It's almost a 3 day weekend!! Although we just got back from Christmas break, I can't believe how excited I am for the 3 day weekend. To get ready for Martin Luther King Day we embarked on a two week study on peace and Martin Luther King.
Part of our study included an in-depth look at Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech. We analyzed it like we might a nonfiction article, pulling the main idea out of each section. We then discussed its overall message and purpose. We used garage band to record their voices, reading the speech. We then used iMovie to pair our voice recording with pictures the kids drew of Martin Luther King. Our finished version is below! Hope you enjoy it.
While we were recording the speech, the students had to be extra extra quiet so as to not be heard in the background. Therefore as a reward for being so awesome, as well as a chance to express themselves, they created these peace collages with watercolors. I pre-cut out a dove from contact paper and my student's stuck attached it to the watercolor paper. They then filled the entire paper with color. We let it dry and then messily glued down tissue paper for added texture. Finally they unpeeled the contact paper so, the white dove would be extra dramatic and bright. They outlined it in sharpie and added flourishes such as crosses, peace signs, stars and hearts and the word, Peace. Each one turned out unique and special. I can't wait to hang them in our classroom windows!
The dove art idea came from an art blog located here. I slightly changed it, so as to work better with Second Grade, but they still turned out really nicely!
Finally, we created a simple projects from a template I purchased on teacherspayteachers. We brainstormed as a class different dreams we have for the world today and the kids created these awesome little MLK's. They wrote their own dreams down and we shared them on our Social Studies bulletin board. The rest of them are currently being displayed in our school library.
Overall, it was an awesome two weeks. Hopefully after this study, they have a somewhat deeper understanding of the Civil Right Movement. I also hope that they have a stronger appreciation for the safe and loving community that their parents and school provide them. Maybe they even have a small memory to help them someday fight for their dreams, and for what is right.
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