6 Lesson Plan Ideas for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

There are few people in the history of the United States that have done more to advance civil rights than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He marched, spoke, was assaulted, arrested, and eventually killed for his activism and beliefs.

We remember him and his mission every year around January 15th, recognizing that students of all ages should learn the lessons in his struggle to ensure our country doesn’t repeat the mistakes of our past.

 This week I put together a list of six lesson plans for educators to use this Martin Luther King Jr. day, and beyond.

While most of these lessons only require simple materials, a few require computers, projectors, and/or interactive whiteboards. Each lesson plan is paired with a materials list to help you decide whether it’s right for your classroom.

Let’s get started!

Lesson plans for MLK Jr. day

Grade level: K-5

1. Sequencing Events

This technology-dependent lesson walks students through the sequence of major events in Dr. King’s life and explores his impact as a leader of the civil rights movement. This lesson uses integrative whiteboards, BrainPOP videos, vocabulary words, and timeline charts to help young students gain a firm grasp on King’s historical lifetime.

Because of the dependence on technology, this lesson may fall out of reach for some schools. If your school already has the necessary materials, however, this is a useful and integrative lesson plan that will keep your students’ interest.

2. Dr. King’s Dream

This lesson introduces young students to the ideas and words of Martin Luther King Jr. through his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Students will take what they learn about King’s life and work as a civil rights leader and create picture books based on their own dreams of freedom in the landscape of today’s America.

Covered topics include the “I Have a Dream” speech, King’s childhood, the March on Washington, and the meaning of Dr. King’s words. Standard art supplies (paper, crayons, markers, etc.), videos of various King speeches (easily accessible online), and images of civil rights marches are necessary for this lesson.

Grade level: 6-8

3. The Power to Persuade

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of history’s best orators and writers, with the power to change minds and hearts through not only his words but the delivery of them. This lesson teaches students about powerful and impassioned arguments through the lens of Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”.

In this lesson, students write their own version of the letter, making their own arguments for desegregation of schools, restaurants, and buses, and share them with the class in an attempt to persuade each other to their point of view.

The only materials needed for this lesson are an excerpt of the letter provided in the link above (either projected in the classroom or provided via handouts) and individual sheets of paper for the students to craft their own letters.

4. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Power of Nonviolence

This lesson explores the importance of King’s philosophy of nonviolence and the impact of Mahatma Gandhi on King’s life and work. Students will learn how to apply this philosophy to current cultural and political issues by reading King’s writing on the subject, studying nonviolent protests, and discussing King’s writing in a group setting.

This lesson can be easily expanded into other cultures, such as Nelson Mandela’s work to end South African apartheid and his eventual rise to that country’s presidential office. The lesson plan links to additional resources that facilitate this expansion.

The only materials needed for this lesson are handouts of King’s and Mahatma Gandhi’s writings for the students.

Grade level: 9-12

5. I Have a Dream: Exploring the Nonviolence in Young Adult Texts

In this lesson, Students pull from the past and the present to explore nonviolence in conflict resolution. You’ll use the lyrics of the rapper Common and writer Walter Dean Myers to point to the lasting impact of Dr. King’s nonviolent activism and views.

After the lesson ends, students will have assigned homework reading: the short story “Monkeyman” by Walter Dean Myers.

For this lesson, you’ll need a computer to play King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Common’s song “A Dream,” as well as a few handouts available through the lesson plan link above.

6. How Have Civil Rights Movements Resulted in Fundamental Political and Social Change in the United States?

This reading comprehension lesson is packed with critical thinking exercises and lesson review materials. Students study various civil rights movements—the 1960s civil rights movement, Cesar Chavez’s farmworkers' rights movements, and women’s suffrage—and identify the movement type and tactics used.

After the lesson, students break into groups to select a contemporary civil rights movement to analyze. They’ll break down the organization, objectives, and importance of civil disobedience within that movement.

The only necessary materials here are the linked lesson handout and an internet connection, making it a low-cost lesson plan ideal for cash-strapped teachers.

Additional Links:

https://prezi.com/p/s5o_nio08x9g/the-life-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr/
https://prezi.com/p/7rm52kd8mo3v/the-civil-rights-movement/
https://prezi.com/p/ytopyphmzaev/nonviolence-in-the-civil-rights-movement-when-king-met-gandhi/

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How to Motivate Students Using These Tips!

 Do you know how to motivate students? Or are you having trouble? We’ve all been there at some point or another in our teaching careers. Most good students aren't born good learners. Yes, individual personality plays a big part in a child's willingness to learn and their overall disposition when it comes to schooling and education, but most children who are good learners at some point had to become good learners. More importantly, any student, who possesses the basic aptitude and receives the right motivation, can become a good learner.

One of the biggest mistakes teachers and parents can make when it comes to developing students and children who are good learners is to limit learning to the classroom. While the classroom will likely be the primary source of instruction, intellectual, social and academic growth should extend outside the walls of the classroom – if you want to really enhance a child's desire and ability to learn. The following are proven tips and strategies that will motivate your child to learn. Apply them correctly, and you'll see your students discover the joy of learning.

Allow for Student Choice

A great way to motivate students is to give them a choice. When giving students an assignment, offer students a menu of options to choose from. When students get the option to choose what they will learn and how they will learn, then they will become intrinsically motivated.

Keep Students Interacting

When students are interacting with their peers, they are engaged, and when they are engaged they are motivated and therefore not bored. The more activities that have your students interacting with one another (think cooperative learning groups), the more you will see the classroom motivation level rise.

Teach in a Different Environment

Sometimes all you need to spark student interest is to move your students out of the environment that they are used to and into somewhere new and exciting. Going on a field trip or even just taking your lesson outdoors can be a great way to gain student interest.

Teach to All Students’ Abilities

Every student learns differently, and when you are able to reach each student to the best of his own abilities, then you will have successfully engaged them. To ensure that each learner will be engaged and motivated to learn, be sure to differentiate lessons and activities.

Develop an atmosphere of reading

Some people would argue that reading it the key to success in life. We would most certainly argue that at minimum reading is a key to success in learning. Children who develop a love of reading, develop a love for learning. Children who struggle with reading, struggle with learning.

Reading not only helps children develop a much richer vocabulary, but it also helps their brain learn how to process concepts and formal communication. And the skills gained from reading extend far beyond increased performance in language art classes. Students who read well experience an enhanced ability to learn in all subjects – including technical subjects such as math and science.

A key to developing good readers, it to make reading fun – not frustrating. If a child decides that reading is boring or frustrating, they won't want to read and their ability to learn will be diminished. Let children pick their own books to read, help them read, and create activities for them that make reading fun.

Have Students Establish Attainable Goals

One of the best ways to motivate students is to have them establish a few attainable goals for themselves.  Have students think of a few academic goals that they would like to set for themselves such as get an A on their math test, or know all of their multiplication tables, etc. Then have them set a time for which they want that goal to be reached. Goals are the perfect way to help to intrinsically motivate students.

Create a Friendly Classroom Competition

There is no denying that children love a little competition. So having students be able to compete against their peers is a great way to create some excitement in your classroom. Try breaking students into two groups and compete in a relay race or play a Jeopardy!-style game. Any kind of academic spin that you can put on a fun competitive game will help to boost student engagement and motivation.

Using games as an education tool not only provides opportunities for deeper learning and development of non-cognitive skills, it helps motivate children to want to learn. Games that are entertaining provide the added benefit of motivating children to want to engage in the learning process and want to learn more.

Share your enthusiasm for learning

Enthusiasm rubs off, especially when it comes to learning new things. If your student sees that you're sincerely enthusiastic about learning, they're likely to become enthusiastic about learning. Whether it's history, science, reading, writing or even math, help him see that learning is a journey of exciting new discoveries. Take every opportunity – without being overwhelming or overbearing – to discover new information with him. As your student sees the joy and excitement learning brings to your life, they'll begin to share your enthusiasm for learning new things as well.

Share Achievements

No matter how small they may be, it's important to recognize and celebrate your students' achievements. This is especially important for elementary age school children who require constant positive reinforcement to keep them motivated to learn and challenge themselves to do better. Promote the efforts of your students by sharing their accomplishments and achievements. You can share them with the classroom and you can broaden the range by sharing them with the entire school as well as the outer community.

Give Up Some Control

When it comes to education, all some kids experience is control, control, control. When a child feels controlled, or out of control when it comes to their education, they often withdraw from learning. It's important to guide children through the learning process, but it's just as important to allow children to have control of their own learning experience. For example, when assigning a writing project, allow children to choose their topic to write about. Allow your students to decide where they will take their tests or read their books. You can even allow them to control how they will take their test (multiple-choice, short answer, etc.) or what they will.

Make Your Lessons Relatable

There is no denying that when you make your lessons more relatable, your students will care more about what they are learning. Try and intertwine whatever you are teaching your students to what is going in their lives or to something that they have already learned or no about. 

Make every day a learning day

Turning every day into a learning day may sound like a bit much, but it really isn't, if you go about it the right way. Whenever possible, encourage your child to explore the world around him, ask questions and make connections. Help him categorize, classify and thinking critically of what he sees and experiences. Turning every day into a learning day will help your child develop the internal motivation to learn in the classroom, at home or wherever he may be.

Give Students Something to Look Forward to

A great motivator is to give your students something to look forward to. Have it be a class field trip, a Fun Friday celebration, or a get-out-of-homework pass. For an unmotivated classroom, earning something even as little as a little free time can be a huge motivator.

What are some ways that you motivate your students? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below, we would love to hear what you do in your classroom.

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New Year, New Habits: 8 Tips to have a Great Start Getting Back to School!

                                             Happy New Year everyone!

Exhausted teachers and punchy students: a perfect recipe for winter break. While everyone’s looking forward to a few weeks’ respites from teaching, grading and classroom crowd control, now is a good time to set goals for the new year. Here are five tips for teachers to remember in the new year:

Plan a January reboot

While the beginning of a school year is an essential time for establishing classroom rules and expectations, returning from the long winter break provides another chance to help students be good citizens of the classroom. Reviewing academic and behavioral expectations can help everyone refocus for the last half of the school year.

This time also provides an opportunity to reset bad habits if students were starting to slip before the break. Gently modeling classroom rules can get everyone back on track for the new year. Rewarding students who are well-behaved helps ensure that everyone understands your expectations.

Help students find new study habits

Students may need help rebooting their out-of-class behavior as well. By winter break, they have received semester and trimester grades, and they may return with new study skills or better grades in mind.

Reviewing the importance of active reading, effective note-taking, studying, and completing homework in a timely manner will help students refocus on their academics in the new year. Some students might not even know they need help in these areas. Often we give them homework or expect them to study without training them in how to do so effectively. A short January session on soft skills may be exactly what they need to improve their performance moving forward.

Start note-taking for next year

If you don’t already keep a teaching journal, now is the time to start. After each day’s lessons, take a few minutes to reflect on what worked, what did not work, and why. If students had unusual or surprising questions, record them as well.

These notes will be essential in creating next year’s lesson plans. Even if you don’t plan to teach the course in the following school year, keeping such notes is an ideal way to record the work you do as an instructor and ensure your best lessons are not lost to time.

Set professional development goals

Teaching is a dynamic career that requires professional development and continuing education. While some professional development is institutionally driven, you owe it to yourself to look outside of school to pursue personal research, continuing education, and participation in professional organizations.

Sit down in January and consider your personal goals, including short-, medium- and long-term achievements. If concurrent enrollment or a part-time professorship is among the goals, consider finding continuing education opportunities that align with your immediate licensing requirements and long-term priorities.

While they may not count toward credit for professional development, finding online communities or connections through social media and Tweetchats can provide ideas and support, often making curriculum and assignment development easier. Consider broadening your professional connections to your short-, medium- or long-range goals.

Strive for more balance

One of the biggest issues of the teaching profession is maintaining work-life balance. This is key to maintaining a long and healthy career. During your note-taking and professional development goal-making, consider also setting healthy limits to your at-home grading and planning time, and brainstorm ways to make teaching a more manageable career.

A short writing assignment can be as challenging or more so than a long one, and answering one or two questions for thoughtfully created student homework still requires students to engage content outside of the classroom in a meaningful way — but both reduce grading workload.

Whatever habits you strive to set, January is a perfect time to examine practices, both student and personal, and adopt some school New Year’s resolutions. Despite being in the middle of a school year, the long break and new calendar year provide the perfect time for a reboot.

Try to make time for your friends and family, because they're the ones who will keep you sane when work gets overwhelming. Make sure to try that exercise class, join that book club, and embrace all the things that keep you happy. Happy teachers make for happy classrooms!

Clean Up!

If you're anything like me, you're organized, yet working in conditions of almost-chaos at the same time. Yes, I generally know where the materials I need are located, but I may have to dig through a pile of student work, intervention resources, and curriculum guides to get them.

I try to leave work on Friday afternoons with a clean desk because it helps me feel ready to begin the week when I come back in on Monday morning. One of my own personal New Year's teaching resolutions is to keep my desk and materials organized. While realistically I know this will be a challenge for me, I believe being more mindful will help!

Have Fun

As you frantically work to get through 100% of your curriculum within the allotted time period, remember that the days you let social studies slide in favor of some independent reading time, group activity, or a fun craft are the days your kiddos will remember.

When I think back to my own time in fourth grade, I remember going to the school store, doing extra credit assignments, the boundless energy of my math teacher, and playing tetherball at recess. I have no idea what the standards were or what my grades on pre- and post-assessments looked like.

I remember the fun. Your kids will too.

Be Realistic

As beautiful and grand as New Year's resolutions tend to be, they are also easily left by the wayside. If you don't miraculously have a clean and organized desk on February 1, if you sometimes forget to prepare for that small group, if you don't do all of the things you pressure yourself to do, it'll be okay.

We all love our kids, and that driving factor truly is the most important thing.

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