MLK Day...a few more things

Due to unexpected snow days and the need to revamp our lesson plans, our MLK unit was extended a few days. Since we extended our unit, I wanted to share a few more of our MLK Day activities.

One of the puzzles in our puzzle center is of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is one of our tougher wooden puzzles, apparently so tough, that a teacher long before me traced the puzzle piece shapes to aid in solving.

When one of my friends had some difficulty, a few friends came over to offer a little help and encouragement. As he finished, the helpers all congratulated him, offered praise for a job well done and a high five.

We've talked a lot about treating others with equality and respect. Honestly, my students were dumbfounded that there was actually a time that segregation and inequality was the norm. I'm so glad that they will never live the injustices that occurred here in our beloved South not so long ago.  It's hard for the friends to conceptualize MLK's "Dream", since that is not a reality they live.

We talked a good bit about King's "Dream" and how that is different from the dreams we experience while sleeping. I tried really hard to put those concepts into terms they could understand, but while they got the gist of what King stood for, when I asked them to dictate and illustrate THEIR dream for the future, it was clear that the responses were clearly those of  preschool children. I gave them pre-cut cloud shapes to record their "dreams". We put their name and the dictated responses on one side and the illustrations on the other and hung the completed projects on a string from the ceiling.

And the dreams.....
  "I have a dream.....
   **that all families can all get along and be friends.
   **for Martin Luther King to write books about dinosaurs.
   **for the friends to hold hands.
   **that we can all be friends.
   **for the apples to grow and the sun to come up.
   **that we will all be together.
   **that we could have a snowman.
   **that everybody can be friends.
   **for me and Tegan to put on a party for my mommy.
   **we have a Batman to save the day.
   **for Batman and the Joker to do something. The Joker got exploded.
   **to have flowers for my sister and my mommy.
   **everyone should play in the snow.
   **I wish everyone in my family could be butterflies in the world.
   **for an alien snowman.
   **that everyone gets to make a snowman.
   **for everyone to be a fairy.
   **we can all be friends.
   **for everyone to be together.
   **everyone should make snowmen. "

We also read a few more books about Dr. King. I especially like the books we've read in the "Let's Read About" series by Scholastic. The books have beautiful illustrations and very easy text for little ones to comprehend. Lets Read About-- Martin Luther King, Jr (Scholastic First Biographies) has already become a favorite.



We also read Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr. (Scholastic Bookshelf).

MLK DAY

When I first held up a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr., I asked the kids if anyone knew who was pictured. Several of the students called out "Obama"! (I got the same response last year, as well.) Once I said, "This is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.", several of the kids made comments like, "Oh, yeah". (Yeah, right, they knew it all the time! :) We talked about how not so long ago, people were treated very differently, depending on their skin color.

I pulled out a brown paper lunch sack and decorative gift bag. Each bag had a little pony figure from one of our centers, exactly the same. We talked about which package they would like to receive and why. I then had students discover items are the same inside. I explained that just because the bags on the outside are different, the important thing is what's in the bag. After I mixed the items up, the students couldn't determine which item came in which bag, 

I then asked students to pair up with someone who looks different than themselves. After they were paired, I asked them to talk with their partner and find out ways the are similar (likes, dislikes, age, number of siblings,etc.) After a few minutes with partners, I asked student pairs to share findings with the rest of the group. I asked the students how they would feel if they couldn't play with their friends, just because they were different on the outside.


I told the students about Ruby Bridges and her long walks to school and her lonely days without classmates. After I read The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, I told them how when I was little, I used to wish that I was just a little older so I could have gone to her school and been her friend. I wanted to walk down the street with her, holding her hand, so she wouldn't be afraid all by herself. 

We also read the Scholastic book: "Let's Read About--Ruby Bridges".

We talked about Rosa Parks and how she stood up for her rights. I then read a few books about Martin Luther King, Jr. and discussed how he led people everywhere so the things that Ruby and Rosa endured wouldn't happen again. Two my favorite books to share about MLK are "Martin's Big Words" and "My Brother Martin"


     


I was thrilled one of my students brought in a new book to share for Show and Tell this week: "Ruby Bridges Goes To School: My True Story".

Our unit was fairly short this year --- due to unexpected and very rare snow days, I had to reorganize my lesson plans. I had to omit some lessons and reschedule others. I did not want to cut our plans to celebrate MLK Day and learn about his contributions, but I did have to make it a much shorter unit than planned.  I incorporate a lot of Dr. King's teachings into our day to day activities, as we work on social/emotional skills, so I think that the lessons we did get to do really made an impact.