer turn your paper in to your teacher for final instructions.

Thanks so much for accepting this mission. It is very important that we receive all information in a timely manner

Sincerely,

Your Teacher

Maya Angelou                                                  Henry Blair                                     

 Maria Van Brittan                                           Frederick Douglass   

 Shirley Chisholm                                       Morgan Freeman

                                                               Michael Jordan

Misty Copland                                             Barack Obama

  Ella Fitzgerald                                            Colin Powell                         

Althea Gibson                                             Booker T Washington  

 Zora Neal Hurston                                       Granville T. Woods 

 Fannie Lou Hamer                                     Jackie Robinson  

 Barbara C. Jordan                                      Stevie Wonder

Wilma Rudolph                                                      

Sojourner Truth

 Oprah Winfrey                      

Madam CJ Walker 

• Get a copy of the research package from your teacher. . 
• The package has 9 pages

  • Background Information on the Person

    You will need to read and locate information from three sources:

    1. Use webquest to locate information

    https://www.createwebquest.com/black-history-4th-graders

    2. Use school media to search for famous person

    3. Use child-friendly sites to locate information on the internet

Famous Person Drawing –

Draw a picture in color of your famous person on the paper provided. Decorate the background of the drawing of your person if

you wish. Label your person’s full name in large neat lettering and dates of birth and death. Write your first and last name and date in small lettering the lower right corner of the paper.

Create a Timeline

Use Microsoft Word to create a timeline with at least 8 important events in your person’s life.  Add drawings, clip art, or photos to the timeline for each of the events.  Arrange the events on the folder. 

EXAMPLE:

• 1895 – Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore, MD.

• 1920 – Babe Ruth hit a record breaking 29 home runs.

• 1948 – Babe Ruth died in New York.

Biography

Use Microsoft Word or write your final copy about your famous person. Include information in a logical order to include:

• Where was this person born? In what year?

• Where did this person grow up?

• What does/did this person do for a living?

• Why is this person famous? What did/does this person do to become famous?

• How has this person made an impact on others' lives?

• Quotes and interesting information about the person

• Fill out the bibliography information sheet showing the three sources used and attach it as the last page of your report

Important Book Poem

Margaret Wise Brown was the author of a book entitled The Important Book.  Use this as a model and write a poem entitled “The Important Thing” using your person as the subject of the poem. (see your package for more details)

Public Speaking Monologue

This activity will give you an opportunity to meet your benchmark in public speaking. You will dress up (as much as you can) as your person and pretend you are the person. You will tell all about your contributions, and about your life.  You will need to rehearse at home.  You will sign up for a time to give your presentation during the month of February.  Speeches begin the week of February 27th.

Remember you will be scored for:

• Content - important details included
• Organization - a clear beginning, middle, and end
• Language - appropriate and interesting words and language
• Delivery – good eye contact, volume and body posture

Evaluation:

  Practice presenting your person to the students in your reading group.  Finally, you are ready to present your information to the class.  Remember to face the audience, make eye contact, read slowly and use a loud clear voice!