martin luther king, jr.

Passage Skills Grade Level Word Count

Martin Luther King, Jr. 7.2 417

Martin Luther King, Jr. Timeline, cause/ 6.4 416

effect, opinion
Martin Luther King, Jr. writing 5.7 405

Martin Luther King, Jr. 5.0 406

Vocabulary
civil rights – equality for all citizens
boycott – refusing to buy or use something
founded - started
segregation – separating races
federal holiday – holiday recognized by the government

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©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

 martin luther king, jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister in Montgomery, Alabama.
His religious beliefs and his desire for a non-violent solution led him to be a
major part of the civil rights movement in America.
When Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus in
1955, King was one of the people to plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The
boycott lasted for 382 days while African-Americans walked, shared rides,
and took cabs to work. Although he was arrested during the boycott, King
became known across the nation for his part in the civil rights movement.
In 1957, King and other ministers and civil rights activists founded the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference to help organize the movement.
Non-violent protests were a large part of the strategy to achieve full
equality. The SCLC’s motto was “Not one hair of one head of one person
should be harmed.” Actions such as boycotts, marches, and sit-ins protested
segregation and other injustices. Sit-ins happened at store lunch counters
when African-American students sat in areas reserved for white people.
When the students were asked to move or leave, they simply sat there and
did nothing. Sometimes they would get yelled at or injured, but these sit-ins
were successful. Lunch counter segregation ended in many southern cities.
In 1963, King and leaders of other civil rights groups organized the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march was another non-
violent demonstration and was attended by more than 200,000 people. It
was where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in the shadow of
the Lincoln Memorial. Soon, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Martin
Luther King, Jr. was also awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Many people did not agree with King and his work towards racial
equality. Those people sent him death threats and bombed his home. He was
arrested a total of twenty-nine times. On April 4, 1968, King was shot as he
was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1983, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became an American federal holiday
to be observed on the third Monday of January, which is near his birthday.
It is a day when people celebrate King’s life and his contributions to the
struggle for racial equality. Also on that day, many people honor King by
volunteering their time in service to their neighbors and communities.

©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

 martin luther king, jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister in Montgomery, Alabama.
His religious beliefs and his desire for a non-violent solution led him to be a
major part of the civil rights movement in America.
When Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus in
1955, King was one of the people to plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The
boycott lasted for 382 days. African-Americans walked, shared rides, and
took cabs to work. Although he was arrested during the boycott, King
became known across the nation for his part in the civil rights movement.
In 1957, King and other ministers and civil rights activists founded the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference to help organize the movement.
Non-violent protests were a large part of the strategy to achieve full
equality. The SCLC’s motto was “Not one hair of one head of one person
should be harmed.” Actions such as boycotts, marches, and sit-ins protested
segregation and other injustices. Sit-ins happened at store lunch counters
when African-American students sat in areas reserved for white people.
When the students were asked to move or leave, they simply sat there and
did nothing. Sometimes they would get yelled at or injured. These sit-ins
were successful. Lunch counter segregation ended in many southern cities.
In 1963, King and leaders of other civil rights groups organized the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march was another non-
violent demonstration and was attended by more than 200,000 people. It
was where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in the shadow of
the Lincoln Memorial. Soon, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Martin
Luther King, Jr. was also awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Many people did not agree with King and his work towards racial
equality. Those people sent him death threats and bombed his home. He was
arrested a total of twenty-nine times. On April 4, 1968, King was shot as he
was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1983, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became an American federal holiday
to be observed on the third Monday of January. The day is near his birthday.
It is a day when people celebrate King’s life and his contributions to the
struggle for racial equality. Also on that day, many people honor King by
volunteering their time in service to their neighbors and communities.

©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

 martin luther king, jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister in Montgomery, Alabama.
His religious beliefs and his desire for a non-violent solution led him to be a
major part of the civil rights movement in America.
When Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus in
1955, King was one of the people to plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The
boycott lasted for 382 days. African-Americans walked, shared rides, and
took cabs to work. King was arrested during the boycott. He became known
across the nation for his part in the civil rights movement.
In 1957, King and other ministers and civil rights activists founded the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference to help organize the movement.
Non-violent protests were commonly used to reach their goals. The SCLC’s
motto was “Not one hair of one head of one person should be harmed.”
Actions such as boycotts, marches, and sit-ins protested segregation and
other injustices. Sit-ins happened when African-American students sat at
lunch counters reserved for white people. When the students were asked to
move or leave, they simply sat there and did nothing. Sometimes they would
get yelled at or injured. These sit-ins were successful. Lunch counter
segregation ended in many southern cities.
In 1963, King and leaders of other civil rights groups organized the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march was another non-
violent event. More than 200,000 people participated in the march. It was
where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech near the Lincoln
Memorial. Soon, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Martin Luther King, Jr.
was also awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Many people did not agree with King and his work towards racial
equality. Those people sent him death threats and bombed his home. He was
arrested a total of twenty-nine times. On April 4, 1968, King was shot as he
was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1983, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became an American federal holiday.
It is observed on the third Monday of January. The day is near his birthday.
It is a day when people celebrate King’s life and his contributions to the
struggle for racial equality. Also on that day, many people honor King by
volunteering their time in service to their neighbors and communities.

©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

 martin luther king, jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister in Montgomery, Alabama.
He became a major part of the civil rights movement in America. He wanted
to find a peaceful way to get equality.
In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus.
King was one of the people to plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The
boycott lasted for 382 days. African-Americans walked, shared rides, and
took cabs to work. King was arrested during the boycott. He became known
across the nation for his part in the civil rights movement.
In 1957, King and other ministers and civil rights activists started a
group to help organize the movement. They named it the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference. Non-violent protests were commonly used to reach
their goals. The SCLC’s motto was “Not one hair of one head of one person
should be harmed.” Actions such as boycotts, marches, and sit-ins protested
segregation and other injustices. Sit-ins happened when African-American
students sat at lunch counters reserved for white people. The students
were asked to move or leave. Instead, they simply sat there and did nothing.
Sometimes they would get yelled at or injured. These sit-ins were
successful. Lunch counter segregation ended in many southern cities.
In 1963, King and leaders of other civil rights groups organized the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march was another non-
violent event. More than 200,000 people participated in the march. It was
where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech near the Lincoln
Memorial. Soon, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Martin Luther King, Jr.
was also awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Many people did not agree with King and his work towards racial
equality. Those people sent him death threats and bombed his home. He was
arrested a total of twenty-nine times. On April 4, 1968, King was shot as he
was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1983, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became an American federal holiday.
It is observed on the third Monday of January. The day is near his birthday.
It is a day when people celebrate King’s life and his contributions to the
struggle for racial equality. Also on that day, many people honor King by
volunteering their time in service to their neighbors and communities.

©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

 martin luther king, jr. – second read
Go back through the text and highlight the major events of Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s life during the civil rights movement. Then add
the events to the timeline.
1955

1960

1965

1970

©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

 martin luther king, jr. – third read
Go back through the text to find causes and effects. Label the
causes with a C and the effects with an E. Then add them to the
t-chart.

Cause Effect

©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

 martin luther king, jr. – writing response
Why do you think that Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “I
Have a Dream” speech near the Lincoln Memorial? Use text
evidence when necessary to support your thinking.

©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

 possible answers
second read
1955
1955 – Montgomery Bus Boycott

1957 – SCLC formed

1960
1963 – March on Washington for 1964 – Civil Rights Act of 1964
Jobs and Freedom

1964 – Nobel Peace Prize

1965
1968 – King assassinated

1970

third read
Cause Effect

He wanted to find a peaceful solution He joined the civil rights movement

Rosa Parks was arrested Montgomery Bus Boycott

SCLC organized sit-ins, boycotts, and marches

sit-ins ended lunch counter segregation

role in civil rights movement Nobel Peace Prize

people did not agree with King house bombed, death threats,
assassination

King’s birthday is in January Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is in January

©2014 Fi)h in the Middle

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