Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! It’s been a super busy weekend, and so I decided this post was going to tell you about my favorite Martin Luther King Jr. activity! 
I hope however you are celebrating today that you are doing it with loved ones and remembering what this day is all about–fighting for what we believe in–fighting for equal rights for all people. (Maybe you are even watching President Barack Obama take the oath for the 2nd time!)
Here is a lesson that introduces Martin Luther King, Jr to the kids and also teaches voice, one of the six traits of writing. It also features the book written by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sister, My Brother Martin. You can find the lesson plan at this link: http://margodill.com/blog/2010/01/13/wacky-wednesday-ideas-for-lesson-plans-for-martin-luther-king-jr-day/
If you have a great resource, link, book, or favorite lesson plan for Martin Luther King, Jr, please share it.
photo by BlatantNews.com www.flickr.com (photo is in public domain)
One of my favorite lessons plans for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day I found when I was a writing specialist at Fairmount Elementary School. This lesson teaches children about Martin Luther King, Jr. AND teaches them about that elusive 6 plus one writing trait: voice. Plus, it’s super easy!
You need two books about Martin Luther King, Jr. One should be My Brother Martin, and the other one can be any fact book that you have for kids about Martin Luther King, Jr. Here’s the example:
First read the fact book to your students or your children. Ask them to remember one or two facts they can tell you when you finish reading. Discuss the book. Ask children to rate the book on a scale of 1 to 10. Next read My Brother Martin for this lesson plan for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and ask students to remember one or two facts that they learn in the book. Discuss the book and ask them to rate it.
Next ask students if they want to rate the first book again, and they will want to rate it lower. THEY SHOULD love the book My Brother Martin for the voice and personal glimpse of his life you get from his sister. (Although you’ll always have one or two children that don’t like it better because it’s too long! ) Talk to children about how the voice makes a huge difference in the enjoyment of the book. Whose voice is narrating, My Brother Martin? His sister’s! Whose voice is narrating the nonfiction fact book? An author who did research.
See where I’m going here. . .
You can also use this lesson as an introduction to personal narratives. I love lessons that (1) share books (2) cover more than one topic at a time (3) get kids thinking!
