Free Printable Black History Month Word Search for Kids
Published:
December 23, 2023
Contributor:
Sarah Shelton
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Black History month is coming up very soon in the month of February. We have put together a free printable Black History Month word search for you to use with your students during the month. This will help them learn about many famous black men and black women and how they have contributed to history.
Free Printable Black History Month Word Search for Kids
Word searches are a fun way to engage the brain and increase learning. They are great activity to add to your other Black History Month activities that you have planned for this month.
Our free Black History Month Word Search for kids will help your children to learn about many famous black men and black women and how they have contributed to history.
Make sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to grab the printable Black History Month word search free download!
What are the educational benefits of a word search?
Word search printables are a great way to introduce kids of all ages to new vocabulary words and topics or themes that may spark their interest. Word search games are a fun activity to supplement your homeschool curriculum and lesson plans to further their learning.
Here are even more amazing benefits to using word searches:
- help develop word recognition – the more they see the word and need to search for it, the easier it will be to read the word
- cognitive skill enhancement and improved concentration
- excellent resource to master vocabulary words
- improves spelling skills – as they are searching for the letters in the word, they are learning to spell it at the same time
- keeps the brain active
- develops problem solving skills
- can be relaxing and therapeutic – Ever wonder why grandparents loved doing the word searches in the Sunday paper? They are calming, and help train your brain at the same time.
How did Black History Month originate?
Black History Month is sometimes also referred to as African American History Month. It is celebrated the entire month of February to learn about the achievements of African Americans.
In 1976, U.S. President Gerald Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month in the United States.
The United Kingdom and Canada also celebrate Black History month. In September 1915, the ASNLH (The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History was created to promote the accomplishments of African Americans.
Here is some more history of the month to enhance your knowledge of black history:
In 1926, the ASNLH chose the second week of February to celebrate as this was the same week as Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays. That week was named Negro History Week aka Black History Week.
Frederick Douglas was an African American abolitionist, orator, newspaper publisher and the first black U.S. Marshall. He is also famous for his first autobiography:
President Abraham Lincoln was the United States leader during the Civil War and the fight to end slavery in the United States. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 towards the third year of the Civil War.
This proclamation important because it declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
More Resources for Black History Month
Free Printables for Black History Month – These resources and Black History month printable activities will help add to your history lessons this month. You can also learn about six famous figures in Black History with our free unit study.
Topics for Black History – View a timeline of the Civil Rights Movement, read personal stories, watch videos and learn facts and history on famous Black Americans on the History Channel website.
Free Martin Luther King Jr. Resources – Free resources to teach your kids about this important man in history and the influences that he had.
Printable Black History Month Word Search Instant Download
We have put together two word searches to accompany your studies for Black History month. There are two pages of word searches: one for black men in history, one for black women in history plus an accompanying answer key for each word search.
Each word search has words that are also topics and themes as to how they’ve contributed to history. Maybe they were a trailblazer, civil rights activists, African American inventors, or historical figures.
Word list of words included in the word searches:
- abolitionist
- Sojourner Truth
- underground railroad
- Harriet Tubman
- civil rights
- Ida B Wells
- NASA
- Mary Jackson
- Katherine Johnson
- Dorothy Vaughn
- government
- Condoleeza Rice
- Kamala Harris
- Rosa Parks
- Ruby Ridges
- Coretta Scott King
- arts
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Maya Angelou
- Bunker Hill
- Peter Salem
- abolitionist
- Frederick Douglas
- doctor
- Charles Drew
- poet
- Langston Hughes
- Thurgood Marshall
- Barak Obama
- pilot
- Charles Alfred Anderson Sr.
- inventor
- George Washington Carver
- civil rights
- Martin Luther King Jr.
More ways to use our free word searches:
Black history is so much more than just the Civil Rights Movement. There are also lots of famous trailblazing individuals on this list. Some names may be very familiar, while others may be good for a research project if they are not familiar names to your household.
Research Project – Your students may want to take it a step further and research a man or woman that were very influential in a specific area such as Ella Fitzgerald and her beautiful singing voice, or George Washington Carver and his agricultural successes.
Read a Book and Watch the Movie – Read the book Hidden Figures:Then watch the movie Hidden Figures and watch the story of Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughn come to life.
Create a Word Wall – Take the words from the list and create a word wall out of them. Point to the words and explain what they mean, and who the people are. Help your children learn to say, read, and write the words out.
Instant Download: Black Women and Men in History
Sarah Shelton
Sarah is a wife, daughter of the King and Mama to 4 children (two homeschool graduates) She is a an eclectic, Charlotte Mason style homeschooler that has been homeschooling for over 20 years.. She is still trying to find the balance between work and keeping a home and gardens. She can only do it by the Grace of God, coffee and green juice
