History, acting, and drama = high student engagement!

My students love this history activity I call it Spot the Impostor. It includes acting and drama as students learn about historical people.

This one activity, students will explore Dr. King.  This activity is student centered as the students think like detectives -trying to figure out which people are the impostors, and which is the "real" Dr. King. 

Three students will be chosen to pretend they are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They will appear next to each other in the front of the room facing the class. During the activity, the three will be asked questions by other students in class. The questions will be about Dr. Martin Luther King’s life. The students will have prepared answers they will read from a script.

Ten other students will ask questions during the game (see student scripts). They will be assigned a number from 1 to 10. This is the number of the question they will ask when the game begins.

After every question, the three Dr. Martin Luther King’s will each give an answer. “Number 1” will always answer first, “Number 2” second, and “Number 3” third. Only one of the three is really Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The real one will always tell the truth when answering questions. After all 10 questions have been asked, class members will vote for the person they think is they real Martin Luther King.

Also, all students will complete a "score sheet" to keep notes as the questions are being asked.

This activity can be found here.

2016 Dr. King Celebration Video

As promised, our 2016 Dr. King celebration video.  Please take a minute to view it.
Happy Dr. King day!

Preparing for Martin Luther King Day

As I returned from Christmas break, my mind is pondering about our school's annual MLK Celebration.  It's a time when I try to make Dr. King's message relate to my student's life in a meaningful way.  To get my students understand, in a world so full of hated and yelling, that Dr. King's message is POWERFUL today.

To help me remember Dr. King's message I have been listening to his Methodist Student Leadership Conference Address.  Unlike his I Have A Dream speech, this speech is more lengthy.  So, I've been listening to it on my lunch breaks and on my prep.  Yes, more than once.

In this speech Dr King explains the success of the non-violence movement and the power of love. He explains why as a society we must care of each other.

Also, this speech addresses why I am a teacher (maybe you too).  Why it is important to help ALL my students succeed.  Why public education is so important to our society.  Finally, if you listen carefully to this speech, we can hear the whispers of the I Have A Dream Speech and his Mountain Top speech in this speech.

As a fellow educator, I know how busy your day is and how you have so much to accomplish...But take a few minutes and listen to this speech. MLK's Methodist Student Leadership Conference Address

Also, if you are looking for some engaging MLK Day lessons, check out the Social Studies Super Store.  Here is one lesson you might want to review.  MLK Lesson

It's Never Too Early to Think About MLK Day Assignments

Sometimes as teachers we think, "how do we begin a lesson?"  There is no better way, then using the Dave Letterman's format-a top ten list.

So, here a is a helpful website that gives your students a quick overview of MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech in a top ten ten list.

So facts are well known, such as the march on Washington in 1963 was not the first march planned.  But fact number eight was new to me. Check it out!

Also, this Constitutional Center website has a link to the entire texts of Dr. King's Speech.  This would be a great opportunty for students to view a primary source. 

Finally, please visit the Social Studies Super Store for an execellent, no-prep, close reading of exserpts of Dr. King's speech.  I Have A Dream Speech Close Reading Assignment

I hope this helps.

I Have A Dream Speech Link