Black History Month activities – ReadAloudPlays.com

February is Black History Month. While I encourage you to acknowledge it with some dedicated activities, I’m also reminded that black history is American history; it need not be limited to a single month! The end of the Civil War, Jackie Robinson’s breaking of baseball’s color barrier, and MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech certainly rank among some of the most significant moments in American history. With that in mind, here are twelve great reader’s theater scripts with which to recognize those great moments while meeting numerous Language Arts standards. All the plays can be paired with a printed text, such as “The Ruby Bridges Story” with her autobiography, Through My Eyes. Each pairing represents distinctly unique points of view (Literature CCSS #6), making for livelier discussions and quality comparisons (CCSS Lit #7). And because these plays are based on real events, they’ll also satisfy CCSS Informational Text #6. Each play includes a comprehension activity, too, assuring your students will satisfy numerous other standards as well. And because almost all my plays were originally commission by and published in Scholastic’s Storyworks and Scope magazines, they’ve been professionally vetted, making them the best reader’s theater on the market. Visit ReadAloudPlays.com for detailed pairings, or click on the title to preview or purchase on my TeachersPayTeachers storefront. Happy directing!

The Ruby Bridges Story

Box Brown’s Freedom Crate: His True Story of Escape

The Library Card: Richard Wright’s Journey to the Promised Land

How Jackie Saved the World: Jackie Robinson’s Breaking of the Color Barrier

Freedom for the First Time: The Day of Jubilee and the End of the Civil War

We Shall Overcome: The Birmingham Children’s Crusade

I Have a Dream: The Childhood of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Gonna Let it Shine: The Selma to Montgomery March

MLK’s March on Washington

Sitting Down for Dr. King: The Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-Ins

In the Jailhouse with Dr. King: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

The Girl Who Got Arrested: The Claudette Colvin Story

If you’re like me, you put a bow on the holidays and then breathed a sigh of relief as you headed home for the two week break. But here you are back in class and MLK Day is already upon you! You have no time to lose when it comes to planning your MLK Day and Black History Month activities! So, let’s get right to the point of this post: ReadAloudPlays.com specializes in Black History Month and MLK plays.

In 2021, despite all the Covid-related restrictions, the folks at the Palace Youth Theatre in New Hampshire selected a couple of my plays to enact for Black History Month. I’ve posted the video here so that you can take a look. Just click on the image. Whether or not these two plays inspire you to download any of my material, I hope you’ll still share the video with your students. Consider having them watch the production and then read the plays. Or, simply have them follow along with the script while viewing.

The two plays shown are Martin’s Big Dream, which reveals how incidents from King’s childhood inspired his work, and A Simple Act of Courage, which shares the role Ruby Bridges played in integrating America’s schools. They’re both available in my TpT and Etsy stores.

You’ll also find numerous other plays told from the perspective of Civil Right icons like Jackie Robinson, Claudette Colvin, and Sheyann Webb. One of the hallmarks of a quality historical play for kids is that the story is told through the eyes of a child witnessing the events firsthand. These plays all meet that standard.

A favorite of mine is MLK’s Freedom March, which is told through the eyes of eleven-year-old Lucy. Her grandmother is dying of cancer, her father is worried about losing his job, and her brother is fired up about The March for Jobs and Freedom, the iconic event where Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. It’s a powerful play with multidimensional characters backed by King’s awe-inspiring speech.

If you don’t know where else to start, download my free product, Tips for Teaching Marginalized Voices and Traumatic Events.

Thank you for continuing Dr. King’s work, and happy directing!