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LESSON MINI

Exploring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream

Grade:

K-2

Topic:

People

Unit:

Historical Figures
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Overview

Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking and gesturing at a podium with microphones.
© Julian Wasser

In this lesson mini, students explore the life and message of Martin Luther King, Jr., through a series of hands-on activities such as interactive discussions, role-play scenarios, art, movement, and simple dramatizations. Students connect King’s ideas about kindness, fairness, and peaceful change to their own classroom community and daily experiences.

Ideas for Implementation
Social Studies
Literacy
Library media
Learning centers
Intervention or enrichment
Interdisciplinary collaboration
Key Vocabulary & Definitions
boycott (verb): to stop using or buying something to show you want change
civil rights (noun): the fair treatment and freedoms that all people should have
dream (noun): something you hope will happen in the future
equality (noun): likeness or sameness in the ways people are treated
kindness (noun): an act or instance of being helpful or nice to others
leader (noun): someone who inspires others and whom people follow
march (verb): to walk as a group
peace (noun): harmony among people
speech (noun): what someone says when they speak in front of a group of people
vote (verb): to choose by picking your favorite or what you think is right
Authentic Learning Extensions
Authentic learning opportunities for studying Martin Luther King, Jr., involve real-world experiences and practical applications that help students understand social justice meaningfully. Here are some examples:
Community Connections: Invite students to take a “peace walk” around the school to spot and record examples of kindness they see. If possible, consider a class visit to local museums that offer child-friendly exhibits about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and work when possible. Invite community helpers to visit the classroom and share stories about how they help make the neighborhood a better place for everyone.
Peace and Dreams Art: Invite students to express their understanding of kindness by drawing pictures that show ways to be good friends. They can create cards with peaceful messages to share with classmates. The class can build a “Dream Wall” display featuring student artwork about making the school a kind and fair place for everyone.
Reading Together: Explore Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life through age-appropriate picture books and real photographs. Through read-alouds, students can discuss ways to show kindness and fairness to others. As a culminating project, the class can work together to create their own book about being kind helpers like King.

Choose Activity

Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4
Activity 5
3
Exploring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream

Activity

1:

Learning Kindness from Martin Luther King, Jr.

By the end of the activity, students will be able to identify ways to show kindness and fairness in their classroom, inspired by the message of Martin Luther King, Jr.

30-40

Minutes

Materials

Colored pencils, crayons, or markers
Images of diverse leaders
Special hat or badge for the follow-the-leader game
Whiteboard and display
Writing utensils

Resources

Britannica Library Martin Luther King, Jr., article https://library.eb.com/levels/early/article/Martin-Luther-King-Jr/635146
“I Have a Dream” Strips (one strip per student and one for teacher display)
1
Tell students that during today’s activity they will learn about a special person named Martin Luther King, Jr. They will also talk about being kind and fair and will make a special chain showing how we can care for others.
2
Begin by asking students, “What do you think a leader is?” After listening to students’ ideas, explain that a leader is someone who helps and guides others.
3
Play a brief follow-the-leader game in the classroom, assigning a few students as leaders. Have students follow their leaders on a short walk around the room. Give each leader something special to wear, such as a special hat or badge.
4
After students conclude the walking activity, discuss the experience with them and ask students to share examples of leaders they know. Consider leading the conversation by asking the following:
How did it feel to be a leader?
How did it feel to follow?
5
Use Britannica Library, ImageQuest Jr., or another royalty-free resource to display images of diverse leaders. Include images of people familiar to children (e.g., teachers, community members). Ask students to describe what they notice.
6
Display the images found in the Martin Luther King, Jr., article and ask students to describe what they notice.
Image 1: Explain that King worked to make sure all people were treated fairly.
Image 2: Discuss the March on Washington, and introduce the concept of peaceful protest.
Image 3: Discuss how people honor important figures such as King.
7
Read the “Introduction” section of the Martin Luther King, Jr., article and ask: “Why do you think Martin Luther King, Jr., was so important?” Using simple words, explain: “King had a dream that everyone would be treated fairly and kindly, no matter what they looked like.”
8
Have students sit in a circle on the floor as you discuss concepts of fairness and kindness. Pose these questions to students (offering age-appropriate examples as needed):
What makes something fair?
What are ways to be kind?
How can we make sure everyone gets to play?
How can we make our classroom a happy, friendly place for everyone?
9
Have students return to their seats, and distribute sentence strips to each student. Tell them that they should use the strips to draw or write one way they can be kind to others.
10
To wrap up the activity, have students gather in a circle and join hands. Ask students to take turns sharing one kind thing they’ll do today. Say: “Martin Luther King, Jr., would be proud to see us being kind and fair to everyone.”
11
After the activity, consider connecting all the strips into a chain and hanging the chain where everyone can see it.
Visual Cues: Give students ample access to visual cues to support their understanding of abstract concepts from the activity. Use Britannica School, ImageQuest Jr., or another royalty-free resource to represent abstract concepts such as rights, equality, segregation, and discrimination. Make sure you vet these images beforehand to ensure the content is appropriate for a young audience.
Writing Practice: Ask students to write the answers to the following comprehension question: Who was Martin Luther King, Jr., and what did he believe?
Oral Practice: Instead of the paper-link chain activity, invite students to turn and talk with other students about their dreams. This activity focuses on oral expression and gives students an opportunity to practice speaking in front of their peers and develop their language fluency.
One Teaching, One Assisting: For collaborative teaching and learning environments, this learning activity is well suited to a One Teaching, One Assisting strategy. In this model, one teacher leads the activity while the other circulates, assisting individual students as needed. This ensures that when students encounter difficulties, they receive immediate help in the form of personalized support and answers to their questions. By addressing students’ unique needs and keeping them on track, this approach enhances individual learning experiences and fosters a supportive classroom environment. Studies indicate that immediate feedback and individualized attention can significantly enhance student understanding and retention of material.
Introduction to Leadership: One teacher leads the activity introduction while the assisting teacher helps students form groups and walk around the classroom or school in the follow-the-leader activity.
Image Discussion: One teacher leads the image exploration of Martin Luther King, Jr., while the assisting teacher walks around the room to ensure students understand concepts discussed as a whole class.
Class Discussion: One teacher leads the discussion of fairness and kindness while the assisting teacher helps students sit in a circle and stay on task to ensure that the discussion is rich and beneficial for all students.
Art Activity: One teacher explains the paper-link chain activity while the other hands out the materials needed to complete it. Both teachers walk around the room to help students reflect on their dreams.
Exploring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream

Activity

2:

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dreams for Change

By the end of the activity, students will be able to discuss Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dreams and define terms such as boycott, march, and peaceful.

>40

Minutes

Materials

Chart paper
Colored pencils, crayons, and markers
Drawing paper (one sheet per student)
Images of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Whiteboard and display
Writing utensils

Resources

Britannica Library Martin Luther King, Jr., article https://library.eb.com/levels/early/article/Martin-Luther-King-Jr/635146
1
Tell students that during today’s activity they will learn about Martin Luther King, Jr., through reading, discussion, and role-play activities, exploring his message of fairness and peaceful change.
2
Begin by asking students what they know about Martin Luther King, Jr. To support the discussion, use Britannica Library, ImageQuest Jr., or another royalty-free resource to display two or three age-appropriate images of King leading marches, speaking, and being with his family.
3
Read the Martin Luther King, Jr., article together, pausing to ask the following questions for comprehension checks:
Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
What does it mean to treat people fairly?
What did King want to change?
What was the March on Washington?
How did King’s work help make good rules?
4
Following the reading, use three or four images from Britannica Library, ImageQuest Jr., or another royalty-free resource as visual support to reinforce the main ideas from the article. Consider using historical photos that match key moments from the article (e.g., March on Washington, peaceful protests, King speaking). Ask students to connect each picture to what they just learned.
5
Guide students through role-play scenarios to understand Martin Luther King, Jr.’s important ideas:
Peaceful Marching: Show that people walk together calmly to ask for positive changes. Have students practice walking quietly around the room while holding signs with simple positive messages such as “Be Kind” or “Friends Together.”
Making Choices: Explain voting as a way to make fair group decisions. Practice with a simple choice between two recess games, having students raise hands to vote.
Fair Treatment: Demonstrate equality by dividing students into small groups and giving each group art supplies to share equally while making a friendship poster.
Peaceful Actions: Practice sitting quietly together for one minute to show how peaceful protest works. Talk about using “quiet voices” and “listening ears” when asking for change.
6
After the role-play activities, discuss how students felt and how King helped make things better for everyone. Consider asking, How did it feel to march peacefully? To share fairly? To work together?
7
Have students draw or dictate their ideas for making the classroom or school a better place for everyone.
8
Wrap up by having each student complete this sentence: “Martin Luther King, Jr., helped people by ___.” Write their responses on chart paper to display in the classroom.
Role-Play: Provide necessary guidance and support through repeated modeling and guiding questions to ensure students understand the purpose of the different role-play scenarios and internalize new vocabulary and abstract concepts discussed in the text.
Independent Reading: To accommodate different reading levels, ask students to read the Martin Luther King, Jr., article independently or in pairs. Write guiding questions on the board to help students understand the text, and ask them to complete word sketches using the Draw to Understand instructional strategy. This benefits students’ learning because it provides them an opportunity to think about abstract concepts in a visual way.
Mini Glossary: Instead of using role-play scenarios, use the Mini Glossary instructional strategy to define key ideas. This benefits students’ learning because it provides them the opportunity to explore the meanings of the new words in different written contexts (e.g., by word association, in a sentence, and with a drawing). This provides a different approach to building vocabulary and understanding Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dreams for change.
One Teaching, One Assisting: For collaborative teaching and learning environments, this learning activity is well suited to a One Teaching, One Assisting strategy. In this model, one teacher leads the activity while the other circulates, assisting individual students as needed. This ensures that when students encounter difficulties, they receive immediate help in the form of personalized support and answers to their questions. By addressing students’ unique needs and keeping them on track, this approach enhances individual learning experiences and fosters a supportive classroom environment. Studies indicate that immediate feedback and individualized attention can significantly enhance student understanding and retention of material.
Activity Introduction: One teacher leads the article reading. Afterward, the assisting teacher shows three or four images from Britannica School, ImageQuest Jr., or another royalty-free resource as visual support to reinforce the main ideas from the article.
Group Role-Play: One teacher explains the different role-play scenarios while the assisting teacher helps set up classroom furniture and props for support. In addition, while the lead teacher calls out instructions, the assisting teacher helps students follow the commands and understand terms such as boycott, segregation, and march.
Activity Wrap-Up: Both teachers lead and guide the concluding reflection on King’s life.
Exploring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream

Activity

3:

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Life and Hopes

By the end of the activity, students will be able to talk about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and his important work.

>40

Minutes

Materials

Colored pencils, crayons, or markers
Drawing paper (one sheet per student)
Large poster board (five total)
Writing utensils

Resources

Britannica Library Martin Luther King, Jr., article https://library.eb.com/levels/early/article/Martin-Luther-King-Jr/635146
K-W-L graphic organizer
1
Tell students that during today’s activity they will explore Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life through a discussion and group activity about his life and about fairness and kindness.
2
Begin the activity by asking students to share everything they know about Martin Luther King, Jr. Use a K-W-L graphic organizer to help students organize their thinking and record ideas in the K column (what we know).
3
Guide students to ask questions about King for the W column (what we want to know):
Model asking questions about informational texts.
Use simple who, what, when, where, and why prompts to help students form questions.
4
Read the Martin Luther King, Jr., article aloud. Ask students to actively listen as you read. Pause after each section to discuss and fill in the L column (what we learned) of the graphic organizer.
5
Define key terms from the article, adding simple explanations to the L column. Key terms include boycott, equal rights, rights, and peaceful.
6
Organize the class into five groups and distribute two copies of the Martin Luther King, Jr., article per group. Explain that they will create a timeline of King’s life. First, model how to create a timeline on the whiteboard. Next, provide each group with a large poster board, writing utensils, and colored pencils and markers to create their timelines. Encourage students to write, draw, and label images on their timelines.
7
Invite each group to present its timeline to the whole class. Model and encourage kind, supportive feedback.
8
Share simplified quotes inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Lead a discussion using these quotes and questions:
“I have a dream that one day my four children will be treated fairly.” Ask: What does it mean to be treated fairly?
“I have a dream that one day the people of this nation will live in peace.” Ask: What does it mean to live in peace?
“I have a dream that one day we will all march together for love.” Ask: What is love? How can we show love?
“I have a dream that one day all children will be happy.” Ask: What makes you happy and what makes you sad? How can we help each other feel good?
9
Explain that King’s dream was about a kind world. Distribute drawing paper to each student and invite them to draw their own dream for a classroom or community.
10
Wrap up by having each student share their drawing and one new thing they learned about Martin Luther King, Jr.
Group Activity: Complete the timeline of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life as a whole class on the whiteboard. This promotes students’ learning because it provides them an opportunity to review King’s accomplishments with a more guided approach. Consider providing students with a timeline graphic organizer to fill out while referring to the whiteboard example.
Writing Extension: Offer students the opportunity not only to draw about their dreams but also to write phrases, sentences, or paragraphs depending on their writing levels. This increase in rigor caters to different students’ abilities and enriches the activity.
Acrostic Poems: Offer students the opportunity to complete acrostic poems in their table groups using different words that represent Martin Luther King, Jr.’s beliefs. Suggested words: peace, dream, love, and fair.
Parallel Teaching: For collaborative teaching and learning environments, this learning activity is well suited to a Parallel Teaching strategy. In this model, the class is divided into two groups, and each teacher delivers the same activity simultaneously to their group. This reduces the student-teacher ratio, allowing for more interaction and individualized attention. With smaller groups, students are more likely to participate actively and receive immediate feedback, which fosters a deeper understanding of the content and promotes a more engaging learning experience. Evidence suggests that small-group instruction leads to increased student engagement and improved academic outcomes.
Exploring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream

Activity

4:

Minutes

Materials

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Exploring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream

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5:

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum .
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