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Each UNIT STUDY includes suggestions of books to READ, ideas to WRITE, crafts to CREATE, more to EXPLORE, snacks to ENJOY and other ways to LEARN about a specific topic! To read more about the concepts behind my UNIT STUDIES, read this.
If you find it handy to have a simplified printable of these suggestions, you can find one, along with several free MLK printables, here in the FREE MLK Unit Study Printable Pack.
Otherwise, read on for a more detailed version with links embedded!
{Note: The links are pink! Just think, “pink link” if you are wanting to follow a link to something.}
INTRO: I am seriously embarrassed and downright ashamed to say that we have never done much to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day in our homeschool. We have learned about him in our history lessons multiple times over the years but we have never actually celebrated the national holiday and the man behind it. But, after being inspired by something I discovered in the Celebrate It! Digital Grab Bag, I am determined to rectify that this year!
READ: As you can imagine, there are loads of books about Martin Luther King Jr. I’ve narrowed this list down to just a handful geared towards a few different levels of readers.
Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo is a pretty simple book which makes it great for early readers or as a family read aloud. It touches upon the civil rights issues of the day but in a child-friendly tone. It also tries to highlight why his birthday is a national holiday which makes it the perfect choice for January.
Despite the fact that the big-headedness of the cover illustrations bother me, I usually like the content of the Who Was series, and Who Was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr by Bonnie Bader does not disappoint. It’s a short chapter book that covers the entirety of his life and even includes a timeline. It was written for 3rd Grade+ and opens up a whole lot of discussion doors on civil rights, segregation, discrimination, protests, etc. but in an appropriate manner for this age group. Another good option from a newer series, in case those big-headed covers of Who Was creep you out too, is The Story of Martin Luther King Jr.: A Biography Book for New Readers by Christine Platt. It is written with the same audience in mind as the Who Was series and does a great job of covering MLK’s life too.
For slightly older kids, I highly suggest Martin Luther King: The Peaceful Warrior by Ed Clayton. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s kind of hard to come by on the internet but your library may have a copy. Mine did! This book was written by somebody who worked directly with Martin Luther King Jr. and, therefore, has a much more REAL feel to the book, as opposed to one written by an unimpacted author who just pulled info from a Google search. But, it is still presented in an appropriate manner; just be prepared for deep conversations about segregation and racial inequalities to spring up.
You can also use this fun and free MLK Mini Book Pack. It includes two options: one with text and one without so it is appropriate for more than one level. It covers MLK’s life in ten steps but leaves the detailed history up to you. If you want to just introduce your younger kids to MLK in a most basic fashion, this book would do just that. But, you can certainly expand on each step with more discussion. It is free and available on its own but is also found in the FREE MLK Unit Study Printable Pack.
And because I am trying really hard not to spend precious time reinventing the wheel, here is a link to a very thorough list of MLK book suggestions from Peanut Butter Fish Lessons, divided into age categories.
WRITE: For younger kids, there is this quick and simple Writing Activity. It is part of the FREE MLK Unit Study Printable Pack. This activity can be tailored to writing about a child’s own personal dreams or to connecting their own child-sized civil rights dreams to that of MLK.
For older kids, the FREE MLK Unit Study Printable Pack also includes a couple of writing prompts that ask the kids to think about and respond to issues related to racial segregation and discrimination. There are two styles of lines to accommodate two levels of writers.
LEARN: For an easy yet thorough introduction to MLK, check out this Martin Luther King Jr Fact Pack. It introduces your 3rd-6th graders to the life of MLK with ten pages of Informational Text Passages and Comprehension Questions and includes information on his childhood, family life, education, church leadership, civil rights work and death. It does cost a wee bit but with discount code 25OffMLK, you’ll save 25% which means it will only cost a wee-wee bit {like less than a fancy coffee at McDs wee bit!}
CREATE: This super cool art project was what inspired me to finally put together some lessons for MLK! What I really like about this is that it’s not just an art project. It’s an art project that makes ya think! AND, it’s easily adaptable to a wide range of ages. The instructions ask the kids to draw little icons but it also includes a version where you can just print them out for smaller kids. But, we skipped the icons altogether and decided to write out definitions. I LOVE how it turned out!
This is the example from the creator…so, obviously much prettier than ours! We got this project as part of the Celebrate It! Digital Grab Bag which was a GREAT DEAL and included all sorts of great resources. If the sale is over, I’d still head on over there to check out the site and sign up so you are hooked up for future sales.
EXPLORE: If you and your kids want more MLK, you’ll find a couple of videos below. Depending on age, you may want to watch with your kids.
You may also want to check out this Pinterest Board. It has a carefully curated collection of ideas of how to teach about and celebrate Martin Luther King Day!
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