Martin Luther King Jr. / MLK Pack Available Now

My Martin Luther King Jr. pack is available now on Teachers Pay Teachers!  Check it out for primary-appropriate trace, color, timeline and matching activities.  Directions for pages and biographical information about Dr. King are phrased in kid-friendly terms.

As usual, my favorite Clip ARTISTS,  Edu-Clips and Whimsy-Clips made the wonderful graphics used in this pack:

                                            

Craft: Our Friend, Martin

Today, after learning some facts about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Stars asked if they could "do a Dr. King craft."  

Happy to oblige, I quickly dug through our scrap paper bin and put the paper cutter to use.

Here's what you'll need for each student:

1 four-inch diameter brown circle (head)

1 one-inch diameter brown circle (to be cut in half for ears)

1 5 X 4 black rectangle (body)

4 4 X 1.5 black rectangles (arms and legs)

1 white triangle (point down, for shirt)

2 small white triangles (for shirt collar)

1 2 X 2 brown square (fold in half and cut two ovals for hands)

1 2 X 2 gray square (fold in half and cut two ovals for shoes)

2 small white circles or wiggle eyes

blue crayon (tie)

black crayon (hair, eyes, nose, mustache, mouth)

I model assemblage projects like this at my desk step by step, sending the Stars back to their own for each part of the project:

Dr. King is holding a banner that reads " Our Friend, Martin, Had a Dream:"

A fact sheet was glued to the back.

Click here for the link to my Facts About Our Friend pdf.

Even pre-cut assemblage crafts such as this end up having their own character!

*****

Each January, it's always interesting to hear my students' interpretations and opinions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and segregation. After a kindergarten-appropriate introduction and explanation of segregation (we listened to a retelling of Rosa Parks' story and Dr. King's subsequent involvement, and then sorted blocks by color, but ~kept~ sorted groups apart no matter what, even if one block piece was needed for our constructions), I eavesdropped while the Stars worked with partners at centers.  One pair re-enacted Rosa Parks' bus incident at our dollhouse.  After reaching the point where the police were called, the Stars stopped.

Student 1:  This is silly.  

Student 2:  I know, but it's just pretend.

Student 1:  No, I mean the police part.  The man had bad manners.  A man wouldn't ask a lady to move.  He was rude.

Student 2:  I wonder why the policeman didn't tell him that?

Student 1:  Maybe the policeman was rude too.

Student 2:  You know, if I had tired feet, and there were no more places to sit, I'd just ask someone to take turns with me.  She can sit for a few minutes, then I can sit for a few minutes.  Then she can sit for a few minutes, then I can sit for a few minutes.

Student 1:  Yeah, that would work.  

Student 2:  We solved the problem Mrs. Sommerville!

Another pair was trying to figure out ~why~ segregation happened.  Earlier, the Stars decided that segregation meant "sorting people by their skin color and not letting them be together no matter what."  

Student 1:  Did the brown people have bad germs?

Student 2:  Nope.

Student 1:  Did they have cooties?

Student 2:  Nope.

Student 1:  Were they going to get markers and color all of the peachy people brown?

Student 2:  That's funny!  But nope, they weren't going to make everyone else brown. 

Student 1:  Huh.  I don't get it.  What was the problem?

Student 2:  Maybe the peachy people thought the brown people DID have germs and cooties and WERE going to color everybody else.

Student 1:  Well that's just fiction.  It doesn't really happen.

Student 2:  I know. 

Student 1:  I mean, I colored my baby brother when I was in pre-k, but I used ALL of my markers, not just the brown one.  So coloring people can really happen, but EVERYBODY doesn't do it.

Student 2:  Uh huh.

*****

What have you heard lately from your students?

Introductions

Like most teachers, I have many wonderful memories of each year's group of students I've taught. Those funny moments, hysterical stories, soul-searching questions and eager explorations could fill a book effectively mapping my teaching career. They are more milestones to me than any of my teaching evaluations could ever be.

As a kindergarten teacher, I don't always feel that I'm teaching lessons or concepts in the traditional sense. What I do feels more interactive and social in much the same way I find myself operating when I'm in "military spouse mode." Meeting new people, making introductions, following social etiquette, trying to put people at ease, guiding the audience to feel welcome... the same format applies when I'm seated with five and six year olds on the floor, ready to sing or share a story.

Each year, one of my favorite "introductions" is between my Super Stars and Martin Luther King Jr.



My students enjoy some background stories and information, Weekly Reader or Scholastic usually provide take-home fliers, posters and activities, and then we listen to the "I Have a Dream" speech. In its entirety. And every year that my students have listened to the speech, you could have heard a pin drop on carpet. The wigglers, the blurters, the most animated of children, all transfixed, for the entire speech.

There's something about listening to a message that has purpose and truth behind it- even children can intuitively feel the speaker's intent. Some of my favorite student comments:

"Teacher, I like that man. He said I could go to school with my friends."

"He has a big voice, but he's not scary or mean."

"Did his dream come true, Teacher?"

Introduction made. Talk amongst yourselves.