So I don’t use a TON of books in my classroom, but one that I love to use January and February is Martin’s Big Words. It is a great children’s book about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It has won multiple awards including the Caldecott Medal and the Loretta Scott King Award for Illustrations. And rightfully so. I think it does a very tasteful job at dealing with some pretty heavy material.
The Song
I do not know where exactly this song comes from, but it is a great simple call and response song that works great for kindergarten. First I teach the students the song (they are in charge of the response and I sing the call). I use two puppets to help illustrate the two parts.
Then there are a variety of things I have done with the song over the years. One year, we tapped along to the beat and used it to talk about big and little beat, and about loud and quiet. Another year, I passed around 4 puppets (one for each response part within the song) and gave students the chance to sing solos. I’m sure you could easy add a xylophone part with the song as well.
The Book
Then we add the book. We start by singing the song. Then I read 2 pages, then we sing again. And repeat, until the book is done. I think this book is great at discussing some pretty heavy topics in a way that is accessible to younger students. But, I do edit it down a bit. One page discusses how some people were killed while fighting for their rights. And that Dr. King and his brothers houses were bombed. So at times I paraphrase. But I DO read the ending, where it discusses how Dr. King was shot and killed.
I think it is critical to have a small discussion after reading something like that, so we have students share what they learned about Dr. King and any other thoughts they might have. Inevitably, the first thing brought up is that he DIED. But we talk about how that didn’t stop the movement from going on to be a success, and how even though he is gone, we can still learn important lessons from him.
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