Looking for free math resources for Black History Month this February? Here are the best I can find from all over the Internet!
Historical Black Mathematicians
Get a free Historical Black Mathematicians poster from the American Math Society here. They have a lot of other free posters, too! And when they say free they mean free; there isn’t even a shipping charge.
Mashup Math has a list for teachers of 11 Famous African American Mathematicians You Should Know
Mathematically Gifted and Black chooses a present day honoree to feature every day. You can also download free elementary lesson plans from their site to teach about historical black mathematicians Benjamin Banneker, Mary Jackson, Katherine Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan. Use this link to find those lessons. I also have more about the Hidden Figures women as well as Mae Jemison (the first black female astronaut to work for NASA) on my post Mathematicians In Women’s History. Also see my post Picture Books About Mathematicians.
Engineering For Kids has a list of 10 Black Innovators Who Have Made An Impact In STEM.
If you want to go farther back in history, here is an article about achievements in science and technology in Ancient Africa. Learn about Egyptian numerals here. Math Cats has a digital activity for kids on how Egyptians used fractions. The book “Africa Counts: Number and Pattern in African Cultures” by Claudia Zaslavsky explores patterns in African music, poetry, art, and architectures well as African methods for measuring time, distance, weight, and other quantities as well. (This is a book for adults not children, but would give you background information if you are interested.)
For a children’s book that includes a few activities related to math and science there is A Kid’s Guide to African American History
Games
Playing games is my favorite way to practice math skills, especially number sense and logical thinking. Here are some math/strategy games originating in Africa to teach your students this month!
One of my favorite math strategy games, Mancala, probably originated in Egypt or Ethiopia. If you aren’t familiar with this 2 player game, read my post here. It includes instructions to make your own Mancala game as well as a link if you want to buy a commercial version.
B Inspired Mama has a free printable download to make the 2 player game Shisima, which originated in Kenya.
Here are instructions and a free printable game board for the Nigerian 3 in a row game Dara.
If you have other favorite math resources for Black History Month, please let me know and I will add them!
