Make Way for MLK: A Free Learning Packet and Book Recommendations

Time certainly flies when you out of school for extreme temperatures, snow, and ice.  Our first week back from Christmas vacation was super fast (2 days).  Which, I cannot lie, was a great way to get back into the swing of things.  Of course plans were out the window.  But we were able to fit in most of our New Year's activities.

Next up the 100th Day of School and Martin Luther King Jr.  Our 100th Day of School is on Friday and I still have not finalized the activities we are doing.  There are so many fun and clever ideas to mark the 100th Day, I'm having a hard time choosing.

As for Martin Luther King Jr., I have a few activities and books ready to go that I think the kids will really enjoy.  Some of the activities my firsties will be doing are in my new packet, Make Way for MLK:  A Martin Luther King Jr. Freebie.

(CLICK HERE for a link to the free activities below.)

This packet includes two literacy centers and two math centers (both with recording sheets), as well as a writing craftivity. 

One of the math centers provides practice with addition facts.

The other one works with time to the hour.

One of the literacy centers allows students to practice sorting sentence by type (asking or telling).

The other literacy center works with rhyming words.

My favorite part of this packet is the writing craftivity, I have a Dream Just Like Martin Luther King.  With the pattern, you can have your students create a MLK peek over or you can have them make one that looks more like themselves.  Either way can work.

There are also some really fabulous books about Martin Luther King Jr.  My First Biography: Martin Luther King Jr. by Marion Dane Bauer is a great choice for early elementary students.  The story is very simple and the illustrations are appealing.

The other biography I recommend is National Geographic Kids:  Martin Luther King, Jr. by Kitson Jazynka.  Like the book above, this one offers basic biographical information about King.  However, this text goes into more detail and uses actual photographs.

After reading these biographies, we will take a little closer on the March on Washington and the I Have a Dream Speech.  We March by Shane Evans is a book I found this summer.  It follows a family as they join the 1963 March on Washington.  The illustrations are very engaging as they focus in on individuals that were at the historic event.

My final recommendation is I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr. and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.   The content of this book is King's famous speech and the illustrations are outstanding.  My copy (from Amazon) also came with a CD of the speech, very useful.

There are certainly many more activities and books that you can use for your study of Martin Luther King Jr.  I hope some of these suggestions can be of use to you as you plan for MLK learning in your class.

Have a great week.

George and Martha: A Language Arts Mentor Text and a Literacy Center Freebie

Happy Labor Day weekend.  I just got back from a family get together where I saw my sweet cousin (who is now a middle school guidance counselor).  She and I grew up very close and seeing her reminded me of some of my favorite childhood characters, James Marshall's George and Martha.  I knew I just had to share them during this week's Mentor Text link up.

I remember reading these books with my cousin and being totally cracked up.  When I finally got my own classroom, the George and Martha anthology was one of the first books I bought.
These books offer loads of opportunities for various ELA lessons and activities.  To begin with, the reading level is great for primary students.  Sequencing, drawing conclusions, vocabulary development, comparisons, and inferences are just some of the skills that can be touched on with these simple and awesomely illustrated books.

Below you will find a sentence order activity I created to go along with the George and Martha books.  Click on picture for your own FREE copy.

Students will sort the cards by matching pictures and them put them in the correct order.  After ordering the sentence, students can identify each sentence type and complete the recording sheet.  

These books are not new, but if you like James Marshall's clever humor in Miss Nelson is Missing, you will want to add George and Martha to your class library.

Here is the scoop . . .

For more Mentor Text recommendations be sure to stop by Collaboration Cuties.

Enjoy your last weekend of summer.

MLK Day Is On the Way and So Is a FREEBIE

Our first week back to school has come to an end.  My first grade sweeties were more like first grade sleepies.  They were so worn out all week.  At dismissal, this afternoon, I looked down and three of my students were laying on the sidewalk with their heads on their backpacks while waiting for their rides.  If they can make it through one more week, they will get a well deserved three day weekend thanks to our Monday off honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK day is an opportunity to learn about a very important American.  My bachelor's degree is in history.  Any time I can work history into my first grade curriculum, I am a happy lady.  I created a language arts activity just for this occasion, The Martin Luther King Jr. Sentence Scramble.
Click on the picture below for your own FREE copy.

A  tried her little hand at the scramble.  She is in a pre k readiness class and not quite ready to complete this activity by herself.  But with a little help from daddy in the reading department, she was able to figure the sentences out.  She loves doing "big kid" work.

The activity includes eight sentences to mix and unscramble, as well as two recording sheet options.  The clip art is from Melonheadz.

For my class, I plan on printing enough copies of the sentence cards for the students to work on this activity with a partner.  You can also use it as a literacy station.  This sentence scramble is a great way to practice sentence order and expose your students to Dr. King.

Happy Friday!