8 Teaching Resources For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

This year, we're celebrating the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 20. We've rounded up some teaching resources to help students understand Dr. King's legacy.

1. Comb through book lists for age-appropriate titles about Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Looking for books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement? We've put together a list of suggested titles for grades K–8.

2. Get creative with classroom projects.

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Why not incorporate social media? Or have students create timelines that reflect important events in the civil rights movement and the life of Dr. King? (This teacher's lesson plan might help you prepare.) Additional lesson plans and related activities can be found here.

3. Look to other teachers for inspiration.

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Teachers tell Instructor magazine how they celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with their students. For more lesson plan inspiration, check out the Top Teaching blog: Christy Crawford writes about five ways to celebrate MLK, and Kriscia Cabral suggests ways to incorporate MLK into your teaching day.

4. Help students understand nonfiction texts with help from Dr. King.

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This comprehensive blog post encourages teachers to assess what their students know, look at what they want to know, and provides strategies for getting from Point A to Point B.

5. Download Martin Luther King, Jr. printables, graphics, and bulletin board ideas.

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Incorporate Dr. King into lessons with word banks, writing prompts, worksheets and crossword puzzles.

6. Get involved with a community service project.

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To keep Dr. King's legacy alive, MLK Jr. Day is dedicated to helping others. You can find our guide to community service here.

7. Honor the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. King’s call to service with a student art contest.

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Students in grades K–8 can create a poster that inspires others to serve and answers Dr. King's questions, "What am I doing for others?" Entries must be received by 3/7/14. Details here.

8. Download I Am: Martin Luther King, Jr. on Storia.

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If you download this enriched ebook, be sure to check out the accompanying Storia teaching guide. Also available for Storia: National Geographic Kids' Martin Luther King, Jr.; My First Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr.; and Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Man of Peace.

Additional Resources:

Brief biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quotes from Dr. King