Introducing Dr. King in Kindergarten

I really love teaching my students about Martin Luther King, Jr. It's great this time of year to review our rules and why they are important while recognizing positive behaviors in the classroom as well! I introduced Dr. King yesterday by giving my girls a morning snack of Cheerios and apple juice while the boys had to sit on the carpet and watch. 

I just had to sit back and let the conversation unfold...and boy did it! (Warning...last year I had a child BURST into tears when they didn't get snack so choose wisely which group you'll give it to!)

Lots of questions from the boys like: "Why do they get snack?" "That's not fair!" 

ANNNND...the responses from the girls was even better: "We are better than you." "We worked harder this morning."

I couldn't have asked for a better lead in to our discussion of how this made each group feel. We recognized that it made the boys feel mad, sad, confused while it made the girls feel like they were better than the boys. While some of the girls said they felt bad eating it and watching the boys just sit, I pointed out that it didn't stop them from eating it. 

We discussed how this was indeed not fair - we were ALL special, but the girls are no more special than the boys. I then went on to explain how laws, or rules for grown-ups, used to be very unfair until a man named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. recognized this and began to spread the need for change. 

This activity was a great kick off to the week - My kids are hooked! How do you guys introduce Martin Luther King, Jr.?

For reading this post, you can hop to my TpT store and grab this FREEBIE. I take black and white pictures of pairs of friends and they work together to complete this writing response.

Hope you're having a great week!!

-Alexis