Martin Luther King Jr. is such an important person in our nation’s history. Although we have a lot more work to do as a country to ensure equal rights to all citizens, Martin Luther King, Jr. worked hard for the rights of African-Americans. Here are some activities to help teach your middle school students learn about this historic American.
Martin Luther King Jr. Activities
First, it is important for your students to learn about Martin Luther King Jr’s life and learn about his dedication and the esteemed leader. In this Martin Luther King Jr. Author Adventure, in the five activities, your students will go on a road trip to where Martin Luther King Jr. lived, learn about his life, determine facts and fiction, analyze his writing, and dive deeper into his famous quotes.
Want to allow students to showcase their artistic creativity while learning about Dr. King? Check out this engaging 3D craftivity that allows students to display just that! This Martin Luther King, Jr. 3D Craftivity explores vocabulary, defining, paraphrasing, close-reading, and pulling text-based evidence. This will certainly engage your students while working to show what they know about the iconic leader.
Dr. King was an amazing public speaker with an abundance of powerful and meaningful quotes. Have students research some of his speeches and quotes and pick a quote that is powerful to them. Students should create an image that displays the quote for others to read. Have students share the quote choices with their classmates and explain why they chose the quote they did.
Have you heard of Mix It Up at Lunch Day? Check out this fun idea and consider asking your entire school to participate in in the day:
If your school cannot coordinate this, consider doing it in your classroom for the day.
Also, show your students exactly where Martin Luther King, Jr. was actually born and where he grew up with this tour of his home:
Are you reading The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hate You Give, Dear Martin, or any other piece of literature dealing with tolerance, prejudices, racism, and stereotyping? This social experiment will open your students’ eyes to the injustices that take place on a daily basis and why people need to be educated on these topics:
Hopefully this post has provided you with some fresh suggestions for teaching about such an important individual. Please keep in mind that teaching about Dr. King should not be limited to the month of January, and Black History should be taught year-round too, not just in February. We, as a whole nation, need to work to learn more about the injustices minorities are still facing, and work together to make positive changes.
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