How to Make a Timeline of the Life of Martin Luther King Jr

Children and youth will benefit from learning about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Here's a fun, easy activity to help get you started.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Butcher paper, or other rolled paper, such as the back side of wrapping paper, or the back side of freezer paper
• Washable Markers
• Yardstick or other straight edge
• Large table or floor space
• Poster putty for hanging your creation

1. Assemble your supplies and clear a space on the floor or a large table.
2. Roll of paper Decide how large you want your time line to be and cut your paper to that size. With a dark colored marker, draw a straight line, lengthwise down the middle of the paper.
3. Time Line With Title Make a title above your time line. It could say "The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr." or something similar.
4. Time Line with One Date At the left end of the line, make a dot representing Martin Luther King's birthday in 1929. Write the date by the dot.
5. Time Line with Two Dates At the right end of line, make another dot and label it for his death in 1968.
6. Fill in your time line with dots representing dates and events in Dr. King's life. You can include some or all of the following events, or do a little research and add some of your own.
   
   * 1947 - Martin Luther King Jr. was ordained a baptist minister
   * 1948 - Graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta Georgia
   * 1953 - Married Coretta Scott in Boston
   * 1951 - Graduated from Theological Seminary
   * 1953 - Became pastor of his own church in Montgomery, Alabama
   * 1955 - Received Doctorate from Boston University
   * 1955-1956 - Led boycott of the buses in Montgomery
   * 1963 - Led march on Washington DC and gave his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial
   * 1964 - Was awarded Nobel Peace Prize
   * 1977 - Posthumously (after death) given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter
   * 1983 - 3rd Monday in January declared a holiday by congress in honor of Martin Luther King and the principles he stood for
   * 2004 - Posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal
7. Hang your time line in a prominent place in your home or school and be prepared to tell people about it.

Tips & Warnings

• This activity is a good family or classroom activity, as adult help will be needed.
• Make sure you write small enough to fit all the information you want on your time line.
• There are many websites about Martin Luther King, Jr., including http://www.thekingcenter.org