MLK Day Poster Activity {FREE}

Can you believe the new year is already upon us? During this time, we are currently prepping for all the amazing things that the month of January brings us. In particular, spending the time to research, learn, and complete an MLK Day poster activity. To prepare for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s upcoming birthday, we like to introduce our students to the idea of gathering important facts about a person’s life. MLK spent his life so actively involved in social justice as a leader of the civil rights movement. There is an abundance of events and speeches that center around this remarkable figure. This makes him, and his life’s work, the perfect subject when exploring biographies.

The Importance of Teaching about MLK

We feel that it is essential to teach students about MLK and celebrate this iconic hero of our nation’s history. He taught us so many valuable lessons. These life-long lessons include:

Always being civil and kind to one another
Fight for your rights in a non-violent way
Stand up for what is right and just
Never give up on your dreams
Make time to help others in need

These lessons or themes can be found time and time again when studying the life of MLK. As students gather information about his life, they will find an abundance of examples for each lesson!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Resources We Love!

We like to begin our journey with this video from BrainPop Jr. It is a free video that gives a general and easy to understand overview of who MLK was. In addition, this video is especially great for students who have never heard of MLK before. We feel that it is the perfect introduction for children in K-3!

Brain Pop Jr MLK video — Brain Pop Jr. MLK Video

We also have an abundance of books related to Dr. King and his life. Out of all the books we own, our favorite has to be Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport. This book really brings his story to life and also emphasis the power of words. Our words can change the world! So if you haven’t had the opportunity to read this book with your class, try and get a hold of a copy this year! Also, here are a few other books we love:

Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? By: Bonnie Bader

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King, Jr. By: Jean Marzollo

I Have a Dream (Book & CD) By: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & Kadir Nelson

I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. By: Brad Meltzer

FREE Printable MLK Day Poster Activity

We designed a poster for you to use with your class! It gives your students a chance to show their creative side as they draw and write all about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. First, they choose three important life events to showcase. This is a great opportunity to discuss how to pick out the most significant events or facts about a person’s life. Remind them that facts they hear over and over again are going to be important! Next, students will draw a portrait of Dr. King. Make sure to show real life pictures in addition to illustrations found in books and videos. Finally, students will finish the prompt “His dream for America…” by choosing one or more of the themes or lessons that they feel was the focus of his life’s work.

What we love so much about this poster activity, is that is gives students a chance to show what they’ve learned in an organized way. Also, when you use these posters at the end of your MLK studies, they act as a great assessment tool! By using a combination of drawings and words, the posters end up looking visually appealing. This makes them perfect to hang in the classroom or hallways. Look how amazing these posters were displayed on A Primary Mindset’s rainbow wall! It just made our day when she shared this beautiful photo with us.