Martin Luther King Jr Day Reading Lesson Plans

How to Teach Elementary Students About Civil Rights Leader Dr. King

Dec 13, 2008
Megan Sheakoski

My Brother Martin [Simon and Schuster, 2003] - Christine King Farris used with permission

Primary teachers use the book My Brother Martin and Venn diagrams to help students compare and contrast information about Martin Luther King's childhood with their own.

The United States celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day every January to celebrate and honor Dr. King’s contributions to the country. Elementary teachers can use this time to teach students about the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Primary students can get information on Martin Luther King by reading the book My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris [Simon & Schuster, 2003.] My Brother Martin is a first hand account of what Dr. King’s young life was like written by his sister Christine.

Martin Luther King Jr. Reading Lesson Plan Objective

Students will use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast their lives with the life of Dr. King. Students will make a shoebox diorama depicting a scene from the book My Brother Martin.

How to Teach Elementary Students About Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The teacher introduces the lesson by asking the students why they have a day off from school in January. The students respond for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The class then discusses who Martin Luther King Jr. was and why he was so important that his birthday became a national holiday.

The teacher previews the book My Brother Martin with the class and explains that the book was written by Dr. King’s sister and talks about what life was like when the Kings were young. The students use the illustrations from the book to make predictions about Martin Luther King’s childhood.

The teacher reads and discusses My Brother Martin with the class. She asks the students questions about the story to make sure they have understood what they read and clarifies anything that is confusing.

How to Use a Venn Diagram to Compare and Contrast Information

The teacher draws two interlocking circles on the whiteboard and explains to the class that it is a Venn diagram. The labels the outer part of the left circle my life and the outer part of the right circle Martin Luther King’s life.

The teacher tells the students that where the two circles overlap they are going to list details about Dr. King’s life that are similar to their lives. Then in the outer circles they will write facts about their lives and Dr. King’s life that are different.

The teacher will model how to put information in each section of the Venn diagram. The students will then fill out the rest of the diagram by themselves. After everyone is finished the class will discuss the similarities and differences on the diagram.

Students Make a Diorama About the Life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Once students have gone over the Venn diagrams they will choose their favorite scene from My Brother Martin and recreate it in a diorama. Students will use empty shoeboxes and classroom art supplies to display their depictions. On an index card students will describe the scene and write why they chose to make it.

Christine King Farris’ descriptive and easy-to-understand narrative My Brother Martin immerses students in the south in the 1930s and provides a foundation for class discussions about Martin Luther King Jr. After reading the story students complete a Venn diagram to compare and Dr. King’s life with their own and then make a diorama depicting a scene from the book.

Megan Sheakoski - Megan Sheakoski is a teacher, mom and writer whose ideas have been featured in college text books, graduate courses, on websites and on ...