Feeling the February scramble — the mad dash for the best Black History Web sites, books, and movies? Or are you bombarded by colleagues searching for Black History teaching tools? Read on for five treasured resources, some old favorites, and some fresh faces, that will have kids and adults of any culture begging for more!

1. The Story of Stagecoach Mary Fields by Robert Miller

Miller’s tale about a rough and tough heroine who could not be stopped by the Wild West will inspire your students to write their own historical fiction.

2. Slavery and the Underground Railroad

How do you get digital natives fully vested in the study of American slavery? Blast Scholastic's The Underground Railroad offerings on your interactive whiteboard. Turn out the lights and have your students listen to real accounts from young and old African Americans of their lives on the plantation and of their heroic escapes. Have students complete a coded letter for the Underground Railroad or partake in a Harriet Tubman Web Hunt. 

Need something tactile? Velma Maia Thomas' tastefully designed interactive book from the Black Holocaust Exhibit, Lest We Forget: The Passage From Africa to Slavery and Emancipation, will enable children to “hold in their hands an authentic receipt for a woman sold into slavery” or “slide the lid off a tobacco tin and remove the treasure within — a former slave’s freedom papers.” This book is sure to be the most tattered and torn, and, yet, the most appreciated book in your classroom library.

3. George Crum and the Saratoga Chip by Gaylia Taylor 

Love potato chips? Thank African-American chef George Crum! Gather students on the rug for George Crum and the Saratoga Chip, Taylor’s inspiring story of invention and innovation, or split older students into teams to gather facts about the chip inventor. Have students return to the rug to share their discoveries. If your school has an oven, check out this baked chip recipe for a fabulously festive way to honor Chef Crum. 

4. Red Tails

Bust out the popcorn and the field trip notices! The New York Times calls Red Tails “a live-action comic book.” Mix Star Wars-creator George Lucas with Tuskegee Airmen (unstoppable World War II fighter pilots), and you’ve got a movie that will capture the attention of even the most apathetic teenage boy. After your PG-13 movie outing, send students to research these real-life heroes and present their findings in a Microsoft PowerPoint, Keynote, or Prezi presentation. Check out my post "Digital Poetry — Make Words Zoom and Fly Across the Room" for more information on Prezi.