# data[].attributes.headline
How can we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy by crafting a better world today?

# data[].attributes.subject
How can we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy by crafting a better world today?

# data[].attributes.body
We read this article about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s granddaughter to think about Dr. King's legacy and its connection to service.

One quote from the article was the jumping off point to think about creating cards and messages for the SWS day of service:

"For the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday last month, Yolanda traveled to Washington, D.C. with her family. They spent the day serving the city's homeless population. 'We think that it's a day of service,' Yolanda said of the holiday. They served meals and passed out scarves and hats."

# data[].attributes.headline
"We celebrate him because he gives us hope." Bishop, Kindergarten .                                                              Click  below  for beautiful creations and complex conversations.        

# data[].attributes.subject
"We celebrate him because he gives us hope." Bishop, Kindergarten .                                                              Click  below  for beautiful creations and complex conversations.        

# data[].attributes.body
Our first provocation about Dr. King was in the story Belle: the Last Mule at Gee's Bend.  Belle was a hero for Gee's Bend for many reasons including helping the Black people from there get to the polls to vote after being blocked from voting by white community members.  Dr. King also visited Gee's Bend and was inspired by the people there.

# data[].attributes.headline
We discussed Dr. King and his legacy. Students shared...

# data[].attributes.subject
We discussed Dr. King and his legacy. Students shared...

# data[].attributes.body
"He was shot and killed because people did not agreed with the changes he was trying to make. He told people to stop riding buses until the law changes and it did change!" - Jayce

"He fought with his words, not with his actions. He lead a parade through Washington and at the end he gave a big speech" - Zoe

"He told black people that they mattered" - Calvin

"Since he fought with his voice, he got a peace prize" - Elliott

"He fought for justice and told people they cannot be judged by the color of their skin but by who they are." - Clara

"He was a preacher, someone who makes speeches." - Oscar

"He said he wanted Black people and White people to be treated the same." - Capella

# data[].attributes.body
We then discussed how Belle, from Gee's Bend, contributed to spreading Martin Luther King Jr.'s message and the different roles she played that helped her community. Connections were made to other community helpers we have read about. We wrote about Belle individually or in small groups, drew pictures, and then created collages together.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Cheers, Dr. King! Happy Birthday and thank you!

# data[].attributes.headline
Santé Dr. King! Joyeux Anniversaire et Merci! 

# data[].attributes.subject
Santé Dr. King! Joyeux Anniversaire et Merci! 

# data[].attributes.body
Nous levons nos verres à vous, Dr. King!

(We raise our glasses to you, Dr. King!)

# data[].attributes.headline
Je lève mon verre à... (I raise my glass to...)

# data[].attributes.subject
Je lève mon verre à... (I raise my glass to...)

# data[].attributes.body
Please click this link to learn how we've been honoring Dr. King's legacy in French, then enjoy some student work samples below. Merci!

# data[].attributes.headline
Kids have power! What would third-graders march for!

# data[].attributes.subject
Kids have power! What would third-graders march for!

# data[].attributes.body
Through reading Let the Children March, third grade realized the power and impact kids have. After, we learned about various marches Dr. King was involved in throughout his life. Dr. King believed children have a better view of right and wrong and be fearless in the struggle for progress. The third graders concluded by making a list of very important issues that they thought Dr. King would lead if he was alive today and made protest posters for what they would march for.

# data[].attributes.headline
We used the Whole School Community Question to begin thinking about Dr. King. "How are we continuing Dr King's legacy to create a better world?"

# data[].attributes.subject
We used the Whole School Community Question to begin thinking about Dr. King. "How are we continuing Dr King's legacy to create a better world?"

# data[].attributes.body
"Dr. King makes me think about peace and love."

"He wanted people to come together."

"He was involved in protests and speeches."

"Dr King helped build community among people that had different color skin."

"He helped get rid of things that divided people."

"He protested for equal rights."

Then our conversation landed on segregation and what it meant. "People were separated because of the color of their skin. Everyone couldn't do the same things or go the same places."

# data[].attributes.headline
We read and discussed, "March On!" to get a different perspective on Dr. King's I have a Dream speech.

# data[].attributes.subject
We read and discussed, "March On!" to get a different perspective on Dr. King's I have a Dream speech.

# data[].attributes.body
Students loves the poetic language. "The sun prepared for its' hot dance across the sky."

# data[].attributes.body
We explored how authors and artists use symbolism to convey big ideas with pictures and words. In this book, the fence that separates the white and black children symbolized segregation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Second grade will continue to explore this topic as we prepare to lead the whole school community meeting on 1/23/23.

# data[].attributes.subject
Second grade will continue to explore this topic as we prepare to lead the whole school community meeting on 1/23/23.

# data[].attributes.headline
List of topics 3rd grade believes Dr. King would lead protests for today! 

# data[].attributes.subject
List of topics 3rd grade believes Dr. King would lead protests for today! 

# data[].attributes.body
Packages being stolen brings sad feelings. Jack would lead a march to end package stealing.

# data[].attributes.body
Emily realizes littering is a big people and created a flag she would hold when she leads a March to end littering.

# data[].attributes.body
Edison wants people to be treated kindly and would lead a March to stop stealing!

# data[].attributes.body
If you do not have a sign, Aviv has extras! He wants to lead a March to stop climate control.

# data[].attributes.body
Amere has something to say about littering. He would lead a March to stop littering!

# data[].attributes.body
Rigel feel the roads are unsafe and will lead a March to put a stop to so many people speeding!

# data[].attributes.body
Orly wants safer streets! She would lead a peaceful March to have less unsafe drivers on the road!

# data[].attributes.body
Nick would lead a March to remind people that stealing isn’t kind.

# data[].attributes.body
Harry has something on his mind. He would lead a March to stop child abuse around the world!

# data[].attributes.body
Milo is about peace! He would love to lead a March to be more politeness and less fighting!

# data[].attributes.body
Tommy is tired of children and others having access to things they shouldn’t! Tommy wants to have a march to save more kids lives by looking up weapons.

# data[].attributes.body
Corinne and Thiago will lead a march to end animal abuse!

# data[].attributes.body
Nigel wants to lead a March to end animal abuse!

# data[].attributes.body
Dakota wants to lead a March to have less weapons!

# data[].attributes.body
Zere is trying to lead a march to have safer apps! Don’t get trapped!

# data[].attributes.body
Bebe and Tinsley want to lead a March to end animal abuse!

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Michael wants to have a March to stop violent video games!

# data[].attributes.body
Katalina and Sanderson would led a stop littering March!

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
As we enter into the learning of Dr. King’s legacy, we believe its important to start in a place that gives context to his work and how its our work as humans

# data[].attributes.headline
To truly learn about why we celebrate MLK, our class read a series of books to give us context on why Dr. King's work was important for all human kind... below are pictures of those books we read as a class and discussed

# data[].attributes.subject
To truly learn about why we celebrate MLK, our class read a series of books to give us context on why Dr. King's work was important for all human kind... below are pictures of those books we read as a class and discussed

# data[].attributes.headline
Martin's big words: Initial Conversation

# data[].attributes.subject
Martin's big words: Initial Conversation

# data[].attributes.body
"That book won a lot of awards!" - Kais

"That's Martin Luther King. When I was sleeping I dreamed about him!
He already died but there are books about him" - Reza

What do you know about Martin Luther King Jr.?
"Martin Luther King said no, no hitting and punching with fists". - Autumn
"He got up to make a speech and he said, no! It's not fair and you have to be kind!" - Libby
"He wanted to treat the world fairly" - Henry
When he got shotted and killed Coretta Scott King did his work. I learned that from Mrs. Fravel.- Emmy

# data[].attributes.body
Who was Rosa Parks? How did she think about fair and unfair? Did she get into good trouble? How can we learn to see the difference between good rules and unfair rules?

"We heard about Rosa Parks in Music class!"- Lucia

"After that they marched!" - Naeel

It was not fair and they changed the laws to make it fair. - James

She was a good girl because she thought that wasn't fair and she said No! - Autumn

She should have sat in front because it's fair - Gordon

# data[].attributes.body
"That's not nice to Martin Luther King. He was making the world really good!"- Mayah

"That's not nice. That's not fair. Shooting people, I won't do that, I can't. That's not how you solve problems." - Zoe

"He's not going to make the world a better place again." - Lucia

We don't have Martin Luther King Jr. anymore but what do we still have?

"His love!" - Hattie

" If he can't do it we can still do it. We can do his job. We just need to follow his rules." - Zoe

"Be nice." - Graham

"Love each other." - Lucia

"Treat people kindly." - Emerson

"If he is dead we can still make the world a better place." - Mia

# data[].attributes.body
Mr. Leavitt's 2nd grade class sings "Why?" This song was written by Gene Taylor, Nina Simone's bass player, when he heard the news that Dr. King had been assassinated. Nina Simone sang this song in a program honoring Dr. King on April 7th, 1968, three days after his death. All students have been learning the first part of the song. Here are the lyrics they've been singing:

Once upon this planet Earth
Lived a man of humble birth
Preaching love and freedom for his fellow men

He was dreaming of the day
Peace would come to Earth to stay
And he spread this message all across the land

# data[].attributes.body
All music classes are exploring the connection between music, Dr. King, and the civil rights movement. This display (photo above) is in the hallway outside the music room. It includes portraits of Black musicians who were connected to MLK and the Freedom Movement in a variety of ways- maybe most importantly through their music. Also included in the display is a beautiful quote about the power of music from an essay Dr. King wrote for the Berlin Jazz Festival of 1964. During each music class, students learn about one of these musicians, listen to/sing/play their music, then go into the hallway to sit in front of this collage to find and discuss the artists they've learned about so far.

# data[].attributes.body
After reading our school's focus book, Belle the Last Mule at Gee's Bend, our class reflected on the role "old Belle" played in Dr. Martin Luther King's history and his legacy. Students discussed the difference unexpected heroes can make in their communities, just as Belle did.

Shown below, students worked in small groups to reflect on and illustrate their ideas. Each image can be enlarged with a click.

# data[].attributes.body
Students read "Let the Children March" in their library class with Ms. Fravel. The conversations they had in library class helped them to make connections with our learning and conversations.

# data[].attributes.body
As we read, many questions and conversations came up:

Who was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?

"He was an activist that helped with segregation and made it so white people and Black people could play together."
-Cooper

What is the "American Dream?"

"I think it's like freedom and fairness."
-Thomas

What does "the content of their character" mean?

"It means like how they act instead of what color they are or what religion they are."
-Alonzo

# data[].attributes.body
We are continuing our learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reading this book. We have made connections with our earlier learning and conversations.

# data[].attributes.body
To begin our thinking around MLK, our class read Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier. Before we read, I asked students to share if they recognized MLK's picture on the cover of the book, and who MLK was:

- "He looks like a gentleman." -Zamora
- "He looks like a president, too. Because he has - because the shirt... Sometimes he likes to go to nice parties, and sometimes he doesn't." -Jamie
- "I heard about him in the art studio. He's a superhero!" - Jacob
- "He's at the supermarket." -Zamora

We read through Martin's Big Words a couple times as a class. During our second read-through, I paused at the "love is the key to the problems of the world" quote and asked students to share their thoughts about problems in our world and how we can solve them:

- "You can fix the heart with tape." -Brylee
- "My car is broken. To a mechanic." -Charlie
- "My brother hits me, and that makes me sad. My mom gives us a time-out when me and Andrew hit each other." -Kat
- "I can give Henry my Pokémons. Every night. When he wants some more. Because he doesn't have any." -Charlie
- "Sometimes my brothers hit me. I say 'stop.' I keep saying it. I tell my mom or dad." - Jacob

# data[].attributes.body
We continued our thinking and discussion around MLK by reading I Have a Dream, as illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Before reading, Ms. S asked friends to reflect on what they'd learned so far about MLK - why was he so special?

-"Because he made these changes." - Jamie
"He made the white people and the black people live together. So they didn't have to be by themselves." - Charlie

---
As we read, students shared what they saw and what they thought:

- "[I see] holding hands. The black people and the white people." - Charlie
- "He [MLK] is feeling excited. Because he's seeing everything that he wants." - Jacob

---
We revisited this text again the following day. After reading through with friends, Ms. S asked students to reflect on what we could do to keep MLK's dream still going:

- "We can tell people 'we are not your brother, we just wanna play with you.' -Jacob
- "You can have a visit. Invite someone over." -Will
- "Yeah! And kind - play with any kind of toys!" - Elliot
- "Invite them to the house." - Charlie
- "Ask someone if they want to play. If they say 'no,' [shrugs] then that's okay!" -Jamie
- "We can play in the kitchen with all the kids" -Zamora
- "You can be kind to somebody by giving them shoes, and then you can go get more shoes." -Jacob
- "My friends can play hide-and-seek with me." -Brylee

# data[].attributes.headline
Let the Children March. They Will Lead the Way. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Let the Children March. They Will Lead the Way. 

# data[].attributes.body
View this Canva link to see how Dr. King's legacy was honored in the Library.

# data[].attributes.body
To begin our study of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we read the school focus book, Belle: the Last Mule at Gee's Bend and read a biography of Dr. King in the Library.

# data[].attributes.body
We read the "I have a Dream" book written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and paintings by Kadir Nelson. We slowly read and learned some of the words in his famous speech he made in Washington, DC!

# data[].attributes.headline
Listening to Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech

# data[].attributes.subject
Listening to Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech

# data[].attributes.body
After we read the book we sat down to watch his speech while we ate at snack time. The children noticed how powerful and big his voice was. We talked about how important it is that we use our own voices to stand up for what is right.

# data[].attributes.body
To learn more about Dr. King's life and why we had a holiday for him we began reading Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In it we learn that he was a hero because he changed laws that were unfair to Black people. He changed them by making speeches, meeting with people, getting the help of others and marching and singing. We know that learning about him and continuing to talk about how to make change keeps his legacy alive.

# data[].attributes.body
During choice time we listened to Dr. King's "Happy Birthday" song written by Stevie Wonder. We learned that the song was written to make people aware that there was no holiday for Dr. King yet and there should be, eventually it worked! We also listened to other famous songs by Stevie Wonder.

# data[].attributes.body
To prepare for carrying on Dr. King's legacy we began making our kind notes to send in our care packages for Dr. King's day of service on Monday. We thought about kind things we could say and drawings that would make people happy. Here are some examples above and below.

# data[].attributes.body
Messages for our care packages.

# data[].attributes.headline
We grounded our learning about Dr. King and the many others that fought for freedom by watching part of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech", and by reading books. The books helped us learn more about Dr. King, how he was part of a movement that included thousands of people, and ways that children resisted racism and segregation.

# data[].attributes.subject
We grounded our learning about Dr. King and the many others that fought for freedom by watching part of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech", and by reading books. The books helped us learn more about Dr. King, how he was part of a movement that included thousands of people, and ways that children resisted racism and segregation.

# data[].attributes.body
We have not read this book yet, but its on our display up next

# data[].attributes.body
"One day ... little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

It was this phrase that stood out most to the 3- and 4-year-old kids in Room 11 after reading Kadir Nelson's beautifully illustrated book about Dr. Martin Luther King's dream speech.

Why can't they hold hands?

Black kids got a bad playground and white kids got a good playground. That's not fair.

For young children, as they begin to come out of the fog of toddlerdom they begin to articulate who they are and who they are not. They seek out friends with similar interests (Paw Patrol, Batman, Doc McStuffins) and they begin to name the things they are not (I do not like pink!). A curiosity is growing about the groups in which they belong and around how their friends are different and the same.

During our daily Community Meeting, the kids share appreciations (Micah, I liked it when you played Spider-Man with me. It made me feel happy.), a wonderful glimpse into the meaningful relationships built across racial, cultural, and gender difference.

Out on the playground, kids laugh and run and tussle like little bands of puppies. They are classmates. They are friends. They are as brothers and sisters.

# data[].attributes.headline
We slowly processed the words and phrases in this powerful question: "How are we continuing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's legacy to craft a better world?" Here are some of the students' initial thoughts.

# data[].attributes.subject
We slowly processed the words and phrases in this powerful question: "How are we continuing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's legacy to craft a better world?" Here are some of the students' initial thoughts.

# data[].attributes.body
CONTINUITY. Students thought...
-"continue to push through for people's freedom and rights"
-"keep going on and on"
-"not giving up"
-"try and keep going no matter what"

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. Students thought...
-"black freedom"
-"boycott"
-"making the world a better place"
-"the book 'Let the Children March'"
-"sad thinking about racism and segregation"
-"end poverty"
-"leader in a community of freedom fighters"

LEGACY. Students thought...
-"something a person does that is important and that is passed on to others"

CRAFT A BETTER WORLD. Students thought...
-"make sure progress continues"
-"helping people who are houseless or in need"
-"end racism"
-"take care of nature and our earth"

# data[].attributes.headline
Students came up with ideas for how, working together, they could "craft a better world". These samples reflect the class's thinking.

# data[].attributes.subject
Students came up with ideas for how, working together, they could "craft a better world". These samples reflect the class's thinking.

# data[].attributes.headline
Second grade will continue our learning over the next weeks, as we prepare to lead our all school community meeting framed around this query.

# data[].attributes.subject
Second grade will continue our learning over the next weeks, as we prepare to lead our all school community meeting framed around this query.

# data[].attributes.headline
After deepening our learning and understanding, we put our thinking & words into action. Below are photos of our class writing letters to show our love to our friends at Sasha Bruce.

# data[].attributes.subject
After deepening our learning and understanding, we put our thinking & words into action. Below are photos of our class writing letters to show our love to our friends at Sasha Bruce.