A Black History Month bulletin board is a fantastic way to extend your teaching of forgotten history into an engaging visual display. Whatever content area or age, there are abundant resources available to help teachers integrate black history into the curriculum – not just during Black History Month, but throughout the school year. Multicultural materials (including bulletin boards and decor) in the classroom don’t just convey content, they create a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere.
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What makes a good Black History Month bulletin board?
Bulletin boards can serve multiple purposes in the classroom. Most commonly, bulletin board displays serve one or more of three functions:
- Display/Decor. This could include displays of student work, decorative or seasonal art, and more.
- Interactive. These boards provide an activity with which students can independently interact.
- Informational. Informational boards do exactly what the name suggests – convey information. This can include not just content material, but classroom or school rules or procedures, events, learning objectives, and more.
What makes a bulletin board “good” is that the board fulfills its stated objective and serves a meaningful purpose for students and teachers. Beyond that, styles and types of bulletin boards are largely a personal choice.
In order to serve its stated purpose, a bulletin board must also be located in a place where it can be used or read. For example, boards for younger students should be placed lower, where they are easily seen and accessed. If students are going to be referencing the board, it should be displayed in a central location.
Planning for a bulletin board should be a fun and creative process. We recommend setting a plan and a budget for classroom bulletin boards, to aid in planning. Consider whether boards will change out regularly, and if so, create a calendar with design ideas.
To help spark your creativity, we’ve gathered this list of 17 of our favorite Black History Month bulletin board designs.
Creative Black History Month board examples
- Famous Black Americans Board From The Teacher Shop
Celebrate black history with this bulletin board set with facts about, and photos of, 16 famous black Americans from the beginnings of America to the present.
- Words Have Power Board By Supply Me
This inspiring board is an ode to the unifying legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A peaceful and colourful background contrasts with photos of Dr. King, and quotes from his inspirational speeches. Students can also contribute their own artwork to this collage-style board.
- Freedom Quilt Board By Lessons With Laughter
This Freedom Quilt decor idea was inspired by a teachers’ book unit on The Underground Railroad. Students created quilt “maps” similar to those used in the Railroad. This is a terrific lesson in history, map skills, and art for elementary-aged students.
- Who Am I? Board By Supply Me
Here’s another Black History Month Bulletin Board idea that could be adapted for students from upper elementary to high school. This simple to create design features photos or artwork depicting black historical figures, along with facts and quotes. Students are asked to use their research skills to name the historic persons.
- Inspiring Black History Board Ideas By Houghton Mifflin
This isn’t one board, but a collection of several; there’s an abundance of great design ideas and inspiration, many including links to directions or resources. Whether you’re looking for interactive boards, seasonal decor, modern or early American history, or black women in history, it’s all here!
- Black History Firsts By The Core Coaches
Biographical sketches and writing by students form the centrepiece of this bright and inspiring interactive board. Students will love having the chance to find a black historical figure in their field of interest and report on their achievements.
- Quote Of The Day board By Little Learning Corner
This attractive board design uses cardstock pockets (one for each day of the month) to store a black history quote or fact which can be used to spur discussion, or even as a writing prompt. The board can be easily changed out to provide seasonal or year-round inspiration.
- Katherine Johnson Board By Narkisha Schofield
Encourage your STEM students with these inspiring images of math genius, and NASA Engineer Katherine Johnson. The entire board can be printed on regular size paper and mounted on a door or board.
- Black History Month Book Board By Adrienne Teaches
We love this one-of-a-kind book board which shows off the diversity of reading material with black protagonists. Simple shapes and borders surround colour photocopies of book covers – a cute and effective way to lead your students to their new favourite books!
- Black History Board By Sunny & Bright In Primary
This Black History Month Bulletin Board displays 28 inspirational African Americans. It also includes their biographies and contributions.
- Who Am I QR Board By Study All Knight
Study All Knight’s interactive bulletin board page is loaded with fantastic ideas and inspiration! From using QR codes to link students to interactive learning materials or games to links to sets of Black Women’s History fact pages, we found tons of great resources for Black History Month.
12. Collaboration Quilt By Art With Jenny K
This might be one of the most gorgeous Black History Month Bulletin Board we’ve ever seen – and the best news is the students are the one doing the work (and getting the benefit of it)! Students work together to assemble pieces of the quilt which include portraits, names and student-written bios on famous Black Americans.
- This Is Us Board By Brownie Points Teaching
This stunning door decoration is comprised of photos of black women across time, arranged around a large, painted face. We love the idea of having students bring in pictures of famous Black Americans to report on, or even sharing their own family or historical photos.
14. Brave Like Ruby Board By Is A Party Creations
Students’ writing responses to the question, “When were you brave like Ruby (Bridges)?” are the centrepiece of this beautiful classroom decor, sure to raise valuable insights during reading and class discussions.
- Black History Month board Ideas By Cricut
Whether you consider yourself a craft teacher or not, Cricut can help you come up with ideas for creating an amazing, aesthetic bulletin board. With ideas for every skill level, this page showcases fantastic Black History Month board ideas, including tributes to Hidden Figures, civil rights history and icons, and a sweet Valentine wish to Ruby Bridges.
- Harlem Renaissance Board By Slanging Paint
This art idea-turned-bulletin-board encourages students to explore black music, including Jazz and a look at the Harlem Renaissance, via student-created prints and rubbings.
- Civil Rights Board By The Core Coaches
This interactive bulletin board invites students to research and provide quotes, words, and facts about the Civil Rights movement in the US to be printed and displayed.
Celebrating all history should be a year round pursuit; a black history bulletin board can help spur classroom conversations and remind students the importance of respecting others and of understanding history and our place in it.
