Martin Luther King Lesson

Just found this awesome idea for teaching about Martin Luther King and his message.  It's from Elementary School's Counselor Blog. The blog seems to be inactive since last spring, but she has some wonderful ideas that still work today and can be used.

This M & M lesson is very simple but very clear and powerful for young minds to understand the concept that we are all the same underneath the color of our skin.

The lesson actually begins with two wrapped presents.  One neat and pretty and the other poorly wrapped with old torn paper and tied with a string.  The students get to pick which one they would open.  As predicted, most of them pick the pretty one.  When they open it they find it is filled with rocks.  Then they open the other one and find M&M's.

You can start with the M&M's wrapped in the boxes or just skip the gift box part as time allows.  Either way it is a creative way to illustrate your point.

It is a great warm up to the MLK Art/Writing activity I created and have done the past couple years.