Suggested Grade Levels: 2-4

Suggested Curriculum Areas: Social Studies and Language Arts

Goals:
To study M.L.K. and Mahatma Gandhi’s use of nonviolent protest.

Objectives:
Students will read about the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
Students will view a slide show about the life of Mahatma Gandhi.
Students will compare and contrast the lives of M.L.K. and Gandhi using a Venn diagram.

Background information for teachers on Mahatma Gandhi:

- Slide show on Gandhi
- For upper level, go to Brenda Betz-Stolt's lesson plan

Lesson Outline

Activities:

1. Read to the children one of the books on the suggested reading list about Martin Luther King Jr.

2. Go to the slide show about Mahatma Gandhi. View the site with the children as a whole class or have the children view the site on their own or with a partner.

3. Complete the Venn diagram comparing the lives and aspirations of the two men.

Amount of Time: 45 minutes

Materials List:
- A book about Marin Luther King Jr.
- Computer with internet access
- Venn diagram

Resources:

I Have a Dream foreword by Coretta Scott King. Publisher: Scholastic, ISBN: 059020517
Martin’s Big Words, author: Doreen Rappaport, Publisher: Scholastic, ISBN: 0439405114

Extension Activities:

Study other important people such as Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, and Nelson Mandela. Compare each new life using a triple Venn Diagram to the lives of the others.