MacNolia Cox Spelling and History Lesson Set
Celebrate the life and legacy of MacNolia Cox, the brilliant Black spelling bee champion from Akron, Ohio, with this 19-page lesson set designed to accompany the powerful book, How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison. Read MacNolia’s story and then extend your learning with a suite of seven creative and engaging activities that combine art, spelling, vocabulary, critical thinking, and activism. This lesson set was designed to suit a wide age range, but the bulk of the activities would be best suited to upper-elementary learners.
This 19-page PDF contains:
Recommended Videos
MacNolia’s Words Beeline Activity - Using the sentences provided with each word for context clues, draw a line (a beeline, if you will) from each word MacNolia spelled at the national spelling bee to its correct definition.
Thumbprint Bee Anagrammed Affirmations Activity- On blank paper or using one of the five templates we’ve included, write a word in big bubble letters that describes you and then follow the steps to fill in your bubble letters with bee-autiful bees!
Critical Thinking Primary Source Analysis Activity - Read an article about MacNolia Cox from the May 30, 1936 edition of The Afro American newspaper (included) and use the provided questions to think critically about some of the discrepancies between its version of events and the story outlined in How Do You Spell Unfair.
Chiaroscuro Poem and Illustration Activity - MacNolia Cox’s story might have been almost entirely forgotten if it weren’t for the work of a handful of people who kept it alive. One of those people is the poet A. Van Jordan. Read a short excerpt from one of the poems in his M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A collection and then follow it down a rabbit hole!
MacNolia Cox Coloring and Affirmation Activity - Use the included illustration to color a picture of MacNolia and fill in the hearts with some loving statements to honor her.
Illustrated Postcard Activity- In 2025, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is celebrating 100 years of their history. Use the PDF provided to make a custom postcard to send to Scripps to encourage them to make the stories of trailblazers like MacNolia Cox, Jody-Anne Maxwell, and Zaila Avant-garde a part of their celebrations. Challenge yourself to make an illustration for the front of the card that combines drawings of as many of the words MacNolia spelled at the national bee as you can!
Pip’s Spelling Bee Activity - Honor MacNolia Cox’s legacy by going for the gold--not at the Scripps Spelling Bee, but at Pip’s Spelling Bee! We’ve got everything you need to host your very own bee! And you can compete against yourself, a family member, or a whole crew of people! You will need to download the free Word Club app for this activity.
Celebrate the life and legacy of MacNolia Cox, the brilliant Black spelling bee champion from Akron, Ohio, with this 19-page lesson set designed to accompany the powerful book, How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison. Read MacNolia’s story and then extend your learning with a suite of seven creative and engaging activities that combine art, spelling, vocabulary, critical thinking, and activism. This lesson set was designed to suit a wide age range, but the bulk of the activities would be best suited to upper-elementary learners.
This 19-page PDF contains:
Recommended Videos
MacNolia’s Words Beeline Activity - Using the sentences provided with each word for context clues, draw a line (a beeline, if you will) from each word MacNolia spelled at the national spelling bee to its correct definition.
Thumbprint Bee Anagrammed Affirmations Activity- On blank paper or using one of the five templates we’ve included, write a word in big bubble letters that describes you and then follow the steps to fill in your bubble letters with bee-autiful bees!
Critical Thinking Primary Source Analysis Activity - Read an article about MacNolia Cox from the May 30, 1936 edition of The Afro American newspaper (included) and use the provided questions to think critically about some of the discrepancies between its version of events and the story outlined in How Do You Spell Unfair.
Chiaroscuro Poem and Illustration Activity - MacNolia Cox’s story might have been almost entirely forgotten if it weren’t for the work of a handful of people who kept it alive. One of those people is the poet A. Van Jordan. Read a short excerpt from one of the poems in his M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A collection and then follow it down a rabbit hole!
MacNolia Cox Coloring and Affirmation Activity - Use the included illustration to color a picture of MacNolia and fill in the hearts with some loving statements to honor her.
Illustrated Postcard Activity- In 2025, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is celebrating 100 years of their history. Use the PDF provided to make a custom postcard to send to Scripps to encourage them to make the stories of trailblazers like MacNolia Cox, Jody-Anne Maxwell, and Zaila Avant-garde a part of their celebrations. Challenge yourself to make an illustration for the front of the card that combines drawings of as many of the words MacNolia spelled at the national bee as you can!
Pip’s Spelling Bee Activity - Honor MacNolia Cox’s legacy by going for the gold--not at the Scripps Spelling Bee, but at Pip’s Spelling Bee! We’ve got everything you need to host your very own bee! And you can compete against yourself, a family member, or a whole crew of people! You will need to download the free Word Club app for this activity.
Celebrate the life and legacy of MacNolia Cox, the brilliant Black spelling bee champion from Akron, Ohio, with this 19-page lesson set designed to accompany the powerful book, How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison. Read MacNolia’s story and then extend your learning with a suite of seven creative and engaging activities that combine art, spelling, vocabulary, critical thinking, and activism. This lesson set was designed to suit a wide age range, but the bulk of the activities would be best suited to upper-elementary learners.
This 19-page PDF contains:
Recommended Videos
MacNolia’s Words Beeline Activity - Using the sentences provided with each word for context clues, draw a line (a beeline, if you will) from each word MacNolia spelled at the national spelling bee to its correct definition.
Thumbprint Bee Anagrammed Affirmations Activity- On blank paper or using one of the five templates we’ve included, write a word in big bubble letters that describes you and then follow the steps to fill in your bubble letters with bee-autiful bees!
Critical Thinking Primary Source Analysis Activity - Read an article about MacNolia Cox from the May 30, 1936 edition of The Afro American newspaper (included) and use the provided questions to think critically about some of the discrepancies between its version of events and the story outlined in How Do You Spell Unfair.
Chiaroscuro Poem and Illustration Activity - MacNolia Cox’s story might have been almost entirely forgotten if it weren’t for the work of a handful of people who kept it alive. One of those people is the poet A. Van Jordan. Read a short excerpt from one of the poems in his M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A collection and then follow it down a rabbit hole!
MacNolia Cox Coloring and Affirmation Activity - Use the included illustration to color a picture of MacNolia and fill in the hearts with some loving statements to honor her.
Illustrated Postcard Activity- In 2025, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is celebrating 100 years of their history. Use the PDF provided to make a custom postcard to send to Scripps to encourage them to make the stories of trailblazers like MacNolia Cox, Jody-Anne Maxwell, and Zaila Avant-garde a part of their celebrations. Challenge yourself to make an illustration for the front of the card that combines drawings of as many of the words MacNolia spelled at the national bee as you can!
Pip’s Spelling Bee Activity - Honor MacNolia Cox’s legacy by going for the gold--not at the Scripps Spelling Bee, but at Pip’s Spelling Bee! We’ve got everything you need to host your very own bee! And you can compete against yourself, a family member, or a whole crew of people! You will need to download the free Word Club app for this activity.