Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lapbook

Well I had said earlier that I would post our progress on the lapbook of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and I am finally getting around to it!

We used the project pack from In The Hands of a Child at CurrClick.  We spent most of the week of his birthday working on it and I was pleased with the outcome.  I wanted to introduce Riley to who Martin Luther King was and what he did and stood for.   I think we were able to accomplish that and give Riley a little glimpse of what went on during those troublesome times.

In putting the lapbook together we learned all about MLK's background, schooling, and his family.  We learned how black people wanted to be treated just like white people and they were not treated as equals.  Of course when he learned how the black people were treated before the Civil War and for many years after, he had a hard time understanding why someone would treat another person this way.  We have always taught him that we are all created equal and God loves everyone so therefore we should do the same.

We learned how hard MLK worked with the American government to give black people the right to vote and Civil Rights.  It was amazing how much love this man showed by walking with his fellow Americans to work during the boycott, praying and singing with them.  What an example he set for our young people to follow.  We read through his speech "I have a Dream" and Riley wrote a brief biography about MLK.  It broke his heart to learn that Dr. Martin Luther King had been assassinated, we both sat there and cried as we read about it.  I think he felt at peace when we later talked about how Dr. Martin Luther King is in Heaven with our Heavenly Father and walking beside Jesus! 

The nice thing about lapbooks is that different components of learning are incorporated.  There were mapping skills, vocabulary words and he had to do a time line of MLK's life.    It was a good learning opportunity that we could taper to our level of learning.  He did a very good job at reading and learning about MLK and worked quite hard at putting it all together.  I was pleased with the way it all turned out and the effort he put forth as well.  I know his birthday has already passed but if you are looking for a good way to introduce or teach you child about Martin Luther King, I would highly recommend the lapbook from In The Hands of a Child.  We finished our study on Martin Luther King Jr. by reading Martin's Big Words:  The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport.

It was a good way to introduce Riley to this very important piece of American History.  We both learned what a great man Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was and how he helped our fellow Americans gain their rights as citizens.

If you are looking for another resource to help teach your children about Martin Luther King Jr. try the "I Have a Dream" Speech Challenge by Jill O. Miles.  Here is her blog:  History for Children: He Had a Dream scroll down and the link to the Speech Challenge is just before the video of his speech.