Classroom Resources for MLK Day

It is not difficult to find resources online that teach about the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There are videos, songs, instructions for art projects, and more.

In today’s post, we would like to direct your attention to some high-quality teaching materials that we have found and tried out. We hope they will enrich your students’ learning about Dr. King’s life and legacy.

Martin Luther King Jr. Crossword Puzzle

This printable puzzle from SurfNetKids.com, suitable for students in about grades 5-8, takes only a few minutes to complete. It is a good tool for teaching basic information about Dr. King and his life – answers include the name of his most famous speech, the name of his wife, the principle of nonviolence, and other basics.

Teacher Resources from the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta

This National Park offers a variety of online teaching resources, including lesson plans for students in grades K-8.

Resources from the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University

You’ll find a variety of resources here that support high school students in their research about Dr. King, as well as links to videos and other teaching resources.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Interactive Online Encyclopedia

Published by the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford, this interactive encyclopedia offers hundreds of articles about Dr. King and other historical figures, about the civil rights movement, and more. It’s an excellent learning resource for high school and college students who are researching the civil rights movement.

YouTube Video Resources

Of course, there are hundreds of videos on YouTube about Dr. King, about the civil rights movement, and about related topics. Because the content and quality vary significantly, it is best to exercise some care, and of course to prescreen videos before showing them in the classroom.

Here are some of the better videos you can find on YouTube that are suitable for classroom use.

• Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years is an exceptional 55-minute documentary that is suitable for high school classrooms.
• “I Have a Dream” Speech History is a short 5-minute History Channel documentary about the speech, suitable for all classrooms.
• The “I Have a Dream” speech complete. There are several videos of the speech available for viewing on YouTube. This one is free of commentary, and the quality is good for classroom showing.

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