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?