One of the things I loved about my former school was how African American History Month was celebrated! One of the annual traditions is a door decorating contest. Each grade level gets a different category. 5th grade had authors and poets for several years. I always choose someone who isn’t as widely-known as a valuable teaching tool.  And some classes have these beautiful, perfectly decorated doors that the TEACHER did. Well, I believe this contest should be kid-approved and kid-friendly! So I never officially won whatever popcorn party prize they had but my students gained something far more valuable-knowledge! Doors of Years Past In 2015-2016 topics for the African American History Month door decorating contest were shuffled and our grade level had inventors/scientists. We had previously studied George Washington Carver in Social Studies so I wanted to make sure we found someone new. I had recently used a great Readers’ Theatre with famous African American scientists that included some interesting female scientists and astronauts. I would share, but I have no idea where it came from! I’m sad to say I had never heard of any of them and the kids said the same thing. That is precisely why I used … Continue reading Our Student-Led Tribute to Mae C. Jemison!