Garrett Morgan, an African-American, invented the traffic light, according to the Kid Activities website. Traffic lights are invaluable for helping to keep our streets safe. The traffic lights activity can introduce pre-K students to the invention of the traffic light and the fact that it was by an African- American. It also promotes traffic safety. Children can create their own traffic light with a paper milk carton, construction paper, black tempera paint, scissors, yarn and glue. Start by giving each child a two-quart paper milk carton. Have each child paint the entire carton with black tempera paint. Water-based tempera paint takes about five minutes to dry. While the paint is drying, give each child a half sheet of red, yellow and green construction paper. Instruct students to cut a circle from each color of construction paper. Students should glue the color circles on one side of the painted milk carton in the same order as they appear on real traffic lights. Have the students glue the red circle at the top of the carton, the yellow circle in the middle and the green circle at the bottom. Use a punch to make a hole in the top of the carton and attach a length of yarn to hang the light.
Martin Luther King Jr. is a central figure in many Black History Month celebrations. Dr. King gave a speech in Washington, D. C. in 1963 in which he spoke of his dream of equality for all people, according to preschoolrainbow.org. Teachers can read a story to their students about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his famous speech. Encourage students to talk about their own dreams, then make a dream quilt. Ask each student to think about what they would like to do or what profession they would like to work in when they grow up. Ask students to think about what dream they would like to see come true. Give each student a sheet of white paper, construction paper, markers and crayons. Ask the students to illustrate their dream on the white paper by drawing, writing and coloring. Instruct the students to cut shapes and glue them on the paper. Collect the dream illustrations and join them with yarn at the corners to form a quilt pattern.
Read a story about Black History Month, then give each Pre-K student one sheet of white construction paper and one sheet of black construction paper. Allow each student to select any color of construction paper that they want. According to kidsactivities.net, students should then tear the white paper and the black paper into strips and small irregular shapes. After the students finish tearing their white paper and black paper, they glue the black and white shapes on the colored paper to create a collage. The students can use the shapes to create any picture they want, maybe a house, a person's face, a tree or a flower. Ask each student to tell the rest of the class about their picture. Show each student how every piece of paper is dissimilar; no two pieces are exactly alike. Just as our differences make for a diverse society, the differences in the shapes and color of the paper are what make an interesting work of art.