Martin Luther King's Legacy for Kindergartners

A Lesson in Life

This was first posted for a blog hop...and now I'm linking with Comprehension Connection for a Thematic Thursday!  I was so excited she decided her Thematic Thursday would be about Martin Luther King, Jr.  In Virginia, Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of the famous people kindergarten students need to know about.  Unfortunately, it's a hard subject to teach kindergartners.  I hope this Thematic Thursday post makes it a little easier.

Dr. King’s Legacy

This is one of the hardest lessons to teach kindergarten students.  You see, kids don’t see color.  There are many examples of this, as each teacher can attest, but kids see people.  They know who is nice and who isn’t, but they don’t categorize by color.  As part of the Kindergarten Social Studies curriculum in Virginia, this lesson poses a hard decision.  You have to teach about color to then teach why we shouldn't look at color.

I typically start by telling students about a terrible time in the United States, a time when people looked only at the color of your skin.  I explain it didn't matter how nice you were or how much you helped people or how nice you treated other people…it was a sad, sad, time when everyone was judged on the color of their skin.  Then, I tell about a man named Martin Luther King, who decided these laws that segregated or separated people by their skin weren't fair.  It is also important for students to understand Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted to change the laws by peaceful means.  We've even had our own Peace March.  The kindergarten students in our school made posters about peace and love and fairness and walked quietly in a line throughout the halls and around the cafeteria silently.  It sounds so simple and so easy, but it turned out to be a little moving.
There are many wonderful stories about Martin Luther King.  Most are artfully written so that the text can be discussed on many levels. One of my favorites has always been Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo.  The illustrations are beautiful and unique to kindergartners.   I wrote a little poem years ago to try and make this BIG person and event in history understandable to our smallest learners.  The poem is introduced as the shared reading and is in the Art Center, Poetry Center, and Pocket Chart Center in following weeks.

In honor of Dr. King’s birthday, I have created a pack about Martin Luther King and his legacy.  I am including a FREEBIE for Martin Luther King, Jr. Click the link or the picture below.

If you would like the full packet (37 pages), please visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store, CLICK HERE.

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