Education World has compiled a list of lesson plans and free worksheets for you to use in your classroom to honor the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. day and teach students about its significance. 

Teacher-Submitted Martin Luther King, Jr. Art Ideas for Young Students

You’re sure to find something for your classroom in this list of teacher-submitted art ideas for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The list includes activities that range from simple:

"For MLK day I get two large pieces of butcher paper and cut them in cloud shapes. I then let the children paint on one side and then on the other piece they paint their hand prints and we put the child's dream on it. example: I have a dream that someday...(fill in child's dream)”- Rhonda

To more complex:

"Hands in Friendship I get a really large sheet of construction paper for each child and put their name in the center. Underneath their name put their hand-print using tempera paint. Then you can have other children from the class put their hand-prints all around their friends and include their name. It might be helpful to put a box around the center print and name to help keep the papers straight! This is a great activity to invite parents in to help- I usually have three adults to help. Also, you may want to do this activity over a period of a few days, to give some of the hand-prints time to dry. These make great placemats or end of the year gifts if you can get them laminated"- Ann.

Check out the full list here. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Word Search

This printable word search is a fun and quick activity to get the following lesson going. Nothing like doing a little word search to get the brain juices flowing.

Check it out here. 

Lesson Plan for Documentary Eyes on the Prize

The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute has an extensive lesson plan you can utilize and match up to the “Eyes on the Prize, a six-hour photojournalistic history of the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960’s.

It includes detailed themes, defined terms, and questions and prompts for each part of the documentary.

Check out that resource here.

Fact or Opinion?

Similar to the word search, this is a great activity to precede your lesson with. Use this “Fact or Opinion” activity before your lesson to see how much students already know.

If you have time, pass this worksheet out again at the end of your lesson to see how much your students learned, and if they have developed an opinion themselvess to start a round-table discussion.

Check out the worksheet here.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotations; Learn the Words of MLK

This worksheet compiles some of MLK’s most famous and inspiring quotations in one, easy to look through spot and asks students to interpret their meanings.

After students have learned about MLK and his message, this resource is a great way to see how your students are comprehending.

Check out that resource here. 

Compiled by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor