How to Teach Martin Luther King and Black History Month to ESL Students: Resource Guide

Updated: Mar 10

MLK Jr. Day and Black History Month (February) are critically important topics in American schools. However, as an ESL teacher, it can often be difficult to teach about these complex figures and movements when you have students who are just starting to grasp the basics of English.

I know, I've tried.

Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) about race in America and the contributions of people like Rosa Parks or Maya Angelou can be really tricky for several reasons. Firstly, racial discrimination, while unfortunately a global problem, has a unique history in America that has taken many forms and shapes over the course of the country's existence. Much of this information is simply not within the ESL students' framwork, or schema, and so trying to explain the difficult history of slavery, the Civil War, the Civil Rights movement, etc., can be really overwhelming for ELLs. It's not that they aren't capable of understanding it, it's more that trying to understand complex histories WHILE ALSO trying to grasp new and difficult language (in your second or even third language) is a really heavy "cognitive load," as we say in education.

Secondly, ESL students need simple, clear language when they are trying to comprehend a new text. That said, it doesn't mean that we should use Kindergarten resources for middle and high school ESL classes. I've seen this so much and it's just not appropriate in my opinion. HOWEVER, I also had real difficulty actually finding Black History Month resources that were level appropriate for beginner / intermediate ELLs. If I found a text that was simple, it was really babyish and made for little children. Try using that with middle schoolers--they roll their eyes at everything to begin with! I don't want to insult my ESL students by giving them a worksheet that is clearly made for 6 year olds when I teach 10-12 year olds (or at my previouos job where I taught high schoolers). On the other hand, I don't want them to zone out and shut down with a really difficult text that throws way too many new words, grammatical forms, and concepts at them. THEREFORE, I created my own!!

Below are 5 resources that range from beginner to advanced that I made for my ESL students in preparation for Martin Luther King Day and Black History month. I'm thinking of adding more advanced ones (right now I only have the one). Take a look below and see if these might fit your needs. I designed these for grade 5 and up. As they say, neccessity is the mother of invention. I'm convinced that teachers know that better than anyone!

Click on the cover photos below if you would like to read more about each product on my Teachers Pay Teachers site.

Low Beginner: Martin Luther King Jr. Reading and Activities for ESL