Learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

April 4th marks the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I have compiled some resources to enable children to learn more about Dr. King and the wider Civil Rights Movement. 

• It is always useful to begin with a discussion to see what children already know.

  • Has your child heard of Dr. King?

  • What can they tell you about him?

  • What would they like to find out more about?

• Both BrainPOP and National Geographic Kids have videos introducing children to Dr. King. His ‘I Have a Dream’ speech is linked on The SchoolRun.

• Below, I mention why I like the sites I have chosen. Some of the activities are really brilliant in terms of study practices to really embed learning.

• Based on their learning, you may wish to ask your child to select some adjectives to describe Dr. King. Compare and contrast their choices with those in the image I have chosen for the cover (courtesy Pixabay).

• Discuss the extent to which your child feels Dr. King’s dream has been achieved.

• What is his legacy? 

Useful Resources

• Learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the wider Civil Rights movement on BrainPOP. In the story presented here, parallels are drawn with Mahatma Gandhi. I recommend checking Brainpop out as it teaches children some useful study skills, e.g., a focus on vocabulary to ensure terminology is known and understood, the use of graphic organisers to note key information, the creation of their own mind maps using the make-a-map tool, quizzing to support retrieval practice and some excellent challenges that include cloze tests (fill the blanks), compare and contrast (using Venn diagrams), sequencing activities, and comprehension tasks involving text highlighting.

• Creating a timeline is also useful in supporting learning history. See one here on TheSchoolRun, together with top 10 facts, inspirational quotes and MANY links to lots of other information sources and activities. His ‘I Have a Dream’ speech is linked on this site. This quiz is also linked – once again a useful tool to support recall.

• Other sources of information include Kiddle (for a nicely sequenced report and lots of images) and the video on National Geographic Kids.

• I recommend older learners check out The King Center (particularly the Glossary of Non-Violence).

I hope these links are helpful in introducing many more children to Dr. King’s legacy on this anniversary of his death. A PDF of this information is available to download for free from our online shop.

Take care and stay safe all!

FREE Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Resources PDF