Learning About Civil Rights Leaders

Since we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in January, Room 408 did several mini-inquiries about civil rights leaders to gain a better understanding of the meaning behind the day off of school.

First we read several picture books about his life.

We learned that a major turning point in his early life was when a friend's mom told him that he couldn't play with her white son.

We also learned about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

We had a lot of discussions about what it means to demonstrate peacefully if you don't agree with someone.  We read This is the Dream which recapped how the Civil Rights Movement helped to change segregation.

We also heard an excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech.

We started a tally for some of the phrases that he kept repeating in his powerful speech.

This led us to questions about slavery and how things used to be.  We read about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.

We are all glad that we can go to school together, no matter what color our skin.  We liked how Dr. Martin Luther King taught us that we shouldn't judge people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

We want to help keep his dream alive.