I Have a Dream

• In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., have the pupils write a short essay about their dreams. Create topics about which they can write, such as a dream for their future, a dream for their family, a dream for the world, a dream for their school and a dream for their country. Require each pupil to write a paragraph for each dream, using full sentences.
  
  

Matching Game

• Create a list of famous black people and a separate list of their accomplishments. Allow pupils to use library books, textbooks, encyclopedias, the web and any other available resources to figure out which person goes with which accomplishment. Some examples are Barack Obama becoming the first black president, George Washington Carver discovering dozens of uses for peanuts and Gwendolyn Brooks being the first black person to win a Pulitzer Prize.
  
  

My Town

• Have the pupils research black history in your town or their hometown. Give them a list of potential topics such as teachers, architects, inventors and political figures. Allow them to use various resources to gather their information. Instruct each pupil to put together a small presentation, including information on five black people who changed their chosen town in some way. These presentations can include pictures, diagrams, music, food and anything else related to the person.
  
  

Slavery

• Read the Emancipation Proclamation to the class. You may choose to have pupils take turns reading aloud. Afterward, have each pupil read the account of a black slave in America (see Resources). Have the pupils write a short essay comparing the life of these slaves to their own life. Instruct them to include a paragraph on how they think their life would be if the Emancipation Proclamation had never come to pass.