"I have a dream..."

This week in class, my students learned about Martin Luther King Junior's heroic contributions to our country.  We started by using a class set of books from our third grade storage room.

Students volunteered and took turns reading the pages of the story together as a class.  We stopped throughout the story to discuss how life would have been different without MLK Jr.  Students also shared similarities and differences between MLK and themselves.  For example, many students learned that MLK Jr. enjoyed playing basketball when he was young.  They also couldn't believe that young Martin was told he had to stop playing with two of his friends just because they had different skin colors.

http://www.lauracandler.com/filecabinet/seasonal/MLKBrainPOPVideoPacket.pdf

After reading the story together, students had small group discussions to discuss their reactions.  I was impressed the students' conversations which demonstrated higher level thinking.  Following the discussions, we learned new vocabulary (segregate, civil rights, etc.) using Laura Candler's vocabulary cards.  Each student received a set of flashcards printed on colorful card stock.  Candler provided vocabulary activities, discussion questions, sequence cards, and so much more.  In small groups, students completed the sequence cards to create a timeline.  Students glued the cards to construction paper and added illustrations to each event.  To conclude the lesson, our class watched a short BrainPop video (http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/famoushistoricalfigures/martinlutherkingjr/).  Students enjoyed the video so much they asked how to access the content at home!