Martin Luther King, Jr: I Have a Dream.
MLK Day should be fun, serious, educational and thoughtful. Here are 25+ activities and projects for kids to make the day memorable, including “I have a dream speech” activities. Of course once again I am behind the 8-ball, and if you want to visit the new African-American History Museum in Washington, DC, tickets are not available until April.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.
Martin Luther King Jr, August 28, 1963
Martin Luther King Day Projects and Activities
I haven’t yet decided if our MLK day is going to be educational (museum, projects) or an actual service project. We just did the One Kind Act a Month feeding the homeless and plan to do that again later this month. After all, I am trying to raise them to be charitable and socially aware. I think the planet needs more of that right now, and this is a great time to start.
Preschool Activities for MLK Day
Behind the project I put some of the skills that you can work on, or to help you decide which project to choose.
- FREE Coloring Pages-by Teachers Pay Teachers (colors, fine motor, creativity)
- FREE Martin Luther King Bingo-by Teachers Pay Teachers (listening, language)
- Martin Luther King, Jr – Printables for Primary Students (Free) (language, writing, thinking)
- Paper Plate Peace Sign Craft-by Inner Child Fun (tactile, sensory, language, colors)
- Egg Challenge Printable-by Little Kinder Warriors (tactile, science, in depth thinking)
- Hand Peace Doves-by Sippy Cup Central Mom (tactile, fine motor)
- What Would You Do Printables-by Teachers Pay Teachers (problem solving, writing, language)
- Martin Luther King Writing Papers-by Teachers Pay Teachers (writing, language)
- Martin Luther King Word Search-by Teachers Pay Teachers (letters, language, visual)
- Martin Luther King Dream Clouds-by Preschool-Daze (tactile, fine motor, problem solving)
- My Martin Luther King Speech Printable-by Classroom Freebies (language, writing)
“I Have a Dream” speech activities and lesson plans
MLK Activities for School-Aged Kids
- CNN Student News Learning Activity: MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech as visual text – Lesson Plan
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech as a work of literature
- Write Your Own “I Have a Dream” Speech
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Speech FREE #kindnessnation #weholdthesetruths
- Printable: “I Have a Dream” Mobile
Museums and Places to visit for MLK Day
- Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC. Place where MLK gave his famous “I have a dream” speech.
- Smithsonian Museum of African-American History, free, but must reserve tickets months in advance. Same day tickets are available if you want to wake up early and give it a shot.
- African American Museum in Philadelphia-the first institution built by a major United States city to house and interpret the life and work of African Americans.
- Central Pennsylvania African American Museum-Reading, PA. I’ve never been there. It has very limited hours.
- MLK Jr. National Historic Site-Atlanta. You can also do a Virtual Tour of this site online. It includes several buildings including his childhood home.
- The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change -(“The King Center”) has been a global destination, resource center and community institution for over a quarter century. Nearly a million people each year make pilgrimage to the National Historic Site to learn, be inspired and pay their respects to Dr. King’s legacy. Atlanta.
- National Civil Rights Museum-at the Lorraine Hotel, where MLK was assassinated.