Welcome to Day 3 of diversity week. Today we are going to be learning about some important black people who have achieved incredible things and helped to change our world to make it a fairer and more equal place.

So far this week, we have looked at differences that exist between us including our abilities, talents, gender and hair colour. We are all different and that is to be celebrated! One of the other ways in which we all differ is in the colour of our skin.

You have no doubt seen and heard lots of things on the news recently about equality for black people. This Newsround Special is a good place to start if you have questions or concerns about the current protests and want a better understanding of what ‘racism’ is: Newsround Special

You could also watch the BBC video where black children discuss how they feel being black and some of the experiences they have had: Newsround Why Black History is important

Scroll down on this page (Newsround: Why Black History is important) and watch the videos. Listen to children talking about the black people who have inspired them and learn more about important black British people.

English

Today we are going to learn all about two very important black people from the USA: Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Watch this video explaining who they are: RP and MLK Civil Rights

Have a discussion about what Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King were fighting for and then watch author Kwame Alexander read his powerful poem: The Undefeated

What new words have you learnt from hearing and seeing the poem? Write down some of these new words and research their meaning. You may have noticed that Alexander has used many words using the prefix ‘un’. How many did you hear? Some other new words that you may have learnt from the videos today include these words: segregation, adversity, discrimination, inequality and justice. Make sure you find out what they mean.

Research either Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King in more detail and write a short biography of one of them. This writing frame may help some children to structure their ideas: Significant-Individuals-Fact-File-Template

Try your best to use some of the new vocabulary that you have learnt today in your writing.

Maths

Have a look at the cards featuring different important black people. Have a chat about who these people are. Do you recognise any of them? Significant black people fact cards 1 Significant black people fact cards 2 Significant black people fact cards 3

Can you put the cards in order according to when each person was born? How many of these people are still alive? You could even work out how old each person is, or would be if they were still alive.

Using the cards, and doing any further research of your own, can you make a timeline showing important events and people throughout ‘black history’? It is entirely up to you when you decide to start your timeline, and your choice what date you would like to go up to although the current ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests are very significant indeed!

Here are some templates for you to choose from for your timeline: timeline template 6-8 boxes timeline 12 boxes

This is an example, and very comprehensive, timeline from the Twinkl website if you are unsure what timelines look like. I would advise against printing it as it is four pages long and will take a lot of ink. However, it may prove helpful to have a look at it on the screen when you are putting your own timeline together! Black-History-of-Britain-Timeline

Helpful websites for today: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/41433196 – significant black women throughout history

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/black-history-month-primary-and-secondary-resources/zjwf8xs – profiles of important black people

You may also enjoy watching the ‘Rosa’ episode of Dr Who which is currently available on BBC iPlayer.

Creative task

Can you make a model or a piece of art depicting a famous black person from history? You may choose to draw a picture of Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King, one of the significant people from the fact cards or a black person who we have not mentioned today whom you feel has been truly inspirational.

You could paint a picture of one of them or make a collage. You could also make a model of them. This outline may help:

Here are some inspiring examples of pieces created by artists:

Have a great day, everyone. x