What To Do in Preparation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!

I’ve gathered ideas that I have used with great success in my classes over the years to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  These are great activities to do in preparation for the holiday, since we are not in school on this day! 

It is always my hope that these experiences will serve as a reminder to my students that the journey toward better understanding and respect for one another is both worthwhile and ongoing.

We make posters and complete the sentence, “I have a dream that all the people in our country . . .” to compliment the poster.  We take these on a PEACEFUL MARCH around the school campus.  When we return we discuss how it felt to share our message.

We learn the song “We Shall Overcome” and the meaning of these words.  We sing this song for our families at our “Freedom Celebration Open House” in my classroom.

We collect seeds of all different shapes, sizes, and colors and plant them in a giant pot so that they may sprout side by side.  Once these are large enough, we transplant them outside of our classroom in a small garden.  This is a great demonstration of the beauty of diversity!  It is an example of Dr. King’s dream to see people of all races, colors, religions, and beliefs living together in harmony!

Each student creates a book in the shape of a “Peace Sign” and fills each page with something they can do to make this world a more peaceful place.  Each child shares his/her book during our “Freedom Celebration Open House” and receives a “Peace Prize” certificate afterward!  A very proud moment for my students!

I read aloud to my class a variety of stories about Martin Luther King, Jr.  Many of these I prepare for the students to use as a Reader’s Theater. We perform these Reader’s Theaters during our “Freedom Celebration Open House.”  Click on each of the three Reader's Theaters below to see a sample.

Click to get this Reader's Theater!

Click to get this Reader's Theater!