Who has helped shape your community, and how can students uncover their stories?
Roots & Role Models from Smart Brown Girl invites middle school learners to explore Black history through the people and places around them. Students investigate local contributions, practice interviewing, and reflect on how community history connects to their own lives.
Designed for ages 10–14, Grades 6–8, this workbook combines guided research with creative activities that give students an active role in discovering and sharing history.
Inside the workbook
Five structured sections help students develop their ideas and bring their research together.
Learn introduces students to the histories and contributions they’ll explore.
Investigate guides local research and encourages students to ask thoughtful questions.
Interview supports conversations that help students learn from people in their communities.
Reflect connects students’ discoveries to questions about identity, belonging, and influence.
Create gives learners opportunities to express and share what they’ve learned.
What students will practice
Students develop research and interviewing skills while considering whose contributions receive recognition and how local stories are preserved. Reflection prompts encourage them to explore their connections to the community, and creative exercises offer different ways to communicate their findings.
Who it’s for
Use Roots & Role Models in middle school classrooms, homeschool lessons, after-school programs, or family learning. It fits Black history units and community research projects, with activities that invite learners to look closely at the history around them.
Product details
Included — One complete workbook PDF with guided activities, reflection prompts, and creative exercises.
Recommended level — Ages 10–14, Grades 6–8.
Format — Digital download with ready-to-print pages.
Use — Print at home or view on a tablet.
Help students uncover the Black history within their communities and consider how they can contribute to preserving it.
