Do you know who Martin Luther King Jr. was? Not to worry! Let us take a look together! Along with other important holidays, Martin Luther King Jr. is also of great significance. Every year, on the third Monday of January, Martin Luther King Jr. is a national holiday for honoring the United States' most famous civil-rights activist. These worksheets contain a number of different activities using a dedicated set of vocabulary words related to Dr. King's life and Civil Rights work, including word search, fill in the blanks, scrambled words, word wall flash cards, acrostic poems, crossword puzzles, and more. The collection also includes six different packs of Bingo cards as well as decorated writing paper. Last but not least, a KWHL (know, what, how, learn) diagram is included to help students pick a topic to explore in more depth. This holiday is observed on the third Monday of every January, even though Dr. King's birthday was on January 15th. It took literally 15 years, after his assassination (1968) for this date to become and observed United States Holiday (1983).
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What is Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a United States holiday which honors the hard work and sacrifice of Martin Luther King Jr. in his fight for civil rights. He is considered today as one of the most important figures in the Civil Rights Movement and is one of only three people who have federal holidays dedicated to their memory.
Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.?
In 1957, he founded the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), which was a collection of black churches willing to conduct non-violent protests to spur civil rights reform. Martin Luther believed that these nonviolent protests would lead to media coverage of the struggles of black people and the injustices in the way they were being treated
Adjectives
Write an adjective on each line to describe Martin Luther King Jr. Then write a sentence using each adjective on the lines below.
Free Response Questions
Only two other people have been granted federal holidays. Choose one of them. Why were they honored with their own day?
Multiple Choice Questions
. The vote to have Martin Luther King Day in 1979, fell short by how many votes?
Free Response Questions
Today Martin Luther is still remembered as one of the biggest figures in the Civil Rights Movement. Do you think his work still has an impact on life today? Why or Why not?
Graphic Organizer
What major accomplishments are credited to Dr. King? How did he change the world for the better?
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
In 1964, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. At only 35 years old, at the time he was the youngest person ever to receive the award. The official reason for Martin Luther King Jr. being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was because of his work as leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Nobel Peace Prize Free Response Questions
According to the will of Alfred Nobel, the Peace Prize can only be awarded to a living person. This prevents leaders like George Washington from being awarded the prize because they lived before it was created. Do you think this is right?
What is the Peace Prize?
In the words of Alfred Nobel, the peace prize should be granted to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.
Multiple Choice Questions
What was Martin Luther’s first campaign for peace called? How many people attended the Washington March?
Campaigns for Peace
Martin Luther King Jr. fought for civil rights and equality for all people in order to bring peace to people living in the United States. He believed that he could prove that all people deserved equal rights through a peaceful means.
Free Response Questions
Martin Luther believed that equality could be achieved through peace rather than violence. Do you think all problems can be solved through peace rather than through violence? Why?
Venn Diagram
Determine the similarities and differences between 3 major campaigns for peace made by Martin Luther King Jr.
The Importance of Civil Rights Reading Passage
You have a probably heard of Civil Rights before, but do you really know what they mean? Civil rights are among the most important rights that are granted to us by our government. They protect people from discrimination or unequal treatment based on their gender, race, religion, and anything else that distinguishes people from others. T
Free Response Questions
There are many countries where not everyone enjoys the civil rights we do in America. Do you believe that these people deserve civil rights too? Why?
Multiple Choice Questions
What did people start doing in 1961 to protest segregation? What is the name of one of the civil rights reformers?
Conflicts and Compromises
Martin Luther King Jr. preached equality and love for all, an ideal that often earned him criticism from other activist groups. He believed that by working together with whites and compromising with them, that he could do more for the progression of the Civil Rights Movement than violence and anger.
Free Response Questions
When have you compromised? Do you feel that you got more than you would have if you did not compromise? Why do you think it is important to see other people’s point of view in order to reach a compromise?
Multiple Choice Questions
To African Americans Martin Luther was seen as a symbol of? What movement was Martin Luther a part of?
Fight Against Discrimination Reading Passage
He began his fight against racial discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s. At this period in history African Americans were treated as secondary citizens. They could be refused jobs simply because they were African American.
Fight Against Discrimination Free Response Questions
Can you think of other types of discrimination besides racial discrimination? Do you feel that this is just as bad as racial discrimination?
Fight Against Discrimination Multiple Choice Questions
The process of African Americans being separated from the rest of the population is referred to as Segregation.
"I Have a Dream" Reading Passage
The "I Have a Dream" speech was written and given by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963. It is considered one of the most notable speeches in human history and was ranked at the most important American speech of the 20th century. The speech was given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to 250,000 avid listeners.
"I Have a Dream" speech Free Response Questions
What did the Civil Rights Act do? Why was it important that the speech reached so many people?
Writing Prompt
Dreams have a funny way of coming true… The Civil Rights movement brought about a great deal of change in America. Today, we are a global community. Describe in your own words where in the world does civil injustice still lurk.
How He Influenced Life Today - Reading Passage
Martin Luther King Jr. believed in a very important ideal, the fact that all men were created equal and should not be judged on the basis of their race or religion. This may not sound that extraordinary since these same ideals are what America was founded upon. But in reality the time in which Martin Luther lived showed that black people were inferior to whites and that they should be treated as such.
Influence on Life Free Response Questions
What do you think America would be like if Martin Luther King Jr. never existed? The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were the first steps to what?
Leadership Reading Passage
While there are a number of definitions and fancy books that are dedicated to describing the qualities of a great leader…what really matters in a true leader is one thing: The ability to make the people around you better.
Free Response Questions
What happened when Martin Luther was a child and wanted to play baseball with the other kids?
Word Search
We look at vocabulary that commonly relates to civil rights. Find the vocabulary words: Boycott, Demonstrate, Discriminate, Equality, Freedom, Leadership, Minister, Oppressed, Peace, Protest, Racial, and Segregate.
Alphabetic Order
Did you know that people can alphabetize 10% faster by writing an "A" at the top and a "Z" at the bottom?
Missing Letters
Single letter fills here. Again, all of these terms relate to the Civil Rights Movement.
The Bad Dream
Imagine Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement never took place. List 5 ways your life would not be the same right now.
Bingo Card #1
Playing Bingo is a ton of fun. This can help you introduce new vocabulary words to students.
The Achievements Of Martin Luther King Jr.
The day is celebrated to observe equal rights for all Americans and regardless of their background. He delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech in front of a quarter-million population during the peaceful March in Washington, DC. Because of this, they became the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize when he was 35! He spent his life fighting for civil rights and started movements against poverty until he passed away. For his enthusiasm and because of his struggles, the day is now celebrated as a national holiday to pay our respects to Martin Luther King Jr., who spent his life fighting for rights.
A hero, a liberator, an activist, a voice of the public, the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and much more; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a name written in history with gold. Dr. King became the face of the civil rights movement in the 1900s, working hard and motivating the public to protest peacefully for their rights and against the segregation of African Americans in the nation. He worked towards a united America where there is the freedom to live and security.
People might only remember him for his iconic "I have a dream" speech. The speech was so impactful that even its reference today stirs up the audience's emotions. We can only imagine its power when delivered for the first time. However, this was not the only contribution by Dr. King. Here, we will discuss the achievements of Dr. Martin Luther in his life until he was assassinated in 1968.
1. Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955
Dr. King was a minister at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church when the event occurred on 1 December 1955. Rosa Parks was arrested under racial segregation laws because she refused to give her seat to a white person. The activists chose to boycott the public transport service, which continued for 381 days putting the country under economic strain. The protestors chose Dr. King as the leader of the boycott and negotiations. The boycott ended when the Supreme court ruled that no segregation on buses or public transport is allowed.
2. Birmingham Campaign, 1963
With his family, Dr. King moved to one of the highly segregated cities of that time; Birmingham, Atlanta. The campaign for civil rights was hardest in this region to eradicate segregation on lunch counters and hiring priorities. Dr. King, for civil disobedience, was arrested, for which he penned an eloquent letter from jail in his defense.
The protesters included young kids subjected to high-pressure water attacks and police dogs by the local police. It all ended in the resignation of the police officer who led these attacks and new anti-discriminatory laws implemented by the municipal government.
3. March on Washington, 1963
As the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) leader, one of the most prominent groups working for civil rights and freedom, Dr. King was one of the representatives of the March. The March on Washington is considered the epitome of successful non-violent protests in the history of the United States of America.
The "I have a dream" speech is a part of this March where Martin Luther addressed the masses about his aspirations and expectations of an ideal society. The vehement cry of Mahalia Jackson when she asked Martin to tell the people about his dream motivated King to let go of the written speech. He improvised the speech with whatever he believed in and spoke from his heart.
4. Civil Rights Act (1964) And Voting Rights Act (1965)
The March and speech were so galvanizing that the basic civil rights act and voting rights act was passed in the upcoming years. The Supreme court gave voting rights to African Americans and all other communities. Laws against segregation were implemented as well.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is not only an iconic symbol for the African Americans, but it is the name that appears whenever there is a crisis of discrimination in the world.