Engaging ESL Students in Black History Month: Biographies, Critical Thinking, and Creative Crafts

February marks Black History Month in the United States, presenting a valuable opportunity to engage English Language Learners (ELLs) with the rich narratives of influential figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman. Exploring biographies of these individuals not only enhances students' understanding of historical events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma marches but also builds essential background knowledge, enabling them to actively participate in their social studies and English Language Arts (ELA) lessons. Actually, every year around this time, my 8th graders learn about the Jim Crow laws during an ELA unit centered on Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (we provide our ESL students with a graphic novel version of the book and translated version to those students who have strong literacy in their L1).

Why teach about Black History?

In my experience, ELL students are often both fascinated by these remarkable leaders and shocked by the fact that these historical injustices were still law just 70 years ago. For instance, learning about the Jim Crow laws—state and local statutes that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States—reveals the systemic discrimination that persisted for decades. These laws mandated separate public facilities for Black and white individuals, leading to significant disparities in education, transportation, and healthcare. 

The landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional, marking a turning point in the struggle for civil rights. Similarly, in 1967, the Loving v. Virginia case ended bans on interracial marriage, and the 1955-1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott led to a 1956 Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.

ESL Critical Thinking: See-Think-Wonder Routine to Explore Black History

To build background knowledge on these topics, I use strategies like KWL charts and the See-Think-Wonder thinking routine, which help students activate prior knowledge, deepen their thinking, and raise questions about the material. By doing this, I am able to create a foundation to talk about segregation, unfair laws, and social change. Through these strategies, students build the language needed to discuss complex concepts. 

This routine encourages students to reflect critically on the historical figures they read about, enhancing their ability to engage in discussions about social change. To support newcomer ESL students, I provide sentence starters to help them express their ideas and improve their language fluency.

Black History Month in ESL Vocabulary Workshop

During this unit of study, we focus on content vocabulary development. I like to use the Word Warmth graphic organizer and the Frayer Model. The concept of "word warmth" in vocabulary instruction refers to categorizing words based on students' familiarity with them.

The Word Warmth activity allows teachers to gauge students' prior knowledge of vocabulary. By identifying words that fall into the "cold", "hot" or "warm" categories, teachers can determine which words students are already familiar with, providing valuable insights into their existing vocabulary skills. This is a great quick pre-assessment tool for any content rich vocabulary unit. Basically, this is the directions students get: 

If you have no clue what the word means, put it in the "cold box".

If you "sort of" know what the word means, put it in the "warm box".

If you feel like an expert on a word, put it in the "hot box" and write down a definition of the word and/or draw a picture to represent each word you know well.

When you are done writing definitions of your hot words, look for classmates who have an "expert" understanding of the words in your cold list.

The Frayer Model is yet another  graphic organizer used to help students understand and retain new vocabulary. It consists of four quadrants:

Definition – A student-friendly explanation of the word.

Characteristics – Key features or important details about the word.

Examples – Words, phrases, or situations that illustrate the meaning.

Non-examples – Words or concepts that are not related to the term, helping to clarify misunderstandings.

Why is it beneficial for ELLs?

Encourages Deep Understanding – Helps students go beyond memorization by connecting new words to prior knowledge.

Supports Visual Learning – The structured layout makes complex words easier to process.

Promotes Critical Thinking – Comparing examples and non-examples enhances comprehension.

Builds Academic Language – Helps ELLs understand subject-specific vocabulary in context.

ESL Biography Reading Workshop: Exploring History Through the Lives of Black Heroes

In our ESL biography reading workshop, students dive into the lives of key Black History figures. They learn that biographies, as a type of nonfiction text, tell the stories of people’s lives, helping students understand historical events through personal experiences. We focus on essential biography elements, and text structures such as timelines (chronological order), and cause-and-effect relationships.

To support comprehension, we create an anchor chart of biography elements and engage students in identifying these features while reading. Students use post-its or highlighters to mark text features such as photos, captions, bold print, etc.. 

Analyzing the Quote: Using Quote Sketcher to Reflect on Civil Rights

Another engaging activity is Quote Sketcher, where students analyze important quotes related to Black History Month. They can either draw/ sketch each chunked part or they can explain what they think each part means. Chunking text is a powerful strategy for English Language Learners (ELLs) because it breaks down large or complex information into smaller, more manageable parts. This helps with comprehension and retention.

This activity encourages students to think critically about the impact of words and actions in the struggle for equality. Students reflect on quotes from historical figures and visually represent the meaning behind the words, helping them process and internalize key messages.

ESL Creative Craft Activities: MLK Dream Craft and Rosa Parks Bus Craft

By the end of the unit, students create meaningful crafts inspired by the lessons learned. For Martin Luther King Jr., we engage in the MLK Dream Craft, inspired by King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. For Rosa Parks, students participate in the All About Rosa Parks Bus Craft, celebrating her courageous role in challenging segregation.

These crafts serve as a creative way for students to express their understanding of the historical significance of these leaders and connect personally with their stories.

ESL Autobiography Writing Workshop: Understanding the Self Through Nonfiction

In our ESL autobiography writing workshop, students explore the similarities between biographies and autobiographies. Both are types of nonfiction, but autobiographies are written by the individual themselves. Students receive simple versions of biography and autobiography of Barack Obama. They analyze structural similarities and differences. They use these texts as models for their writing.

In this workshop, I guide students to use past tense verbs and develop sentences such as, “He/She was born in…” to describe events in their lives and "I was born in ...." to talk about our own lives. To make writing more accessible, I provide scaffolded activities and differentiated templates. Students can reflect on their personal experiences while also reinforcing key historical language structures.

Black History Month Crafts in ESL Classroom

With my younger ELLs we read a short text about different Black History Month heroes. We begin with the Black History Month American Heroes: Guess Who Pre-Assessment, which kick-starts our exploration with a fun and interactive matching activity. Students assess their knowledge by matching images with sentences that describe the accomplishments of seven remarkable heroes.

Next, we use the Black History Heroes: 10-Page Color Teacher Booklet, which I project onto the whiteboard or use during shared reading. This booklet introduces students to iconic figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Barack Obama, Arthur Ashe, Jackie Robinson, and Louis Armstrong.

Afterward, students create a My Favorite Black History Hero Heart Writing Craft, a creative activity that allows them to express their admiration for their favorite hero. The craft includes seven color and black-and-white cover templates for each hero and three differentiated versions for the inside page, allowing students to explain and give three reasons why their chosen hero is special to them.

Newcomer accommodations include pre-filled cut-and-glue hearts for ESL students and images to help Beginner/Intermediate students generate ideas.

Another activity that we do is reading this printable student booklet  called "Changes in the Past: A Story of Fairness". It is an 11-page black-and-white booklet exploring the concept of fairness. 

The teacher color version can be projected on the whiteboard for a shared reading experience. It includes illustrations on each page to help students better understand concepts like unjust laws, segregation in public places, and the significance of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

ESL Black History Craft: Unity Hands 

After exploring Black History Month themes, students participate in the Unity Hands Collage activity. For ESL newcomers, the activity is scaffolded by providing vocabulary words and corresponding images. More advanced students can express their thoughts by writing their own words inside the hands.

These engaging resources, combined with creative crafts and critical thinking activities, provide a comprehensive and dynamic approach to teaching Black History Month while supporting ESL learners at various proficiency levels.

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