Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love." -Martin Luther King Jr
Art
"I Have A Dream..." Mobile
Have children write on the clouds what their dreams is "for my community", "for my country", "for the world." Attach strings to the clouds and hang from the mobile top.
I Have A Dream Handprints
Need: brown paint and flesh color (beige) paint, red hearts,
construction paper
Give each child a piece of construction paper with a small heart in the center that says "I have a dream..." Have the children dip a hand in brown paint and press onto one side of the paper. Then have the children dip a hand in flesh color paint and press on the other side of the paper.
Black and White
Need: Various colors of items that are black and white.
Provide black and white paper, scissors, and glue, and invite children to use the materials to make collages. Later, add black and white markers, crayons, chalk, and/or paints. Encourage children to experiment with the strong contrasts of the colors. Consider creating a "Black and White" display by covering a bulletin board with black and white construction paper, then hanging children's creations.
Hand Prints
Trace around the right and left hands of several children. Photocopy the handprints and give each child six handprints. Have the children color ( multi-cultural crayons) and cut out the hand prints.
Or have the children trace and cut out handprints from different colored construction papers.
Younger children can glue a heart shape onto the hand prints with the words "I Have A Dream..."
Older children can write on the hands how we help and love others. Have them write on word on each hand and connect the hands to form a sentence.
Snack
Pudding
Make vanilla and chocolate
pudding. Layer into cups for the children. Enjoy!
Book Review
Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0375833358
As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom
by Richard Michelson & Wendy Masi
This is one of the best children's books on MLK I have read; it is not boring! In this picture book a parallel is draw between Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel and their quest for justice and equality.
The childhoods of Martin Jr. and Abraham Heschel are shown with Martin's sense of injustice and his parents encouragement through telling him that he was "as good as anybody." Abraham's childhood is shown in Europe and the barring of Jews from public places. Abraham's parents also told him he was "as good as anyone." The book tells how both men became friends and marched side-by-side for freedom and equality.
Songs
Martin Luther King
tune: "Yankee Doodle"
Dr. King was a man
Who came from Atlanta Georgia.
Had a dream that he preached
For all men to be equal.
Dr King was so brave
Martin was a hero.
Won the fight for everyone
To end discrimination.
Let Us Keep His Dream Alive
tune: "This Old Man"
This young man had a dream;
In his eye he had a gleam.
We must love each other to survive.
Let us keep his dream alive.
He believed man was good;
He had dreams of brotherhood.
We must love each other to survive.
Let us keep his dream alive.
All join hands, let us sing;
Let the bells of freedom ring.
We must love each other to survive.
Let us keep his dream alive.
We can learn from the past;
Then we'll all be "free at last!"
We must love each other to survive.
Let us keep his dream alive.
Sites to See
Lessons
Lessons in Courage:
Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges
(61 page PDF Unit-Grade 1)
A Teeny Tiny book about Martin Luther King Jr. to print from Bry-Back Manor.
Things to Do
A
Box Of Crayons Craft
Print and decorate a crayon pattern. Lesson about the
different colors getting along and liking each other.
History
Freedom'S Ring: "I Have A Dream" Speech
An interactive, animated rendition of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University. This site contains secondary documents written about Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as primary documents written during King's life.
Video
