Free MLK Quote Activity
Do you need an activity to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day? I have created a free MLK quote activity to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to inspire goodness in your students.
As teachers, we have a lot of influence. The things we teach our students and the example we set for them can help them to feel genuinely loved and inspire them to become the best possible versions of themselves. My favorite lessons to teach my students were those that inspired them to be good people – especially when it involved learning from the examples of incredible leaders from our nation’s history!
In this free MLK quote activity, your students will learn about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, reflect upon their own lives, and illustrate their favorite quote from MLK. Check out the full lesson plan below, and don’t forget to click the link to download the free quote pages.
MLK Quote Activity Lesson Plan
1. First, read the book Martin’s Big Words. This picture book biography tells the story of Dr. King’s life and includes many of his quotes. Buy the book on Amazon (affiliate link) or watch the free Youtube video here (6 min).
Note: The link above is an Amazon affiliate link. This means that I may earn commissions for purchases made through this link.
2. Discuss the messages from the book. Here are sample discussion questions:
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- What does Martin mean by “big words”? How can we use “big words”?
- Why didn’t Martin want people to use violence?
- Have you ever felt judged because of the way you look or what you believe? Was it fair?
- Have you ever judged someone else unfairly?
3. Next, students pick one quote by Dr. Martin Luther King to illustrate. I have created templates for the following quotes:
“Everyone can be great.”
“Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”
“Sooner or later, all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together.”
“Love is the key to the problems of the world.”
“I have a dream that one day in Alabama little black boys and black girls will join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
4. Ask students to share their illustrations with a partner or the class.
5. End the lesson by showing this incredibly moving video by Kid President (one of my absolute favorites!).
Download the Free MLK Quote Activity
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. – MLK
These days, we could all use a little bit of light and love. I hope that this simple MLK quote activity helps bring a little bit of that light to your classroom. Share the love with your school by using the student illustrations as a bulletin board display! To download, simply click the button below.
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Looking for more social studies lessons? Check out these other free lesson plans I have created. All lesson plans are Google Classroom compatible – perfect for both in-person and distance learning!
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