Let's Celebrate Martin Luther King's Life

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

As a child of the 60’s I remember so vividly that fateful April day in 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr. was brutally gunned down by James Earl Ray. I remember sitting by the television set, just horrified by what I had just witnessed. Thoughts kept racing through my mind about our freedom, I just couldn’t understand why such a heroic person was dead because he had “a dream.” When Bobby Kennedy was murdered in June of that year, again I sat with disbelief as I watched his assassination, live, on the television. Their deaths as well as the killing of John F. Kennedy in November of 1963 were the turning points in our lives. I felt enraged that these things could happen in our day and age.

 In January,  we remember Martin Luther King Jr. and what he stood for. Equal rights, de-segregation, tolerance of other races are essential especially now-a-days with so much persecution of human beings.

It is so important to stand in another’s shoes and feel what they have felt. The old adage "one picture is worth a thousand words," is so true, you can discuss racial injustices, but to actually see a film about it will bring it to life. An excellent flick that will get this point across to your student is Selma.  After viewing it, have an open discussion about it. Have the children role play different people from the film, such as Dr. King, Coretta King, a black/white civil rights marcher, a black person living then, Annie Lee Cooper, President Lyndon B. Johnson, etc. Finally, have them write a paper from the perspective from one of the characters they encountered in the film. 

I’ve just finished a Martin Luther King Jr. History and Literacy Bundle with many activities that you can use with your 5-8 grade classes. Here is a study guide with historical facts about him.

Thanks for stopping by
Deann

No Prep Martin Luther King Literacy Activities

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/PDF/master_class_king.pdf

Http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/martin-luther-king-jr-interactive-timeline

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-resources/major-king-events-chronology-1929-1968

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This is part of The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative's January Teacher Talk Linky Party. Be sure to read other members' blog posts by clicking on the following links.

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Is Independence Day More than Just Fireworks?

Sharing is Caring Elite Teacher Blogging Cooperative

Activities for the 4th of July

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Is Independence Day more than just fireworks? Read what these educators have to say about it.

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Freedom in the Classroom

By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

Teaching kids about freedom and keeping it simple.

Foster Freedom in Writer's Workshop

By Marypat Mahoney of Just Add Students

Giving students choice on what they write about and the mode in which it’s written puts the power back into students’ hands. Not only that, but in the real world — our students will be writing letters of complaint, business proposals, notes of condolence, emails to explain or convince, blog posts to explain opinions… the list goes on. So, how do we do that?

Stars & Stripes

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

When I think about July 4th, I think about our American Flag and what it represents. I asked my class what this day means to them. A young boy stated, “It’s when you get to see fireworks. This is one of the responses I expected, so I asked why do we have fireworks? He just shrugged his shoulders. Another student responded and said, “To celebrate our Independence from England.” Great answer I told him.

Celebrating the 4th With Kids?

By Mary Carr of Carrberry Creations

Celebrating the 4th with kids and want to keep them busy? Learn how to have kids make a little notebook craft for 4th of July! Happy Independence Day from Carrberry Creations!

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Technology Across the Curriculum

Deann Marin at The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs II


                                                 

        

Offering for Educators, Comprehensive Teaching Aides.
 If you'd like to see what else I have to offer please visit my store

Technology has come a long way since I began my teaching career. I can remember  the first computer that I used in my classroom, it was the original Apple. We had no internet access, or power-point programs. You could play simple games like Pacman and make worksheets for the kids. I thought the computer was so cool, just to be able to type and erase, without the hassle of whiteout, was a huge improvement. No CDs or DVDs only rectangular floppy discs. No cell phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets, or iWatches, just the good old Apple computer.

With time, technology improved rapidly. The old Apple was obsolete, my room was then equipped with 3 computers for students, I had my own own laptop, and a computer lab was created. However, each class visited the technology teacher only 3 times a week for a semester, sadly, not enough time for in depth learning.

Cliparts.co

For  technology to be effective it needs to be integrated into the curriculum, so I created power-point programs to reinforce  ELA and History skills. In addition, computer learning games, such as Where in the World is Carmen San Diego and Oregon Trail were purchased. Here again, the major draw back was there were not enough computers for all the kids, I set up a schedule and grouped them 2 at a time per computer. This was one way for them to practice working together and sharing, while giving them more exposure to the computer at the same time.

When the school library was finally equipped with enough computers for an entire classroom to use, I was ecstatic. So were other teachers, there was a sign up sheet for library use and everyone clamored to get some time for their projects. 

I truly believe that technology based project learning is one of the best strategies for getting the class interested in the lesson. It brings it to life and makes it real. *According to research, “It supports four key components of learning: keeping the children actively engaged  by collaborating in groups, frequent interaction, feedback, and connection to real-life experts.” 

I use web quests quite often. The class works in groups of 3 or 4 and utilizes the web for research.  There is so much information out there and web-quests are abundant. One project is called, “Who Killed King Tut?” They are given a worksheet with possible suspects and they are to decide if the individual is innocent or guilty. We then have a trial with lawyers, a judge, jury, and defendants. This particular project helped the class problem solve, analyze their findings and communicate with each other. My experience in doing these types of activities has always been positive. The students have so much fun working on them, and so do I.

 We have truly come a long in way our use use of technology across the curriculum. I look forward to seeing more of it integrated into all classrooms in every school.

                                                          Resources

*http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction

 http://www.margietyner.net/king-tut-webquest.html

http://my.ilstu.edu/~jabraun/students/decker/

http://king-tut-webquest.wikispaces.com/Process

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This post is part of Sharing is Caring Teacher-Bloggers from TBOTEMC

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Technology across the Curriculum

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Memorial Day Tribute Literary Bundle (Grades 4-7)

By Deann Marin at The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs II

Offering for Educators, Comprehensive Teaching Aides.
 If you'd like to see what else I have to offer please visit my store

This Memorial Day, I would like to dedicate the post  and my

Memorial Day Tribute Literary Bundle for Grades 4-7, to a former 
student, Capt. Andrew Pedersen-Keel who gave his life for our
 freedom. He and Staff Sargeant Rex L. Shad were killed in March of 
2013,  when an Afghan policeman opened fire on US and Afghan 
forces inside police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan. He was
attached to Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special 
Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C., and was deployed
 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

I cannot speak highly enough of Andrew, PK as many called him.

I remember with fondness that day, years ago, when he first walked
into my classroom. He was a charmer with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and I 
knew right away that I liked this kid. He was smart, in our top group, with such
kindness, human warmth, and sincerity that made him unforgettable. The
 other kids in the class respected and liked him. Due to heart problems,

 a young girl in my class struggled to carry her books, so Andrew volunteered to
 tote them for her. This selfless act meant so much to her that years later, at his wake,
 she shared it with his mom.

We have lost a true hero, struck down at the young age of 28, who made the ultimate sacrifice 

to make the world a better place. I know that I am a better person for having known  him. 

The solace that we have is that he was a part of our life and he will live in our hearts forever. 

I salute you Capt. Andrew Pedersen-Keel.

If you would like to know more about Andrew, please visit this website.

http://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/Bios/Pedersen-Keel_Andrew.pdf

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Included in this literacy bundle is a timeline of the history of Memorial Day. There are 

comprehension questions to be answered as well as writing prompts, plaques and pictures to
color I hope that you and your students enjoy using this.

                              

Please visit Socrates Lantern's Tpt Store to view this item

For Teachers:……………………………….Page 4

Dedication to Capt. Andrew Pedersen-Keel..Page 5

Memorial Day Historic Timeline...Page 6

Comprehension Questions…Pages 7-8

Writing Prompts

Paragraph about Memorial Day History..Pages 9-10

Memorial for a fallen soldier………….Pages 11-12

Write a letter to a soldier……………..Pages 13-14

Memorial Day Speech by President….. Pages 15-16

Design a Plaque& Pictures to Color

Design a Plaque Honoring a Soldier……….Page 17

Animals are Heroes Too Make a Plaque……Page 18

Our Heroes, Pictures to Color………….Pages 19-20

Grading Rubrics………………………Pages 21-22

Answer Sheets……………………….. Pages 23-24

Resources…………………………….Page 25

Contact Page…………………………...Page 26

Photo from West Point Website

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See what these teachers have to say about Memorial Day in their classrooms.

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