First Graders Have a Dream, Too
Leader, courageous, loving, father, preacher and hero were a few of the words first graders used to describe Martin Luther King Jr. They came up with this list after hearing stories about him and listening to his “I have a dream” speech.
The literature used to introduce Martin to the children included books by his daughter and niece, and by several historians. These books talked about his non-violent approach to making change. Students discussed ways they could make change in their world using Martin Luther King’s approach.
Following this discussion a “My Dream” project was introduced. Students wrote about how they planned to make the world a better place. They illustrated their ideas and made a special folder to display their idea. On the outside of the folder first graders traced their hands using a couple different colors of construction paper to represent the diversity of the world in which they live.
