Online materials for youngsters that highlight Black history and culture are available for free

February is a good time for youngsters to learn more about Black history, whether they can recite the names and ideologies of Black leaders like W.E.B. DuBois and Angela Davis from memory or they need an introduction or refresher on significant Black people.Of course, knowing about Black history and culture, as well as racial justice, should be a priority at all times. Still, according to Insider, there is no federal mandate for teaching Black history, and it is sometimes disregarded. (However, some states' curricula are evolving.)Digital resources can help your children learn more effectively. The tools listed here come from a range of national institutions and educational nonprofits. They use interactive events, amusing movies, and content that profiles Black innovators and leaders to educate and engage youngsters in Black history and culture. If you're a parent or a teacher, go to these websites to pique your child's interest or continue their education.

Media that Makes Sense

Celebrate Black Voices, a nonprofit that assists parents and teachers in selecting suitable media and technology for children, has its own page with educational material and activities for all ages. The website serves as a resource for locating online information, and it includes both free and commercial resources. The purpose of Common Sense this month is to "highlight the unique culture, achievements, and experiences of Black people, as well as the important voices that have changed history," according to the organization.Families should check out Common Sense's "Black History on the Screen" lists, which feature Common Sense-approved media featuring prominent Black icons or cultural moments. STEM, Arts, Business & Culture, Dance, Games & Sports, and Activism, Civics & Social Justice are among the topics covered by the media. Families can also peruse Common Sense's collection of black television classics. Each list comes with an associated video that includes age ranges for each of the movie.Parents should also check out Common Sense's Black history book selections, which include books for toddlers and small children, "big kids" and tweens, and teens. The books range from fiction to nonfiction, and include both classic and contemporary works.Finally, the group has created its own teaching tools for families and educators, including a guide to reflecting on Black history as a family, free Black History Month learning activities, and instructive, kid-friendly movies and podcasts.

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The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) 

The only national museum dedicated only to the recording of "African-American life, history, and culture" recommends its Joyful Fridays series to parents of small children, which takes place practically every Friday at 11 a.m. ET throughout February.The Joyful Friday series will provide a lecture on the work of poet Maya Angelou, important inventor Granville T. Woods, and abstract artists Alma Thomas and McArthur Binion during Black History Month 2022. Children ages 4 and up are asked to participate in arts and crafts activities relating to each Black leader as part of the event. These activities are free to attend, but you must register. You'll get specifics, such as a list of required goods.Visitors can also visit the museum's searchable online display about Black communities and public health, which includes explanations of the Tuskegee Experiment and Henrietta Lacks, in honour of this year's subject, Black health and wellness.The museum also recommends that parents and educators use the museum's Talking About Race web portal to assist youngsters grasp important issues such as how to be anti-racist and why race is such a powerful influence in our world.

The New York Public Library 

Parents and children are encouraged to attend the New York Public Library's Black History Month Storytimes, which are part of the library's larger Black History Month programmes and online events. Children's librarians "read favourite books, sing songs, and give early literacy lessons" in them.All of the tale videos may be found here. A storytime with Anne-Marie Braithwaite, an NYPL librarian, reading Hair Love, an Academy Award-winning animated film about a Black father who learns to manage his daughter's hair, is one of the most notable videos. The storytimes are appropriate for children of all ages, from infants to 12-year-olds.

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Public Broadcasting Service

PBS offers a variety of age-appropriate online materials for teaching children about Black History and anti-racism. Parents of children aged two to five years old, for example, can utilize PBS' drawing exercise to help their children understand the importance of advocacy and reflect on moments when they have stood up for someone. They can also use a downloadable activity page to think about and write down the attributes of famous heroes. After that, use PBS' Questions to Ask Your Child to start a conversation with your child about Black heroes. You can ask them things like "What Black role models helped to make the world a better place?" or "What Black role models helped to make the world a better place?"Children ages six to eight can view animated videos about African-Americans whose achievements have earned them a place in history. Consider scientist and inventor George Washington Carver, who created more than 300 products from peanuts, and writer Zora Neale Hurston, whose work focused on the tales of Black people in the South. Explore PBS' extra activities after seeing the movies, such as a colourfully designed pdf you can download that encourages kids to share their own stories like Hurston did.Educators can use PBS' "Creating a Caring Classroom Community" hub to understand how to cultivate a caring classroom, teach students to celebrate diversity, and discuss why racism hurts as part of PBS' anti-racism resources. This video from the programme Arthur that teaches youngsters about racism is a great way to start a session.

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Learning Lab at the Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institute provides its interactive Learning Lab, an online resource for students, teachers, parents, and the casually interested, in addition to cooperating with the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The website features Learning Lab collections, which are professional-created digital replicas of museum exhibits. Here's where you can find them all.Parents and children can use the Smithsonian Learning Lab's online lesson about Black History Month, which includes paintings from the National Portrait Gallery, to learn about notable Black figures and art. The guided presentation leads youngsters through the fundamentals of art, as well as famous portraits with biographies, and concludes with questions and activities. The activity is appropriate for people of all ages.Other collections include Music and Sound, a collection of photos showing prominent Black musicians, and Hair Love, a collection of images showcasing Black hairstyles and history, as well as classes and photo galleries created utilising items and exhibitions from the museum's archives.

Scholastic Magazines+ 

Scholastic Magazines+, which offers both paid and free educational resources in conjunction with Scholastic books, has released a free nonfiction tale collection for young readers interested in learning more about African-American history and culture. The stories are appropriate for students in grades 1 through 12.According to the website, the nonfiction resources are "dedicated to bold men, women, and children who have made a tremendous influence on the world," and showcase the experiences of Black pioneers such as ballerina Misty Copeland and pilot Bessie Coleman.Each history lesson includes teaching materials such as narrated movies for young children, close-reading questions, and vocabulary exercises. In addition to the stories, Scholastic offers a video series featuring interviews with young Black entrepreneurs who have started organizations, apparel firms, and even a coding academy.

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The National Education Association

The National Education Association, a network of public school educators and professionals, has built its own Black History Month center, which includes free online activities created by members and other organizations such as Scholastic Books, PBS, and Learning for Justice. History lectures, quizzes, and downloadable exercises such as crossword puzzles are among the activities, as are lesson plans for educators.From Kindergarten to 12th grade, the activities are readily sorted by grade level. Each grade level receives a variety of classes in a variety of areas, such as science, art, and even sports. It's a fantastic, well-curated list to get you started on finding new activities to entertain your kids.

The New York Times Learning Network 

The New York Times Learning Network is a current news and history-based teaching resource for instructors (as well as students and interested parents). Lesson plans, exercises, and articles based on New York Times material are available on the website.Black History, Continued is a two-part series in which the paper delves into understudied moments and landmarks of Black history and culture. According to the Learning Network, the second part of the series includes a lesson plan that expands on the history covered in the Continued series, including discussion questions and opportunities to "reflect on the importance of celebrating overlooked or under-appreciated aspects of the American experience."Teens and older students will enjoy the website's activities, such as the student opinion poll How Much Have You Learned About Black History? The article and associated questions invite students to consider how Black history is taught in their schools, what themes they'd want to see covered that aren't already covered, and how current curriculum should be changed.In February and throughout the year, whichever digital resource you choose to teach your kids or pupils about Black history and culture, it can help lay the groundwork for a more knowledgeable and antiracist future.