Teaching my first graders about the impact Martin Luther King Jr. had is super important to me as a teacher. We read books about his life, talk about why he is an inspiration, and watch his “I Have a Dream” speech. I also wanted a fun writing activity that was appropriate for the younger elementary grades. My kiddos just LOVE choices so I decided to whip up some different MLK writing banners.
And speaking of fun writing, check out our Writing Center Starter Kit in our shop to encourage young authors in your classroom!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Getting Ready
To get started, I printed off the four banner options (below):
- I Have a Dream…
- Martin Lunker King Jr. Was…
- I Can be Kind By…
- MLK Changed America By…
I went ahead and printed them in color and on cardstock so they would hang nicely!
MLK Writing Banners
Then, I brought my kiddos to our classroom carpet and together we made a list of everything we knew about Martin Luther King Jr. on our anchor chart paper. I wanted to have something that they could refer back to when writing on their banners.
After wrapping up our discussion about Martin Luther King Jr., I let my students pick one of the four banners and get started on writing! I gave them plenty of time to fill them up, and then I paired students up to share their work.
We all gathered back at the carpet and I asked if anyone wanted to give a compliment to someone for doing a great job during writing time. Hands shot up into the air and we spent some time listening to students point out what others had done well.
To finish up, I hole punched the corners of each banner, threaded a ribbon through the holes, and hung our work up in the hall.
I loved the added twist of making a banner and we got SO MANY compliments! I know my students were proud of their work, and I enjoyed seeing how each student wrote something unique.
Grab Your Copy
Want to download these FREE banners??? Simply click on the blue download button below and then hop over and snag our Writing Center Starter Kit in our shop!
I cannot figure out how to download the banners even after signing up for your newsletter. 🙁
Me either, I keep pushing the download and it just keeps asking me to register. Which I already have done. =(
I received an email to confirm my email I entered, then I came back to this site and hit download again…after I entered my name and email, again, it sent me the download!
This is so cute! I like the collaboration element.
These are so nice! I’d love to download them, but I can’t get it to work after signing up and confirming my email address. 🙁
Thank you for the banners!
You are most welcome, Dan!
Warmly,
Ashley // Happiness Ambassador
I am interested in these banners for my students from 7th-12th graders.
I cannot access these banners. Please advise.
Thank you.
Hi Jen,
When you click the blue “Download Here” button, you’ll get a pop-up that prompts you to enter your name and email address. After providing this information, you’ll be directed to the PDF. If you’re not seeing these, check to see if your browser is blocking pop-ups from the site. You can also try using a different browser like Firefox. Let me know if you’re not able to grab the banners!
Warmly,
Sarah // Playdough to Plato Team