Being Treated Equally
Grade Level(s): K
By: MB Farris, Kindergarten Teacher
To let children experience prejudice first hand, in reference to Martin Luther King Day.
Materials:


A favorite class treat - enough for the entire class. I use peanut butter crackers or
pretzels that we normally have for a morning snack.
Book: A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Happy Birthday Martin Luther King
Plan:
1. Before I mention Martin Luther King, I pass out morning snacks to only half of my class.
(This year I only gave them to the boys.)
2. When the other children question this, I explain that only the boys are getting snacks
today. The rest of the class will be quite put out at this point.
3. I wait about 5-10 minutes and call them to our story rug, without any explanation for my
actions. I start to read the picture book of Martin Luther King's life.
4. After I have completed reading the story, I ask the children who did not receive snacks
how they felt about that. They are usually still very upset with me.
5. Then I ask those who did receive snacks how they felt.
6. Now I explain that I was demonstrating prejudice or unequal treatment.
7. The children have a greater understanding of how unfairly black people were treated in
Mr. King's day.
8. Finally, I give morning snack to those children I skipped earlier. I have a worksheet
made to send home so the parents know about our lesson. I explain what we did and
have each child express their feelings during my lesson.
Comments:
As hard as it is to slight my children in this lesson, I feel that it is a real learning experience for
them.
Top 10 Tips for Incorporating Martin
Luther King Jr. Themes in Your
Classroom
In many classrooms, Black History month begins with an insightful look into
the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. This influential American had a major impact
on the country and civil rights. There are several ways you can incorporate
Martin Luther King Jr. themes into your classroom.
1. The life of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Have students learn the history of
Martin Luther King, Jr. Depending on the age of your students, you can focus
on what he might have done as a young child or some of the important things
that he did as an adult.
2. I have a dream: Take a look at the famous speech. You can have students
listen to a recording of the words, read along with the script, or have a
discussion about how the speech changed the lives of African Americans. Have
students write their own "I have a dream" speeches detailing things they would
like to see changed in their neighborhood or the country.
3. The Assassination: Older students can discuss the details surrounding the
death of Martin Luther King, Jr., and how that changed the civil rights
movement. You can also take a look at other assassinations throughout history,
and how they changed or affected the course of events.
4. Home sweet home: Introduce Martin Luther King, Jr.'s home in Georgia. If
your class is not in Georgia, you can discuss differences in climate, vegetation,
and political history. Or contrast King's real home with what his home might
have looked like if he was born today.
5. What it would have been like: Have students write a paper from the point of
view of one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s supporters. Have them imagine that
they were part of the freedom march, listening to the "I Have a Dream" speech,
or nearby during the assassination attempt. Encourage them to use descriptive
adjectives and imagery.
6. In the news: Many cities will have Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials and
other celebrations for Black History Month. Have students bring in newspaper
and magazine articles detailing current events. Then you can go to the library or
online and look for newspaper articles from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s time.
7. Create a timeline: A timeline can be a great visual aid for students to picture
what was occurred during the different years that Dr. King was alive. Divide
students into groups and have them look up meaningful events to contribute
their piece of the timeline.
8. The Nobel Peace Prize: Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
1964. Have students research the reasons why he was awarded this honor, other
famous persons who have won the Nobel Peace Prize in the past, or discuss who
they think should receive the next Nobel Peace Prize.
9. A look at equality: While racism is not as glaringly obvious today as it was
in Dr. King's time, students may still feel prejudice against them for color, race,
sex, physical attributes, and more. Have students take discuss the things that
make them different from their classmates, as well as things that are the same,
and discuss how they can treat each other more fairly in the future.
10. Throw a party: What better way to celebrate a holiday honoring Dr. King's
birthday than a birthday party? Encourage students to bring in ethnically
different foods to celebrate their differences, and discuss how Dr. King helped
to make it possible for them all to attend class together.
With a little planning and research, you can introduce the inspiration of Dr.
King to your students.
Write Your Own "I Have a Dream"
Speech
Subjects: Arts & Humanities, Civics, Holidays, Language Arts, Social Studies, U.S. History
Grades: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Brief Description
Students use a fill-in-the-blanks work sheet to write speeches that imitate the form and
content of Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Objectives
Students


listen to King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
use a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet to express their dreams for the world in a format similar
to King's speech.
Keywords
dream, Martin Luther King, speech
Materials Needed

recording of King's "I Have a Dream" speech:
History Channel Speeches
King Speech Audio
MLK Audio Clip
text version of the speech:

http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html (optional)
o
"I Have a Dream Too!" work sheet
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o
o
o
Lesson Plan
Explain to students that they are going to learn about Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream
of the future and think about their own dreams.
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Play a recorded version of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech so
students can get a sense of King's delivery and of the excitement the speech generated.
Discuss with students King's dream for the country, and ask why people might
consider the speech great. Ask students to think about their own dreams for the future.
Have students complete the ThinkQuest "I Have a Dream Too!" work sheet at
http://library.thinkquest.org/10320/Starter.htm.
Assessment
Students present their speeches to their classmates. Ask each student to privately grade
his or her peers' speeches with a rating of 3 (good work), 4 (very good job), or 5
(superb effort). Average the peer scores to come up with each student's final grade.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
National Standards
FINE ARTS
o
Theatre
GRADES K - 4
NA-T.K-4.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on Personal
Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
NA-T.K-4.2 Acting By Assuming Roles And Interacting In Improvisations
GRADES 5 - 8
NA-T.5-8.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on
Personal Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
NA-T.5-8.2 Acting By Assuming Roles And Interacting In Improvisations
GRADES 9 - 12
NA-T.9-12.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on
Personal Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
NA-T.9-12.2 Acting By Assuming Roles And Interacting In Improvisations
LANGUAGE ARTS
o
English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
SOCIAL SCIENCES
o
U.S. History
GRADES 5 - 12
NSS-USH.5-12.9 Era 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)
TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.4 Technology Communications Tools
Martin Luther King, Jr. Word Search Worksheet
Directions: All words are positioned left to right.
T D I
S C R I
M I
N A T I
E S E G R E G A T I
U G B Y N P
O N M C Q V X W L A
O N L M V Q R Q Z S
W D M Y N A I
T L Y R P N M S
W U D N U X E L L E A D E R S
R Z J
J
X X U Q X L B J
H I
C P Y H P
P E P F W H F A V B C Z R P
D Z
P M E W X U
W H G P
Q V R
Y Y E K A M Y Y
A O N S U N N M I
N I
C M M M R L E I
I
O D W U Y W D D R E A M A Z
B E S F U Y A J
G M X N O N V I
R E S I
S
X E L
S T A N C E M S
T E R C R A C I
A L O
O L E N C E E
P E E C H B G F
C K M
O Z Z V Z H V B L W Y B T B O Y C O T T R X U
D P X G D D R T G Z V E R I
G H T S Q A J
U V M P P E A C E H D O Z P Y W G J
R D S L J P
I
X L S B F
J
J
F Q G Z J
U S T I
M E S
C U O D H
B Q P R O T E S T K G A M C B R E
K U Z X O R D O M J
T Y J
B E
D K J
Y P
Z D N I
S
O P
B
O C L S T R U G G L E A W U W M
C E M J
H M U J
X D U C F
U P V K E V E K Z O C M W G L B G
DISCRIMINATION
DREAM
NONVIOLENCE
STRUGGLE
PEACE
LEADERSHIP
JUSTICE
RIGHTS
SPEECH
RACIAL
PROTEST
MINISTER
BOYCOTT
RESISTANCE
SEGREGATION
Name _______________
Date _____________
Do The Research!
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Directions: Research the topic
indicated to the right and answer
the questions below based on
that topic.
Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr.
______________________________________
1. Who was Martin Luther
King, Jr. ?
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
2. What school did he
receive his doctoral degree
from? What was his area of
expertise?
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
3. What has Dr. King's
efforts done for people
worldwide?
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
4. How would the world be a
different place if Dr. King's
work was never done?
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________