🕊️ Martin Luther King Jr. Day bingo

How to play MLK Day bingo

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday on the third Monday of January, near Dr. King's birthday on January 15. It was first observed in 1986 and is also a national day of service. This bingo is a review game for a unit on Dr. King and the civil rights movement. The caller reads a clue and students find the answer: his life (Atlanta, Morehouse College, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Coretta Scott King), key events (the Montgomery bus boycott, the March on Washington, the Selma marches, the Letter from Birmingham Jail) and what they achieved (the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965). The clues also name people he worked alongside and learned from, such as Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders and Gandhi, so students see a movement, not one person.

1. Teach the unit first: read a biography, watch part of the "I Have a Dream" speech, look at a timeline.
2. Print 5×5 cards, 2 per page. Read each clue from the caller slowly and do not say the answer.
3. Students cover the answer. The winner reads their line back and picks one square to explain.

Tips for a better game

• End with service: after the game, plan a small class act of service for the day itself.
• Upper grades: ask the winner to place each of their answers on a timeline on the board.
• Younger grades: use 4×4 cards and keep the clues about his life, the bus boycott and the speech.