MLK Activities and a FREEBIE

It's hard to believe we are already half way through January! I just went back to work this week. We had an incredible three week vacation and now reality has set in. My teacher planning wheels are in full gear. 

We jumped in with both feet and started learning about Martin Luther King Jr. I was able to get some of the activities done that I had planned, but our learning is going to continue for several weeks. Tolerance and acceptance of others is not a one month lesson! 

I started off the week by reading this book about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. It was just the right amount of informational text for my kiddos. I hooked them, but didn't lose their interest! Win-win!

Then I used the vocabulary cards from my Martin Luther King Jr. packet to help with comprehension and understanding. We followed up with a vocabulary review page that we used in our ELA interactive notebooks.

As we were reading different books about MLK's life, we created this classroom timeline. It is a great visual reference for my students. I have seen several of them getting up and checking the timeline while they are working on follow up activities. A teacher's dream! 

We also started working on a paper bag interactive books about MLK's life. Oh, how the kids L-O-V-E-D this activity. It was engaging and meaningful because they were in the process of learning about MLK's life. I prepped and stapled the paper bags ahead of time for the kids. They colored and cut each of the parts. Then, as a class, we assembled the books, so there was little room for error.

All these activities can be found in my Martin Luther King Jr. packet. 

And now it's time for a FREEBIE. Here is a True or False Flap Book to kick start or add to your Martin Luther King Jr. activities. It can be completed whole group, in partners, or independently depending on your group of students. 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend! 

Martin Luther King Jr. Activities

Today we remember and celebrate the memory of a great leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We also get to have a wonderful day to sleep in a little longer, create things for our classrooms, organize our lives and time to reflect. I spent part of last week, educating my sweet students about MLK. I wanted them to know why they were getting a day off from school and the importance of MLK's life to our country. I created a packet of activities to use with my kiddos: Martin Luther King Jr. Activities 

We started our week with a story about Martin Luther King Jr. from National Geographic Kids and used the vocabulary cards from my packet to help with comprehension and understanding. We followed up with a vocabulary review page that we used in our ELA interactive notebooks. 

As we were reading about MLK's life, we created a classroom timeline of his life. I chose to use the premade timeline in my packet this year, due to time constraints. However, there are also blank templates in the packet you can use to have your students make the timeline themselves.

We finished the week by making a paper bag book of MKL's life. The kids loved this activity and it was meaningful because they were in the process of learning about his life. I prepped and stapled the paper bags ahead of time for the kids. They spent time coloring and cutting the parts. Then, as a whole group we assembled the books step-by-step so there was little room for error.

The kids were so excited to take their books home and start sharing their new found knowledge with their families. 

We are going to continue our MLK activities this coming week too. We just didn't have enough time last week to fit it all in. Can't wait to show you what we are up to. 

Hope you love this freebie and can use it with your students! Enjoy!