Celebrating Martin Luther King Day in the Classroom
Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most influential figures in U.S. history. He believed all should be treated equal and nothing is more true still today. We must teach our kiddos the meaning of the holiday and why we honor Martin Luther King Jr. today! Today’s blog post has a few ideas for you to celebrating Martin Luther King Day in the classroom.
If you are looking for general tips about holidays in the classroom, check out an old post HERE. For other January ideas visit my January category on my blog! For other seasonal activities, consider January Binder Tasks, January Directed Drawing, or January Vocabulary Activities.
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What Is Martin Luther King Day?
Because Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most influential figures in US history, it is important to educate students about him. This social story will help you provide some insight to the holiday. It will also teach kiddos why the holiday is so important. This social story comes in three different version to make differentiation a breeze!
Martin Luther King Day Picture Books
There are SO many amazing children’s book to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Below are some of my favorites, but I could have listed many more! These books can be read throughout the entire month (and year).
- A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson
- Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
- We March by Shane W. Evans
- This is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore
- A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A Adler
- Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? by Bonnie Bader
Communication on Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King became famous for his speeches. It was his way of using words that made a difference in our world. We don’t want to limit our students ability to speak either. It is important to always offer the right tools to build communication in the classroom. These two tools shown below are some great ways to build communication over the Martin Luther King Day holidays.
Martin Luther King Day Videos and Songs
Videos are a great way to help students generalize new concepts in a fun and visual way. Here are two perfect videos to add to your Martin Luther King Day lesson plans!
Martin Luther King Day Crafts and Activities
Gabrielle from Teaching Special Thinkers has THE cutest free MLK day activities. To read more and to grab her freebies, check out her blog!
Holidays can be a blast in the classroom if planned out ahead of time. I know this blog post is full of all sorts of goodies, and I completely understand if you can’t incorporate all of these ideas every year. I do hope you found some of these tips and tricks helpful for this holiday season. If you plan on discussing more holidays this year, check out my Holiday social stories discounted bundle!
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