The intermediate students have been learning about the importance of Black History Month and civil rights. They began by watching a few Ken Burns documentaries about the civil war and slavery. They tied the Civil War and civil rights back to the Bill of Rights granting that everyone had protection of individual liberties.
Each student chose a prominent figure that helped to advance civil rights for African Americans.
They conducted research using iPads and non-fiction books filling out an outline and learning as much as they could about their figure. Using the Ken Burns documentaries as a guide, they used their information to create a short documentary in iMovie about their figure. 
The intermediate students visited the primary class to present their finished videos and answer questions.
In order to display their work in the school, the intermediate students created a timeline to show when each person lived in relation to the others.
Instead of printing out a photograph of their figure for the timeline, Mrs. Martin had the students paint them using a style similar to the artist Amy Sherald.
Amy Sherald (middle) is a painter known for using solid backgrounds and grey-washed skin tones in her portraits.
To create their painting, they began by using carbon paper to transfer the outline of the portrait onto canvas. Next, they chose a background that would contrast well with the colors they planned for the clothes. After that, they outlined the figure using thin black sharpie. Finally, they painted the figure's clothes and used grey-tones to paint the skin.
Here is the timeline with their Amy Sherald-inspired portraits!
Below are their finished iMovies!
Charles McGee by Logan
George Washington Carver by Eden
Harriet Tubman by Brihanna
Jackie Robinson by Kahlil
Kenneth E. Washington by Avi
Martin Luther King, Jr. by Ranon
Katherine Johnson by Yiyi
Ruby Bridges by Ellie
Simone Biles by Lily
William Henry Johnson by Seth
Rosa Parks by Chaya
Abraham Lincoln by Brody
