Black History Reading Comprehension Passages with Questions

Inspire and Inform - Perfect for Black History Month

Engage and educate your 4th, 5th and 6th grade students with this comprehensive collection of 18 well-reviewed reading passages about important civil rights events and African American trailblazers. Designed to exercise reading comprehension skills, this unique resource is perfect for Black History Month or for any social studies or history unit on civil rights in the United States or Canada.

Each of the reading passages in this resource is accompanied by a page of multiple-choice questions, encouraging students to refer back to the text to support their answer choices. This practice is essential for developing strong reading comprehension skills. Answer keys are also included. The 54-page document is in PDF format, allowing for easy printing.

Although targeted to 4th grade and higher, this ready-to-use set of reading passages and quizzes is an exceptional cross curricular reading comprehension resource for learners of any age.

The reading passages include biographies of important civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Mary Ann Shadd, Viola Desmond and African American trailblazers such as Barack Obama, Mae Jemison, Louis Armstrong, Benjamin Banneker, Afrika Bambaataa and Wille O'Ree.

Important civil rights events such as The Underground Railroad, The Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the origins of Black History Month are also included.

What teachers have said:

"Used with a small very high group of third grade readers who read at fifth grade level. They were challenged appropriately and really liked these passages!"

"My students enjoyed reading about the various individuals. They were able to apply the skills taught during our intensive reading class. "

"I used this during reading class. We were reading about different ethnic groups. My students loved this resource."

This resource addresses many of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Common Core ELA Reading standards.

RI.4.3 RI.4.10 RI.5.10 RI.6.10 RH.6-8.10