Assembly and lesson plans to help teach the December 1914 Christmas Truces for individual lessons, an assembly, a whole-school programme, or as part of a carol service/Christmas production. Whole-school programme includes lessons in art, history, RE, ethics, geography, PE, cookery / home economics, French and German. Includes PowerPoint presentations to accompany the majority of lesson plans, plus specialist presentations for individual art and other lessons as detailed in the pack. Revised version - 1.4 - added October 2015

Inspired by Martin Luther King’s historic and poignant final trip to the UK in 1967, this free resource pack explores the legacy of Dr King and the civil rights movement. Unlike most similar resources it approaches King from a UK perspective, reflecting on social issues facing this country. Different parts of this comprehensive pack are aimed at Key Stages 2, 3 & 4. It includes high-quality full lesson plans, hand-outs, worksheets, homework tasks, music recordings and presentation slides for lessons in History, RE, Geography, English, PHSE, Music, Drama, Art and even Chemistry. It also includes material for assemblies. All materials are free. It can be used as stand-alone lessons and assemblies, or as part of a whole-school cross-curriculum activity, for example to mark Black History Month or Martin Luther King Day. It will give teachers and their students a variety of imaginative and thought-provoking ways to remember Dr King and consider his impact today. King's radical 1967 legacy is used to explore present issues facing the UK including overseas wars, terrorism, Trident nuclear weapons, drone warfare, nonviolent protest, international trade, social inequality, and race and identity. It readily lends itself to presentation of material to invited parent audiences: including performance of debates and music, and displays of posters and artwork. Pack created by the Martin Luther King Peace Committee, Newcastle, and financed by Newcastle University as part of Freedom City 2017. King visited Newcastle University in November 1967 to receive an honorary degree. King made a moving impromptu acceptance speech - the video of which was lost in the archives until rediscovery in the 1990s. This pack uses that speech and visit to teach King and civil rights to a UK audience, insisting that King's legacy is best honoured by using his life to reflect on modern challenges.

A series of full lesson plans to learn about the history of the US civil rights movement through protest songs. Students will write and perform their own songs, using backing tracks provided. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

A free slide show to accompany the free Christmas Truces teaching pack, produced by the Northumbria and Newcastle Universities martin Luther King Peace Committee. For full range of resources see: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/world-war-1-1914-christmas-truces-resources-comprehensive-set-6442965 or The Martin Luther King Peace Committee website

In 1967 Martin Luther King spoke out publicly against the Vietnam War - eliciting much opposition from allies who saw this as a distraction from civil rights. These lessons explore the decision to oppose your own government at a time of war. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

In December 1914 up to 100,000 British, German and French soldiers put down their arms to celebrate Christmas. It was a glimpse of humanity and hope in the brutal and dehumanising industrial slaughter of World War 1. Fast forward to Christmas over a hundred years later. As two young girls prepare for their present-day Christmas, they learn about the truces by reading the letters and diaries of their great-grandfather, who took part in the truces. The play moves between these two moments, linked together by family ties unfolding through letters and stories. This wonderful play brings alive the events of Christmas 1914. It is interspersed with traditional and modern carols, and parents can be invited to join in. This professional play includes full cast lists and production overview, complete texts which can be downloaded and annotated for children, historical notes for teachers, and a PowerPoint slide show. All these resources are free, and no license or performance fee is required. The play can be used either as a stand-alone performance, or as part of a whole term, cross-curriculum teaching programme using the Martin Luther King Peace Committee’s Christmas Truces resources, available for free from TES or at the Martin Luther King Peace Committee website. This play was written by Ray Clark and Mish Margison of Atkinson Road Primary School, drawing on the resources created by Newcastle University’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee to mark the December 1914 truces.

To reflect on how the geography of supply chains for mobile phones produces responsibilities for people in other countries. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

Students will use biographical sketches to think about the contrasts between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. The lesson seeks to question and complicate the view of these two men as polar opposites. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

These two lessons consider the 1963 Children's Crusade in Birmingham, Alabama, as part of the civil rights movement. The emphasis is on nonviolence and children's roles in changing the world. The second lesson is a drama set in a modern school where a tyrannical headteacher imposes 'The Plan', segregating rich and poor children. Students must devise a plan of nonviolent resistance, and adapt it as new scenarios are unfolded. Powerpoints and handouts are provided. This lesson is drawn from the teaching pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK'.

A series of full lesson plans to learn about the history of the US civil rights movement through protest songs. Students will write and perform their own songs, using backing tracks provided. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

To teach students about drone warfare, and the ethical and legal questions it raises. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

This assembly uses Martin Luther King Jr’s historic 1967 UK visit and speech to tell the story of his nonviolent opposition to injustice, poverty and war. Full assembly and PowerPoint is included. It can be used to mark Martin Luther King Day, Black History month, or at any other time. It is taken from the resource pack ‘Martin Luther King in the UK’, available from my resource pages along with free Powerpoint. Used as part of the pack, the assembly can launch a whole school, cross curriculum week, fortnight or extended study module.

These thoughtful and fun lessons use the idea of commodity chains for food and toys to show how our world is interconnected, and to reflect on moral responsibilities. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

Martin Luther King opposed poverty, racism and war. Why? What are the fundamental bases of morality and what does it mean to be human? These questions are explored in relation to King's fundamental belief that humans are created in the image of God. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

Using the perspectives of Martin Luther King and other thinkers, this lesson considers the arguments for and against Trident renewal. The lesson can be used to set up debates and displays that parents can be invited to see. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

A series of lessons on nonviolence, using the examples of Martin Luther King Jr, the Hebrew Midwives, the 1963 Children's Crusade, and the Ploughshares Women. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

This lesson refreshes use of the periodic table, asking which elements we are made of. This is used to raise the question - 'what are we worth?' This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.

Studying women and nonviolence, using two examples: The Hebrew Midwives vs Pharaoh (Bible), and the 'Seeds of Hope' ploughshares women vs. British Aerospace. This is an extract from the resource pack 'Martin Luther King in the UK', produced by Newcastle’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee. It is available from my resource pages.