Project: Black History Month Podcast

Written By Jim Frankel

To help celebrate Black History Month, which is observed every February, here is a project idea for your students to complete in the form of a podcast. This project is from my latest curriculum titled Podcasting Across the Curriculum - available exclusively from MusicFirst. If you’d like to download the student handout for this project - click HERE. The projects should be completed in Soundtrap.

Suggested Grade Levels: Middle School/High School

Suggested Length of Time: 4-5 class sessions (if done during class), 5-10 days if done outside of class time.

Project Description:

Students will create a podcast about an important figure in Black History. Students should work individually or in groups to research biographical information about their given figure, as well as information about their impact on their specific field of expertise, influence on others, and contributions to society. Before students record their podcasts, they should submit their scripts to the teacher for the Draft>Edit>Revise process, and final approval.

While this project could be done to coincide with Black History Month on the calendar, it doesn’t necessarily need to. Ideally, each student would create their own podcast and the podcasts could be released daily throughout the month of February.

This project could easily be adapted to any subject area. For example, music classes could focus on famous musicians and composers; English/Language Arts classes could focus on famous authors; Physical Education classes could focus on famous athletes; and so on.

Suggested Resources:

Student Handout

To celebrate Black History Month, you will produce a podcast about an important Black historical figure assigned by your teacher. The purpose of the podcast is to provide listeners with interesting facts about that person, the impact they had on their specific field, the influence they have had on others, and their overall contributions to society.

To write your podcast script, you will need to do some research on your assigned figure. Ask your teacher or librarian for assistance finding good resources. Your teacher will check your script before you record your podcast. Include as much information as you can from the list below:

Project Requirements:

  • Your podcast should be 5-10 minutes in length.

  • You should include:

    • The name of your assigned person

    • Biographical information including:

    • Birth date

    • Hometown

    • Information about their childhood, parents » Education information

    • Personal life (spouse, children, etc.)

    • Date of death (if applicable)

    • Career achievements

    • Stories of any adversity they endured o Interesting facts

    • People they influenced

    • Impact on society

    • Relevant audio clips (if available)

    • Your podcast episode should include an image of the person.

When you have completed your podcast, submit it to your teacher for assessment and distribution.

If you would like to access the podcasting curriculum, all you have to do is fill out this form (if you’re not a MusicFirst customer). if you are a MusicFirst customer, you’ll find the complete curriculum in the Content>MusicFirst Library>General Music section of the MusicFirst Classroom.

Jim Frankel
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