Johanna Busch
Black History Cereal Box Project
Students learn that they can use individual or collective assets to navigate and challenge systemic injustices or inequity of opportunities, or to increase pride in cultural identity.
All of the students in my second grade class are black. However, the literacy, social studies, and science curriculum that my school uses focuses primarily on white influential figures. This curriculum does not facilitate pride in a cultural identity that my students share. Because of this, I decided to plan a project that would allow students to use their individual assets to increase pride in their cultural identity. To accomplish this, students created cereal boxes based on an influential African American. First, students learned about a variety of different influential African Americans including scientists, activists, politicians, and entrepreneurs. Then, students chose their figure. Students researched and planned their projects and school and completed them at home. Finally, students brought their projects in and presented them to their peers. This project increased students' pride in their cultural identity.
Initiation of Project
I introduced students to the project by going over the directions and rubric with them. I also sent a project explanation home with students and posted about it on Class Dojo. I decided to have students complete part of the project at home so that they could explore their cultural identity with their families. Learning about your heritage with your family is a powerful way to deepen you understanding and pride in cultural identity. I hoped that this project could help facilitate this with my students.
Above is the letter that was sent home with students explaining the Black History Month project.
Background Information
Students were encouraged to choose either a figure that we learned about in class or someone else that they were interested in. In preparation, we learned about a variety of influential African Americans in class including Frederick Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Madam CJ Walker, Ruby Bridges, Elijah McCoy, Rosa Parks, George Washington Carver, and Martin Luther King Jr. We discussed why our social studies curriculum focuses primarily on the achievements of white men and why it is important for us to learn about influential people with other identities.
We learned about these figures over several weeks, so I will not show evidence of teaching about all of them. Rather, below I share how I taught about two figures, Madame CJ Walker and Ruby Bridges.
Madame CJ Walker
To maximize instructional time, I incorporated lessons about influential African Americans into our literacy curriculum. For example, when our reading comprehension skill was asking questions about a text, I switched the curriculum text with a biography about Madam CJ Walker. This allowed students to increase pride in their cultural identity while practicing a reading comprehension skill. In this lesson, students watched a video and read a biography about Walker. Students worked together to brainstorm questions about Walker before, during, and after they read the text. Students then worked together to answer these questions. Finally, students participated in a discussion about why it is important to learn about black scientists.
Above is a lesson plan about Madame CJ Walker. Students could choose to use information from this lesson in their cereal box projects.
Above is an image of students working together to use details from the middle of the biography to come up with questions about Walker.
This student asked "How does she make the products?"
This student asked "What type of hair stuff" did she invent?
This student asked "Why did she spend her money on a factory?"
This student asked "How does she make the products?"
This slideshow shows questions students asked about Madam C.J. Walker based on information they learned from my lesson.
Ruby Bridges
I also planned and taught a lesson about Ruby Bridges. Students listened to a read a loud about Ruby Bridges to learn some background information. Then, students read and analyzed a poem about Bridges. Students were especially excited to learn about Bridges because she became an activist in second grade, just like them.
Students watched this story The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles to learn background knowledge about Ruby Bridges.
Students read the above poem, Ruby Shows the Way by Carol Oaks.
Cereal Box Projects
After learning about many different influential African American figures, students chose who they wanted to make their project about. Students compiled information they knew (from texts we read in class and their own research on our class laptops) into a graphic organizer. Students sketched out their cereal box project. Then, students brought these plans home to complete their cereal boxes with their families. Students who did not have supplies at home were given materials to use. Students brought their finished projects in to share with the class.
This student chose to research Chadwick Boseman. He wrote that he "shows you can be anything."
This student used information we learned about Rosa Parks to create a cereal box called "Rosa's Healthy Rights."
This student cited information I provided in the book we read about Ruby Bridges in discussing the school the Bridges helped to desegregate.
This student used information we learned from reading about Madam CJ Walker. She wrote that Walker was a black woman who made "a living out of being smart and creative."
This student used information she learned in our lesson about Madam CJ Walker to write that she made "specialized products for African-American hair."
This student chose to do his own research and create a cereal box about Jackie Robinson.
The above images show some of the completed cereal box projects. Students used information I provided in lessons about Madam CJ Walker and Ruby Bridges in creating their cereal boxes.
After bringing in their projects, students practiced their presentations with a partner. We discussed what good presenters look like and sound like. Then, students spent an afternoon presenting projects to their classmates so that all students could increase pride in their cultural identities by learning about influential African Americans. Students were exposed to a diversity of contributions and accomplishments of African Americans as activists, athletes, entrepreneurs, artists, and scientists. In their presentations, students shared information that I had provided them with through videos, articles, and poems.
This student is presenting her cereal box project about Ruby Bridges.
This student is presenting a cereal project about Michael Jordan.
This student is presenting her project about Ruby Bridges.
This student is presenting his project about Chadwick Boseman.
The above images show students presenting their cereal boxes to their classmates.
Reflections
Since the goal of this project was for students to increase their pride in their cultural identity, it was critical that they reflect after the presentations. After presenting, students wrote about how the project made them feel about their race. Students also reflected on why it is important for us to learn about influential African Americans. Many students wrote that this project made them feel proud to be black. Students also gave a variety of reasons why it is important to learn about African Americans. These reflections show that the cereal box project increased my students' sense of pride in their cultural identities.
This student wrote that learning about Ruby Bridges made her feel proud. She learned that Ruby Bridges went to school when other people were mean.
This student wrote that learning about Chadwick Boseman made him proud to be black "because he was the first black super hero." He wrote that it is important to learn about African Americans so that "everyone can believe they can do anything when they grow up."
This student wrote that "if we only learned about white people it would not be fair."
This student wrote that she wants to learn about black people because she is black. She wrote that learning about Madame CJ Walker made her feel good because she was "a good black woman."
Above are a few examples of student reflections written after the cereal box presentations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, completing this project increased pride in students' cultural identities. Though all of my students are black, our curriculum does not focus on the accomplishments or history of African Americans. Because of this, I decided to supplement of curriculum with a Cereal Box Project to celebrate Black History Month. Students increased their pride by completing their own projects and by hearing other students' presentations.