As you know, we celebrated Black History Month in school last month through our assemblies. In addition to this, every year group looked at the amazing things we can learn from Black History and significant individuals.
Reception -The children watched a video about Martin Luther King and discussed it together. The children also read a story called ‘Mixed’. After this, the children discussed the segregation that featured in the story and the video. Together, the children discussed that the world is a much nicer place to live when colours are ‘Mixed’. The children then created brand new colours from mixtures to match their own skin colour.
Year 1 – The children looked at Barack Obama. They learnt that he was the first black president in America and was elected twice. Using their new knowledge, they then created a fact file, a Jamboard and a puzzle about him.
Year 2 – The children wrote questions about Serena Williams, the incredible tennis champion, and then went on a research adventure. They used the internet and books to find answers about her life, such as her birthplace and her tennis triumphs. They discovered that with hard work and determination, anyone can achieve their dreams. Serena Williams is a true role model for all of us.
Year 3 – The children read the inspiring story of Katherine Johnson, who was an amazing mathematician. Katherine Johnson couldn’t go to high school in her town because she was black and couldn’t get a job as a mathematician because she was a woman. However, she overcame all of those challenges and went on to become a ‘computer’ at NASA and got a reputation as one of the best mathematicians working there. Some of the year 3’s now want to be mathematicians themselves!
Year 4 – The children looked at Muhammed Ali through their reading lesson. They discussed the challenges he faced in order to become the world’s boxing heavyweight champion. The children learnt how he got to being successful in his boxing career despite the challenges he faced along the way.
Year 5 – The children looked at Jackie Robinson, his sporting career and how he was the first black athlete to play Major League Baseball. The children read his biography to learn all about his life and how he became a successful baseball player.
Year 6 – The children looked at Rosa Parks and Michelle Obama through their reading lessons. They discovered that Michelle Obama was the first ever African American first lady. They also discussed Rosa Parks and the significance of her actions in Black History. The children also linked their learning about Rosa Parks to World Mental Health day by explaining how she is a resilient individual and continued to fight for what is right even though she had many obstacles.
At DPA, the learning journey into Black History does not start and end with Black History Month. Throughout the year, we continuously revisit Black History in relation to our inquiry topics across all year groups. The children also explore different aspects of Black History through reading lessons with both fictional and non-fictional books, which we have access to through online resources and in our libraries.
As well as this, our timelines, which we have developed across both sites, feature events from Black History that children are able to see and discuss all year round at the academy.
Through focusing on different aspects of Black History all year round in our curriculum, we aim to encourage the children to be principled, open-minded, caring and internationally-minded citizens. The children also investigate the legacy that Black History has left on the world in the past and in the present day and recognise how this legacy has changed the world.