Martin Luther King Jr. Day Worksheets

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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.

Note: Each short reading assignment has two answer worksheets, consisting of both multiple choice and short-answer segments. The instructor may choose which to use.

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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.

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?

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

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?

Multiple Choice Questions

What Act was passed in 1965 as a result of Martin Luther's protests?

Martin Luther King Jr. 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.

Winner of the 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?

Multiple Choice Questions

Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because of his work with who?

The Nobel 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 of Martin Luther King Jr.

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

Martin Luther King Jr. 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?

Multiple Choice Questions

How many people were gathered to hear the "I Have a Dream" speech?

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 has Martin Luther King Jr. 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.