Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lesson Plans for MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. level S

Text Type:
Fact / Biography

Reading Level:
S

Word Count:
1,535

Pages:
24

Text Summary
Martin Luther King, Jr., was an African American who worked hard for the rights of black people and for freedom for all people. This book recounts his courageous and principled life, from his birth in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929 to his death in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.

Suggested Lesson Focus
Comprehension/Literary Element Strategies
Relate events in chronological order.

Word Skills
Identify and discuss prefixes and suffixes.

Mechanics Skills
Use capitalization appropriately.

Grammar Skills
Write nouns from given verbs.

Targeted Vocabulary Words
legal, social, economic, equality

Before Reading

Introducing the Book
Hand out the books and have children read the title, the contents page, and scan the illustrations to make an informed prediction about what they will learn about Martin Luther King, Jr., from reading this book.
Ask: What do you already know about Martin Luther King? What extra information do you expect to learn from reading this book? Is there something that you would like to know about Martin Luther King that you think will still be unanswered when you have finished reading?

Build Background
Have children turn to the glossary on page 24.
Say: Read the bold face words. Tell the person next to you the meaning of those you already know. Then check to make sure you were right. Now let’s discuss the words that you do not know the meaning of.
Discuss unknown words with children. Be sure that there are no misconceptions. Ask children to use some of the words in sentences to ensure understanding. Return to the civil rights entry.
Ask: What do you think is meant by full legal, social, and economic equality? What does legal mean? Who can give an example of a legal right? What does social mean? What are social rights? What does economic refer to? What would economic rights be? Who can use equality in a sentence to show what it means? Who can use their own words to share a sentence that means the same as full legal, social, and economic equality?

Book Walk
Ask children to read page 4
Say and ask: Read page 4 and then be prepared to discuss what your family does on Martin Luther King Day? Do you do anything special or do you treat it as any other holiday? Why do you think there is a holiday called Martin Luther King Day?
Have children scan page 5 for a date.
Say: This text is set in chronological order. That means it has a starting date and then everything else that happens, happens in order after that date. The starting date in this book is the day that Martin Luther King, Jr., was born.
Have children scan the text for the next date (page 10).
Have children read the first sentence on page 11.
Say: Share with the group the year and what you know about the United States Supreme Court. What sorts of things does the United States Supreme Court rule on?
Have children scan the text for the next date (page 13).
Say: Scan the surrounding text to find out what important event happened. Why do you think this event was so important? Would it be an important event today? Why or why not?
Have children return to page 4.

During Reading

Say and ask: Read to the end of page 8 and then be prepared discuss what was going on between the time Martin Luther King was born and when he went to college. How would you feel if you could only use certain drinking fountains? How would you feel if you could only sit in certain seats on the bus?
Have children read pages 9 and 10 to find out what happened next. Have children read the rest of the book independently. Have them mark with a sticky note any word or phrase they did not understand or could not pronounce. You can clarify these later. During this time you may choose to work with another group. Alternatively, you may wish to work individually with some children to monitor their oral reading and comprehension of parts of the text.
Say: I want you to finish reading the book at your own pace. As you read, I want you to stop each time you come to a new date and think what happened between that date and the previous date. When you have finished reading, I’m going to ask you to list the important events in the order that they happened.

Using the Worksheet
Introduce and explain the Worksheet. Have children start work on the Worksheet as they finish reading the text.

After Reading

Comprehending the Text
Draw the group together again and ask children to discuss the events in the order that they happened.
Say: Share with the person next to you the important things that happened in the correct order, starting from when Martin Luther King, Jr., was born.
Invite children to further discuss the events. Use questions such as

When did Martin decide to become a minister? What people or events influenced him in that decision?

Why was Martin attracted to Coretta?

Why do you think that people didn’t obey the rulings of the Supreme Court?

Why do you think that white parents didn’t want their children to go to the same schools as black children? Do you think that black parents felt the same way?

In what ways did people support the bus boycott?

Why was the November 1956 Supreme Court ruling called a victory for African Americans?

Why do you think people committed violent acts against African Americans?

Why didn’t the local police offer much protection during violence?

What happened on Bloody Sunday? Why did this happen?

Why do you think anyone would want to kill a man such as Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Building Skills

Word Skills
Discuss prefixes and suffixes with the students. Write the words necessary and unnecessary on the board.
Say and ask: Read these two words and then share with the group what is the same and what is different about the spellings? Who can name the letters that make up the prefix? How does the prefix change the meaning of the word?
Write the words peace and peaceful on the board. Ask children to read the words, identify the suffix, and explain how the meaning is changed. Have children search the text for other words that have prefixes and suffixes. Have them list the words and then use the dictionary to find the root word and the meanings.

Mechanics
Discuss capitalization with children.
Ask: Who knows the times when you use a capital letter?
Write the following sentence on the board: every february, all over the united states, we celebrate martin luther king day.
Invite children to come to the board and capitalize the words to make the sentence correct. Have them rewrite the sentences on the Worksheet with appropriate capitalization.

Grammar
Discuss nouns and verbs with children.
Ask and say: Who can tell me the definition of a noun? Who can define a verb? Tell me three words that are nouns. Tell me three words that are verbs.
Write the word work on the board .
Say and ask: The word work is a verb. It can also be a noun. This sentence uses work as a verb. I am going to work hard today. This sentence uses work as a noun. I am going to my dad’s work after school today. There is also another noun that you can make from the word work. It is worker, as in My dad’s a hard worker.
Write other verbs on the board and have children supply the noun and use both words in oral sentences. Choose the following verbs from the text: support, teach, preach, own, help, free, attend, play, decide, mark, separate, participate, organize, segregate, believe, read, use.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Writing an epitaph.
Say: I want you to pretend that you are a newspaper reporter. You have just learned that Martin Luther King, Jr., has been shot. It is your job to write an epitaph in the paper. What are the important things that you would want to include?
You may need to bring examples from the local newspaper for the students to read before they begin their own writing.

Social Studies Connection
Have children use the library and the Internet to further research Martin Luther King, Jr. They should particularly think about the questions that they may have had prior to reading the text that are still unanswered.

Mapping Skills
Have children use a blank map of the United States and fill in the places that are mentioned in the text.

Reading Independently
Invite children to reread the book, Martin Luther King, Jr., independently or with a partner. They could then look for and read other books about Martin Luther King and/or other civil rights leaders. The students should also read each other’s epitaphs.

Go to "Martin Luther King Jr." main page

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Text Summary
Martin Luther King, Jr., was an African American who worked hard for the rights of black people and for freedom for all people. This book recounts his courageous and principled life, from his birth in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929 to his death in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.

Suggested Lesson Focus
Comprehension/Literary Element Strategies
Relate events in chronological order.

Word Skills
Identify and discuss prefixes and suffixes.

Mechanics Skills
Use capitalization appropriately.

Grammar Skills
Write nouns from given verbs.

Targeted Vocabulary Words
legal, social, economic, equality

Before Reading

Introducing the Book
Hand out the books and have children read the title, the contents page, and scan the illustrations to make an informed prediction about what they will learn about Martin Luther King, Jr., from reading this book.
Ask: What do you already know about Martin Luther King? What extra information do you expect to learn from reading this book? Is there something that you would like to know about Martin Luther King that you think will still be unanswered when you have finished reading?

Build Background
Have children turn to the glossary on page 24.
Say: Read the bold face words. Tell the person next to you the meaning of those you already know. Then check to make sure you were right. Now let’s discuss the words that you do not know the meaning of.
Discuss unknown words with children. Be sure that there are no misconceptions. Ask children to use some of the words in sentences to ensure understanding. Return to the civil rights entry.
Ask: What do you think is meant by full legal, social, and economic equality? What does legal mean? Who can give an example of a legal right? What does social mean? What are social rights? What does economic refer to? What would economic rights be? Who can use equality in a sentence to show what it means? Who can use their own words to share a sentence that means the same as full legal, social, and economic equality?

Book Walk
Ask children to read page 4
Say and ask: Read page 4 and then be prepared to discuss what your family does on Martin Luther King Day? Do you do anything special or do you treat it as any other holiday? Why do you think there is a holiday called Martin Luther King Day?
Have children scan page 5 for a date.
Say: This text is set in chronological order. That means it has a starting date and then everything else that happens, happens in order after that date. The starting date in this book is the day that Martin Luther King, Jr., was born.
Have children scan the text for the next date (page 10).
Have children read the first sentence on page 11.
Say: Share with the group the year and what you know about the United States Supreme Court. What sorts of things does the United States Supreme Court rule on?
Have children scan the text for the next date (page 13).
Say: Scan the surrounding text to find out what important event happened. Why do you think this event was so important? Would it be an important event today? Why or why not?
Have children return to page 4.

During Reading

Say and ask: Read to the end of page 8 and then be prepared discuss what was going on between the time Martin Luther King was born and when he went to college. How would you feel if you could only use certain drinking fountains? How would you feel if you could only sit in certain seats on the bus?
Have children read pages 9 and 10 to find out what happened next. Have children read the rest of the book independently. Have them mark with a sticky note any word or phrase they did not understand or could not pronounce. You can clarify these later. During this time you may choose to work with another group. Alternatively, you may wish to work individually with some children to monitor their oral reading and comprehension of parts of the text.
Say: I want you to finish reading the book at your own pace. As you read, I want you to stop each time you come to a new date and think what happened between that date and the previous date. When you have finished reading, I’m going to ask you to list the important events in the order that they happened.

Using the Worksheet
Introduce and explain the Worksheet. Have children start work on the Worksheet as they finish reading the text.

After Reading

Comprehending the Text
Draw the group together again and ask children to discuss the events in the order that they happened.
Say: Share with the person next to you the important things that happened in the correct order, starting from when Martin Luther King, Jr., was born.
Invite children to further discuss the events. Use questions such as

Building Skills

Word Skills
Discuss prefixes and suffixes with the students. Write the words necessary and unnecessary on the board.
Say and ask: Read these two words and then share with the group what is the same and what is different about the spellings? Who can name the letters that make up the prefix? How does the prefix change the meaning of the word?
Write the words peace and peaceful on the board. Ask children to read the words, identify the suffix, and explain how the meaning is changed. Have children search the text for other words that have prefixes and suffixes. Have them list the words and then use the dictionary to find the root word and the meanings.

Mechanics
Discuss capitalization with children.
Ask: Who knows the times when you use a capital letter?
Write the following sentence on the board: every february, all over the united states, we celebrate martin luther king day.
Invite children to come to the board and capitalize the words to make the sentence correct. Have them rewrite the sentences on the Worksheet with appropriate capitalization.

Grammar
Discuss nouns and verbs with children.
Ask and say: Who can tell me the definition of a noun? Who can define a verb? Tell me three words that are nouns. Tell me three words that are verbs.
Write the word work on the board .
Say and ask: The word work is a verb. It can also be a noun. This sentence uses work as a verb. I am going to work hard today. This sentence uses work as a noun. I am going to my dad’s work after school today. There is also another noun that you can make from the word work. It is worker, as in My dad’s a hard worker.
Write other verbs on the board and have children supply the noun and use both words in oral sentences. Choose the following verbs from the text: support, teach, preach, own, help, free, attend, play, decide, mark, separate, participate, organize, segregate, believe, read, use.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Writing an epitaph.
Say: I want you to pretend that you are a newspaper reporter. You have just learned that Martin Luther King, Jr., has been shot. It is your job to write an epitaph in the paper. What are the important things that you would want to include?
You may need to bring examples from the local newspaper for the students to read before they begin their own writing.

Social Studies Connection
Have children use the library and the Internet to further research Martin Luther King, Jr. They should particularly think about the questions that they may have had prior to reading the text that are still unanswered.

Mapping Skills
Have children use a blank map of the United States and fill in the places that are mentioned in the text.

Reading Independently
Invite children to reread the book, Martin Luther King, Jr., independently or with a partner. They could then look for and read other books about Martin Luther King and/or other civil rights leaders. The students should also read each other’s epitaphs.

Go to "Martin Luther King Jr." main page