Resources for Learning about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr., day is coming up, and it’s a great time to learn about the civil rights leader and the civil rights movement in general. This isn’t easy stuff to talk to our kids about, but it is so important for them to grow up with empathy and understanding that we are not as different as some people would like to believe we are.

Check out some of our favorite educational reading books about Martin Luther King

If You Were a Kid During the Civil Rights Movement

The Story of Ruby Bridges

Real Stories – The March On Washington

10 True Tales: Young Civil Rights Heroes

And if you are looking for more printable lesson plans then check these out on Etsy

Playdough to Plato has a nice set of printable banners kids can write on about their dreams, how they can be kind, how King changed America and more. These are great little ways for kids to summarize what they have learned.

No Time for Flash Cards has another cute activity, where kids make a world, cut out handprints and share how they would like to change the world.

Curriculum and Crayons has a step-by-step guide to drawing Martin Luther King, Jr., while It’s About Time, Teachers, has a printable poem and a timeline of King’s life.

I love this foldable King Day activity from Teachers with Apptitude. It includes prompts for the kids to write about and pieces to color and put together.

Scholastic has a great collection of books on the civil rights movement for kids if you want to expand your King Day learning to talk about Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, sit-ins and bus boycotts. And Learning in Wonderland has collected a ton of great resources for learning about and celebrating King.

Education.com has a lot of great printables for King Day, including a crossword puzzle, coloring sheets, stories and activities. I love the collage and handprint art ideas.

And if you’re willing to spend a little you can find some great things at Teachers Pay Teachers, too, like this printable booklet for kindergarten and first grade, handprint book and writing prompts, and mini unit study and craft project.

How do you celebrate King Day in the classroom or with your kids at home? I’d love to hear about it!

Next Plan Idea:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Activities for Kids

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply