Black History Month 2025 Teaching Resources
Get ready for Black History Month 2025 with hundreds of printables, worksheets, digital activities and more ways to bring the stories of Black Americans alive in your classroom this February.
This collection of Black History teaching resources was created by the teacher team at Teach Starter, with printable and digital options that have been designed to meet Common Core and state standards. The majority include editable options so you can easily differentiate them for your students, and each one has been reviewed by a member of our teaching team to ensure they're classroom-ready — so you can save time on your lesson planning.
Teaching about Black History for the first time this February, or simply looking for fresh ideas to bring this topic to life in the classroom? Explore some tips from our teachers, including a look at the theme for the 98th celebration of Black History in the US and some important historical information about the month to anwer students' questions.
When Is Black History Month?
Black History Month is officially marked in February every year. In 2025, the month will be marked from February 1 to February 28.
What Is the Theme for Black History Month 2025?
Each year, the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH) chooses the theme for Black History Month. In 2025, that theme is African Americans and Labor because — as the ASALH explains:
"The theme, 'African Americans and Labor,' intends to encourage broad reflections on intersections between Black people's work and their workplaces in all their iterations and key moments, themes, and evets in Black history and culture across time and space and throughout the U.S., Africa, and the Diaspora."
Black History Month Activity Ideas for Teachers
Some ideas to approach the theme in the classroom this year include:
- Discuss the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and the ways in which it continues today.
- Host an African American read-in event. Join schools around the US on February 20 by reading books and texts written by Black authors in the classroom, exploring the 2025 theme of "labor" through the lens of important Black writers.
- Focus biography projects on Black Americans. Give your students a list of notable Black Americans who have resisted oppression. Students can fill out biography cubes with details about these history-changing figures.
- Set up an interactive bulletin board for students to uncover new facts about Black Americans who have been activists and changemakers throughout American history.
- Create a labor rights timeline. To incorporate the theme for 2025, work as a class to construct a timeline of African American labor history, including items like enslaved labor and resistance, reconstruction-era labor opportunities. The Civil Rights Movement and its labor connections, and modern labor movements.
- Explore the poetry of Black Americans. From protests against slavery through spirituals to the use of powerful spoken word poetry today, oral poems have long been a means of resistance for Black Americans. Turn your ELA lessons to Black poets and the oral tradition this month.
Who Started Black History Month?
If you're looking to teach students the background of Black History Month itself, you'll need to start with Carter G. Woodson.
Known as the father of Black History Month, Woodson was a historian and author whose establishment of Negro History Week in 1926 paved the way for the federal declaration of February as Black History Month some 50 years later.
The founder of the ASALH — which today determines the theme for each Black History Month — Woodsen never meant for the study of Black history to be limited to just a week, or even just a month.
Woodsen’s work until his death in 1950 and the work of the ASALH since has been to promote the “year-round and year-after-year study of African American history.”
When Did Black History Month Start?
Although Woodson laid the groundwork in the 1920s, Black History Month would not officially start until 1976 when President Gerald Ford became the first president to declare February as Black History Month.
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Facts About Katherine Johnson - Printable Mini Book
Discover the accomplishments and influence that Katherine Johnson had on America with a printable mini-book.
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Barack Obama - Biography Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Barack Obama with a comprehensive pack of Presidents’ Day Worksheets.
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Read Along Pocket Chart Cards - Barack Obama
Read and learn about Barack Obama with a set of pocket chart cards to use for reading and sight word practice.
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Read Along Pocket Chart Cards - Rosa Parks
Read and learn about Rosa Parks with printable pocket chart cards.
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Who's Who - Dr. Mae Jemison
Learn about Dr. Mae Jemison with this cut-and-paste activity for younger students.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Directed Drawing Worksheet
Bring a bit of art into the classroom this MLK Day with a “How to Draw a Martin Luther King, Jr.” directed drawing worksheet.
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MLK Art - Coloring Activity
Celebrate MLK Day in the classroom and engage your students creating colorful patterns with a Martin Luther King, Jr. art activity sheet.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Quote - Coloring Page
Celebrate MLK Day in the classroom and engage your students in thoughtful discussion with a Martin Luther King, Jr. Quote Coloring Page!
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Craft and Write Template - MLK Art
Encourage students to share their dreams for the future with MLK arts and crafts.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Coloring Pages
Celebrate MLK Day in the classroom and engage your students in thoughtful discussion with a Martin Luther King, Jr. Coloring Page!
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Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Hat Template
Get crafty and celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy with a printable hat craft.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Coloring Pages - Collaborative Mural
Create a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day bulletin board with our collaborative coloring posters.
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MLK Day Coloring Bookmarks
Bring calm to the classroom and celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. with a set of printable bookmarks to color.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Activity Book
Celebrate MLK Day in the classroom and engage your students with a booklet of MLK Day activities.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Illustrated Word Wall
Learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. with an illustrated word wall for elementary grades.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Activity Pack
Apply a range of reading comprehension strategies to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Trifold Brochure
Demonstrate learning about the Martin Luther King’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement with a brochure project.
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Who is Amanda Gorman? Biography Research Template
Conduct and organize Amanda Gorman facts and research with a printable or digital flipbook activity.
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MLK Day Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Use this set of 40 vocabulary words related to MLK Day and civil rights to broaden your students’ language.
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The Civil Rights Movement and Segregation in America Brochure
Demonstrate learning about the major events and leaders who helped end segregation in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement with a brochure project.
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Segregation and the Civil Rights Movement Instructional Slide Deck
Travel into the past and take your students along to discover the long road to the desegregation of schools in the United States.
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Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement Worksheet
Craft an chronological timeline for students to visually model the events occurring during the Civil Rights Movement.
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Influential Black Leaders InstaFan Profile Template
Demonstrate learning about the most influential black leaders in history with an engaging social media biography template.
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Influential Black Leaders - Instagram Post Template
Demonstrate learning about the most influential Black leaders in history with an engaging social media template.