Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Celebrate, Collaborate and Comprehend

Regardless if your child takes state testing, he or she can never have enough exposure to informational text to improve comprehension skills. State testing often features stories students have little or no topical background knowledge. One reason is to take students out of their comfort zone and expose them to new subjects. It is also an opportunity to evaluate their comprehension abilities, which is the goal of all reading.

This class highlights the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., from his birth in 1929 until his death in 1968. No background knowledge is needed to take the class. Students will work together to determine the main idea of the text and use a graphic organizer to identify supporting details. The story will appear on screen as students read together. 

Celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on this, his U.S. national holiday weekend, is a great way to practice informational reading, learn with peers and engage in comprehension checks throughout the story. This class concludes with a short video about Martin Luther King. Jr.

This lesson emphasizes the importance of:

**background knowledge
**making predictions
**using reading strategies to understand informational stories


This class features:

**Introduction to (or review of ) the use of graphic organizers as a reading strategy.
**Video to complement audio-visual learners.
** An opportunity to engage with other learners online.