Kindergarten Spring History — Calendar Time, Holidays Across Traditions, and Mapping Our Neighborhood
Lesson 5 25 min hist.gK.s.lesson_05

Special days on our calendar — Martin Luther King Jr. Day and what we celebrate

Skills targeted
Objectives
  • Students can identify MLK Day as a special day in January.
  • Students can name one thing Dr. King taught us (kindness, fairness, treating people equally).
Vocabulary
holidaycelebratefairkindnessleaderDr. KingMLK

Lesson plan

Warm-up

4 min

Morning Meeting greeting circle — each child says 'Hello, ___, I am happy to see you today.' (kindness-modeling). Then point to MLK Day star on calendar.

Teacher moves
  • Model greeting first with named kindness
  • Affirm each greeting back
  • Anchor MLK Day on the calendar — typically the third Monday of January

Direct instruction

9 min

Some days on the calendar are SPECIAL days. We call them HOLIDAYS. Today's holiday is MLK Day. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader who taught us BIG WORDS: that all people should be treated fairly, that we should be kind, and that we can make change with our words and our feet. Listen as I read some of his big words.

Key examples
  • Notice how Dr. King's words are about KINDNESS and FAIRNESS — the same words on our class-rules chart.
    model Highlight: 'love is the answer'; 'I have a dream that one day...'; 'we shall overcome'
    prompt Read Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport (pause on 'I have a dream')
Checks for understanding
  • What is one BIG WORD Dr. King used?
  • Why do we have a special day named after him?
Sourcework
Source type
biographical picture book as source
Routine
Read-aloud -> notice his words -> connect to class rules from Fall
Details
Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Bryan Collier (2001).
Media
M-K-S-CUL-05-A Illustration
Reproduction of the Doreen Rappaport / Bryan Collier cover — collage portrait of Dr. King with text 'MARTIN'S BIG WORDS'

Reproduction of the Doreen Rappaport / Bryan Collier cover — collage portrait of Dr. King with text 'MARTIN'S BIG WORDS' in 4-inch warm gold letters. Style: collage with photographic and painted elements. Displayed at 18x24 inches on easel.

Guided practice

7 min
Tasks
  • Make a kindness card — draw a picture of you being kind and label it with one word
    scaffold Sentence frame 'I am kind when I ___'
  • Add MLK Day to the Holidays-We-Share Wall (MG-3)
    scaffold Teacher reads tile aloud
Media
MG-3 Chart
Holidays-We-Share Wall — a 36x60-inch chart with TEN named celebrations as photo-illustrated tiles (Lunar New Year red e

Holidays-We-Share Wall — a 36x60-inch chart with TEN named celebrations as photo-illustrated tiles (Lunar New Year red envelope and dragon, Eid crescent and lantern, Hanukkah menorah, Kwanzaa kinara, Dia de los Ninos open book, Diwali clay lamp, Powwow drum, Christmas pine bough, MLK Day silhouette, Earth Day globe). Each tile has child-language caption: 'Some families celebrate ___ by ___.' Velcro-mounted so children can attach a sticky-note 'My family does this too!' if they choose.

M-K-S-CUL-05-B Chart
MG-3 wall (36x60 inches) with the MLK Day tile attached: silhouette of Dr. King at podium, third-Monday-of-January date

MG-3 wall (36x60 inches) with the MLK Day tile attached: silhouette of Dr. King at podium, third-Monday-of-January date marker, caption 'Some families and our country celebrate MLK Day by remembering Dr. King and doing kind things for others.' Tile is 8x8 inches, photo-illustrated.

M-K-S-CUL-05-C Manipulative Physical / non-image

5x7-inch folded card stock template. Front has 'I am kind when I ___' sentence frame at top in 18pt and a 4x5-inch open drawing space. Inside has 4 lines for additional dictation. Available in a 'no-frame, blank' version for children who prefer.

Formative assessment

2 min
Exit ticket
  • Tell me one thing Dr. King taught us. Use the words 'fair' or 'kind' or 'all people'.
scoring Correct concept with vocabulary = mastery; concept without vocabulary = practicing; cannot answer = re-teach

Closure

Moves
  • Display kindness cards in hall
  • Preview: tomorrow we'll meet Lunar New Year

Homework

5 min
Tasks
  • Tell a family member one BIG WORD from Dr. King. Show them your kindness card.

Exercises in this lesson

hist.gK.s.cul.holidays_traditions.ex_01
Draw a picture of ONE holiday you have learned about. Use the frame: 'Some families celebrate ___ by ___.'
 draw and dictate holiday · diff 2

Differentiation

Scaffolds
  • Sentence frame on each table
  • Picture-cue cards for kindness actions
  • Audio of Rappaport book pre-recorded for re-listen
Extensions
  • Choose one of Dr. King's big words and explain it in a sentence
  • Connect MLK Day to one class rule
English Learners
  • Bilingual Martin's Big Words editions when available
  • Echo-and-repeat the BIG WORDS phrase
Ieps 504s
  • Pre-printed kindness card outline
  • Allow dictation instead of writing
  • Extended time

Teacher notes

MLK Day is a federal holiday (third Monday of January) and a meaningful entry to the unit's holiday arc — it shows that holidays can be civic (about a person or cause) as well as religious/cultural. Use Martin's Big Words at the K level — avoid heavy historical context about lynching or violence; focus on the words and the dream. If MLK Day has already passed by the time you teach this lesson, anchor it on the calendar retrospectively. Some families may have already discussed MLK Day at home — invite those children to share briefly. Be sensitive to children whose families have direct civil-rights movement memory.