Last week, first graders began learning about Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., discovering that he was an important African-American leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Through shared read alouds, we discussed key terms and concepts including segregation, discrimination, and prejudice.  Students participated in a number of literacy based centers including viewing a BrainPOP Jr. video about Dr. King, completing activity books about Dr. King, partner reading self selected books about Dr. King, and writing about American dreams. For this writing project, students were asked to first write about Dr. King’s dream to make America a better place. Then, they wrote about their own dream for our country. We will continue to follow the steps of the writing process as we prepare these pieces for publishing.