Friday, January 15, 2010

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King, Jr.!

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mr. B. accompanied the class as they honored Dr. King with a song.
Listen and enjoy! 



 Fast Facts:
  • American's celebrate his birth on the third Monday in January. MLK Day is a national holiday. 
  • Martin was first named Michael, but his name was later changed to Martin, after  his father. His father's name was Martin Luther King, Sr.
  • 1948 was the year he graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
  •  
  • In 1955, Mr. King received his doctorate degree from Boston University. His new title was Dr. King.
    • Dr. King used nonviolent acts to change the unfair laws of the U.S.
    • On August 28, 1963, Dr. King gave his "I have a Dream" speech in Washington, D. C. to over 200, 000 people. This important speech was given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 

    • In 1963, MLK was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the civil rights movement.

    *     *     *     *     *

    Do you know any other interesting facts about Dr. King?

    How did you like the song?

    23 comments:

    1. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

      I do not know any more interesting facts about Dr. King. Also, I actually love singing the song, and I love being on the video because you can see what you are really doing.

      The picture of MLK was very interesting because you can see him waving to his crowd. Happy birthday Martin Luther King!

      Your student,
      Nick

      ReplyDelete
    2. Dear Mrs. Yollis,


      I know that M.L.'s dad went to Morehouse College and married Alberta Christine Williams. Another fact is that M.L. spent most of his life in Elbenzer Baptist church, and is where his granfather and father were pastors. The last fact is that Correta Scott usually play the piano and if Martin Luther King Jr. was at home he would would add his rich baritone voice in the family chorus. Did you learn anything about M.L.?

      Sincerely,
      Sam

      ReplyDelete
    3. @ Nick,

      I loved listening and singing along with the song as well. It is wonderful to watch Mr. B. teach music.

      You said that you don't know any more facts about MLK. Perhaps you could use the new World Book Encyclopedia online that Mrs. Folkeson showed us. Remember, the PFC bought it. (Thank your parents!) That will have plenty of facts! I'll email all the parents the password so you can use it from home!

      @ Sam,

      Wow! You know a lot about Dr. King. I did not know he graduated from the same college as his dad. Where did you get your information. Also, you mentioned he had a baritone voice. What does that mean?

      Great comments!
      Mrs. Yollis

      ReplyDelete
    4. MLK isn't particularly well known here in New Zealand but I know that there are songs about him and inspired by him from all over the world including a U2 Song 'Pride'. I was very keen to see the video but unfortunatly when I clicked on it it told me that it couldn't be accessed! Oh dear, hope the weather has eased up and is getting slightly warmer!
      Mr Webb and Room 8, Melville Intermediate School, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand.

      ReplyDelete
    5. @ Mr. Webb,

      Thanks for the heads-up about our video. I uploaded the song a new way, and it defaulted to private viewing. I fixed it now, so I hope it can be viewed.

      MLK Day was signed into law in 1983 and was first observed in 1986. It was officially observed in all fifty states in 2000. Dr. King was a leader for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement.

      Thanks for visiting!
      Mrs. Yollis

      ReplyDelete
    6. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

      Camie (Sydney's Cousin) loved our song about MLK. She liked it because it was about MLK on his B- Day. Sydney got lots of dendrites from the fun facts.

      From,

      Sydney and Camie
      (Camie is Sydneys cousin)

      ReplyDelete
    7. @ Sydney and her cousin, Camie,

      Thanks for a great comment! I'm glad that Sydney grew some dendrites, but I wonder why Camie didn't...We need to fix that!

      Have a great MLK, Jr. Day!

      From,

      Mrs. Yollis

      ReplyDelete
    8. Dear Mrs. Yollis' Class,

      What a great post about a very important person! He was a great leader, and he set an example for how we can all get along even though we might be different.

      One interesting thing I know about Dr. King was that he was inspired by Mohandas Gandhi who also used non-violence in India to gain freedom for his people.

      There are a lot of great books about Martin Luther King Jr., but my favorite one is Martins' Big Words by Doreen Rappaport.

      Also, what a fantastic song! Your singing was beautiful. I will be sure to play the video for my class on Tuesday.

      Your friend,
      Mr. Salsich

      ReplyDelete
    9. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

      I loved the song with Mr. B! Bravo.

      As for Dr. Martin Luther King facts, I know that my parent's saw him speak at the Woodland Hills Community Church. Wouldn't that have been amazing? Also, one of my favorite MLK quotes is "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

      Best wishes,
      Mrs. Levy

      ReplyDelete
    10. @ Mrs. Levy,

      Thank you so much for such a meaningful comment.

      How lucky your parents were to get to hear Dr. King speak! What year do you think that was?

      After I posted this story, I went to YouTube and listened to his "I Have a Dream" speech again. So moving...

      Thanks for sharing your favorite MLK quote. I'll be sure and share it with the class!

      Thanks again,
      Mrs. Yollis

      ReplyDelete
    11. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

      Thank you for commenting back to me on your fantastic blog. I think the " Hello Song" is my favorite song we do in music.

      Have a happy Martin Luther King Day! See you on Tuesday!

      Your classmate,
      Nick

      ReplyDelete
    12. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

      I really enjoyed listening to your class sing about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We took some time to celebrate Dr. King in our class. In sixth grade social science, we are studying India. The Indian leader Gandhi used ahimsa, nonviolence, against British rule. This influenced Dr. King in his fight for civil rights in our country.

      Thank you for sharing your class blog. I so enjoy following all of your activities.

      Sincerely,
      Ms. Weiss
      A.E.Wright

      ReplyDelete
    13. @ Mr. Salsich,

      Thanks for a fantastic comment! You always add so much to the conversation. I agree with you, Dr. King certainly did set the example for all of us.

      Your comment about how MLK was inspired by Gandhi and his use on nonviolent protest is a fact I will share with my students on Tuesday. We also have the book you mentioned. Now that Mr. Salsich has mentioned it, everyone will want to read it! :-)

      Thanks again for commenting!

      Your friend,
      Mrs. Yollis

      ReplyDelete
    14. @ Ms. Weiss,

      Thank you for leaving such a thoughtful comment. When we read our comments tomorrow in class, we will be sure to discuss the influence Gandhi had on Dr. King's thinking and methods for changing the laws in America.

      Glad you enjoyed the singing! I'm sure some of your middle school students had Mr. B. for music when they were in elementary school. He's great!

      Sincerely,
      Mrs. Yollis

      ReplyDelete
    15. Dear Mrs Yollis,

      I loved the picture of MLK. I think I should tell you about my family and myself. My dad is a pastor at a church with my grandpa it's spanish. There I sing on a group leading the children. You were wondering where my mom is from, she is from Yerbabuena Jalisco, Mexico. I love the song that we sang about MLK. :)

      Your student,
      Jollene :)

      ReplyDelete
    16. Loved the video everybody!!!
      Great great Job!!!
      It's a pleasure to see you all each week. I feel so grateful to experience singing, creativity, fun and spirit with you.
      Cheers,

      Mr.B :- )

      ReplyDelete
    17. Dear Mrs. Yollis' class,

      Unfortunately, I do not have any additional facts to add about Martin Luther King Jr. However, I must say I learned a great deal from all of the posts.

      Also, I wanted to mention how fortunate Chaparral is to have such a creative and nuturing music teacher, Mr. B.

      The music teacher I had when I was young was not nice and she made us sing horribly boring songs. Ironically, her name was Mrs. Gross!

      Fondly,
      Kendall's mom

      ReplyDelete
    18. @ Kendall's mom,

      Thanks for visiting and for taking the time to comment!

      I love Mr. B.! In every lesson he teaches, you can see the passion he has for music and how much he enjoys teaching. It's great for everyone, including Mr. B., that the technology is available to quickly capture a song so it can be enjoyed forever.

      Sincerely,
      Mrs. Yollis

      ReplyDelete
    19. After a bit of research I found this link to a story about MLK speaking in Canoga Park in 1961. That must have been when my parent's saw him.

      http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CHURCH+UNEARTHS+STORY+OF+KING+IN+CANOGA+PARK.-a083393686

      Additionally, I wanted to agree that having World Book online is an incredible resource for all of us at Chaparral. Hurray for our PFC.

      Your Friend,

      Mrs. Levy

      ReplyDelete
    20. Dear Mrs. Yollis' class,
      I LOVED your singing it was so fantastic! I could listen to it when I go to bed!
      Your pal,
      Madison (in Mr Salsich's class)
      :)

      ReplyDelete
    21. Dear Mrs Yollis' class,
      You sang awesome. When you sang that it made me think that Martin Luther King did a really special thing. I can't wait to here what you sing next.

      Sincerely,
      RJ from Mr.Salsich's class

      ReplyDelete
    22. Dear Mrs. Yollis' class,

      I really liked how you sang about Martin Luther King because I celebrate Martin Luther King Day. Why did you sing about Martin Luther King Day.Your singing is awesome!

      from Kyle in Mr.Salsich's class

      ReplyDelete
    23. Dear Mrs Yollis,


      Gal and I think MLK was an amazing guy. He was great, and we think anybody will ever forget him because he was a great guy. We were really lucky to have him. We think that we will sing this song every year, and we were wondering why they don't celebrate his birthday on the actual day he was born. We're also wondering why he changed his name to Martin from Michael. Do you know why?



      Sincerely,
      Kayla and Gal

      ReplyDelete

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