The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. may be best known for his “I Have a Dream” speech, but his legacy encompasses so much more. As a Nobel Peace Prize winner and civil rights leader, he advocated for nonviolent activism in the battle against racial injustice and championed causes that have helped reshape our American philosophy and addressed economic inequity, segregation, and voting rights.

Although we celebrate the third Monday of January each year as MLK Day, we can spread his message of peace and equality all year-round. King challenged our nation to rethink our values, and by remembering and honoring his life’s work and accomplishments, his words can inspire our students to make this world a better place. As King said: “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.”

As we take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate King’s significance to both our country’s history and conscience, here are some resources you can use in your classroom to help your students dive deeper into the issues that inspired the civil rights movement, the philosophies of tolerance and nonviolence, and our continuing struggle for social justice.

• Visit learningforjustice.org for an excellent list of lessons, articles, and even publications for professional development.
• Teachervision.com has a variety of printouts, lesson plans, and language arts activities.
• The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University provides lessons geared toward middle and high school.
• Check out FacingHistory.org for teaching strategies and materials that examine King’s key philosophies for creating nonviolent social change.
• At EnchantedLearning.com, you can find an array of activities, including wordsearch puzzles and a timeline of King’s life.
• On the Scholastic Teachables site, you’ll find writing prompts and even an MLK-inspired play (some require payment).
• The Martin Luther King, Jr. Online site provides pictures of his life, videos of his speeches, and lesson plans for all grades K-12.