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Lesson Ideas and Videos

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Keeping the dream alive through civic education Enhance your classroom experience on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day with these teacher-tested lessons from t…

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Lesson plans and videos

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Pages tagged with 'Martin Luther King Jr.'.

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King's "I Have a Dream" speech and the Poor People's Campaign are just two of his many accomplishments. How do you introduce your students to the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? With such an enormous legacy, it can be a daunting task to properly honor Dr. King, his contributions to the civil rights movement, and his significance in American history and culture. So, we pulled together some Martin Luther King, Jr. project ideas and activities for the classroom.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Activities

1. Make a timeline.

To put the work of MLK into perspective for students, create a timeline of major moments in his life. Assign student teams specific moments in Dr. King's life to research. Each team can then present each event to the class in chronological order, forming a human timeline along the way. Some key moments to include are:

1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott, resulting in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation in transportation was unconstitutional

1957: Dr. King elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

1963: Nonviolent campaign aimed at Birmingham, Alabama, including the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and "I Have a Dream" speech

1964: Nobel Peace Prize win at 35 years old, the youngest person to ever receive the honor

1964: Congress passed the landmark Civil Rights Act

1965: Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights in Alabama

1965: Congress passed the Voting Rights Act

1967: Poor People's Campaign announced

1968: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was tragically assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

2. Deliver speeches.

Listen to the "I Have a Dream" speech and encourage dialogue amongst students about Dr. King's platform of nonviolence and peace. Consider how his path of nonviolence can still improve our world today. Then, ask students to think about their dreams for the future. How do they want to see the world improve? After time for reflection, have students write and present their own versions of the iconic speech.

3. Make dreams a reality collage.

If delivering "dream" speeches isn't your class style, another entry point to teaching the "I Have a Dream" speech is with a sentence prompt. "I have a dream that" and "I can make my dream come true by" prompts are easy ways to provoke deeper thought. Turn the dreams into a reality (a real collage, at least) by having students trace their hands on paper of different colors. Cut out the handprints, write their dreams down on the many-colored hands, and arrange them into a beautiful collage of diverse dreams.

4. Hold a parade or a march.

Dr. King championed peaceful protests by organizing marches. Today, we often celebrate MLK Day by having a parade celebrating his life. You can have your own peace parade by having students make signs displaying quotes, hopes, and ideas for spreading peace. Get the grade or even the whole school together if you're feeling really ambitious!

5. Volunteer in your school or community.

One of MLK's most famous quotes is, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" Ask this question of your class, and together come up with ways to help others. Consider big and small ways your class can help out in the community, as a group, and as individuals. School project ideas for helping out could be cleaning up a communal space, partnering up with another grade for tutoring moments, or organizing a food drive.

More MLK Project Ideas and Resources

Other resources and more information to help teach Dr. King in the classroom include:

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Want to further immerse your students in history? Learn more about HMH's new Into Social Studies program for K-6 students.
This blog, originally published in 2019, has been updated for 2021. HISTORY is a trademark of A&E Television Networks LLC. All rights reserved.

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5 Activities to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Your Students

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King's "I Have a Dream" speech and the Poor People's Campaign are just two of his many accomplishments. How do you introduce your students to the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?

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Martin Luther King Jr. | Civil Rights Leader | PBS LearningMedia

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In the second half of the 20th century, racial tensions rose in the United States as African Americans began to challenge unjust laws that supported discrimination and segregation. This movement found its leader in the patient and inspiring minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Students will watch a short video and engage in two primary source activities in order to explore how King’s deep-seated commitment to nonviolence contributed to the expansion of social justice in the United States, particularly for African Americans.

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Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You

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You can be a King. Stamp out hatred. Put your foot down and walk tall. You can be a King. Beat the drum for justice. March to your own conscience. Featuring a dual narrative of the key moments of Dr. King’s life alongside a modern class as the students learn about him, Carole Weatherford’s poetic text encapsulates the

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Hardcover - From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King: “My father’s dream continues to live on from generation to generation, and this beautiful and powerful illustrated edition of his world-changing “I Have a Dream” speech brings his inspiring message of freedom, equality, and peace to the young

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Martin Luther King, Jr: Great Civil Rights Leader

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Paperback / Hardcover - A biography telling the life story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his leadership in the civil rights movement to stop racism, segregation, and discrimination in the United States. Written in graphic-novel format. Age Range: 8 - 15

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Hardcover - In a rich embroidery of visions, musical cadence, and deep emotion, Andrea and Brian Pinkney convey the final months of Martin Luther King’s life -- and of his assassination -- through metaphor, spirituality, and multilayers of meaning. Andrea’s stunning poetic requiem, illustrated with Brian’s lyrical and

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Paperback - On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, to demand equal rights for all races. It was there that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, and it was this peaceful protest that spurred the momentous civil rights laws of the mid-1960s. With black-and-white

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Paperback - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 25 when he helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was soon organizing black people across the country in support of the right to vote, desegregation, and other basic civil rights. Maintaining nonviolent and peaceful tactics even when his life was threatened, King

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video martin luther king i have a dream speech - Google Search

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I Have a Dream” is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on…

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change

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Martin Luther King Jr. “I've Been to the Mountaintop” - April 3, 1968 - Final Famous Speech

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Jeanne Croteau, M.S., Psychology, Master TEFL Certified

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17 Meaningful Facts About Martin Luther King Jr. To Share in the Classroom