Social Studies: Help your students get to know Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Looking for ways to incorporate the history of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. into a school day social studies lesson? You might consider incorporating these facts into a classroom discussion or quiz game.

• The birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. is an American federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January each year. (His actual birthday is January 15.)

• Dr. King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement.

• President Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983.

• Some states use alternative names for the holiday:  Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King Birthday; Martin Luther King, Jr./Civil Rights Day; Martin Luther King, Jr./Human Rights Day.

• The national Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (1994) was begun by national legislators from Pennsylvania and Georgia.  The intent is to transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen action volunteer service in…