To mark Martin Luther King Day at JKHA, students across all grades of the middle school embarked upon a focused study of Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy. In fifth grade, students paired with their second grade buddies to read Brad Meltzer’s “I Am Martin Luther King Jr.” and created graphic organizers that illustrated their understanding of leadership through King’s example. In sixth, seventh and eighth grades, students began class by sharing with their peers their previous knowledge about King, before beginning a discussion of King’s accomplishments and legacy; they explored his biography through selected video clips. Across all grades, students came up with dreams of their own for a more peaceful future by completing the sentence, “I have a dream that one day our world will…”

In addition, the first graders got together with their third grade buddies to remember and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In class they read many books about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. With the third graders, they focused on and discussed King’s famous speech and what those words mean to us today.