Martin Luther King Jr. Day Lesson for ESL Students (Article & Activities)

This lesson includes everything you need to introduce your ESL students to the history surrounding MLK Jr. Day while practicing important academic skills. This lesson includes:

• A Pre-Reading Vocabulary Practice Worksheet
• A Pre-Reading Abbreviation Practice Worksheet
• A 3-Page Article with visuals and bolded vocabulary words
• A Comprehension Questions Worksheet
• A Chronological Order Practice
• A Map Activity

This lesson would be appropriate for high-beginning to intermediate-level middle school, high school, or adult learners. (As always, the whole lesson is available in the preview, so please decide if it would be appropriate for your group, as you know them best).

This lesson is great for building background for students who are SLIFE or who may have not grown up in the United States and are not familiar with who MLK Jr. was. It serves as a basic introduction to his life, while also having students practice important academic vocabulary words and skills such as labeling a map, putting events in order, and recognizing abbreviations.

A FREE matching presentation is available that has the eleven vocabulary words with visuals, their definitions, and some discussion questions to assist you as you teach the lesson.

Please note: This article is a basic introduction to his life and vocabulary words that are often heard when discussing the Civil Rights Movement. It does not go in depth to all the events of his life nor all the events in the Civil Rights Movement. This lesson is meant to be done in 1-2 class periods.

All images are public domain or fair use. Historical images are cited when needed.

Rivera ESL Resources has many other Holiday lessons available here.

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