MLK Day 2026 Teaching Resources

Honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in your classroom with a collection of MLK Day 2026 teaching resources that celebrate Dr. King through writing activities, reading exercises, crafts, printable worksheets and more. 

Created by the teachers of Teach Starter with teachers and students in mind, this collection includes Common Core- and state standards-aligned resources and editable Google Slides that make for easy differentiation. Each resource in the collection has undergone a thorough review by a teacher on our team to ensure it's ready for your lesson plans and your students!

Not sure what to teach about Martin Luther King Jr. or how to hnonoro this American holiday in the classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a look at when Martin Luther King Jr. Day is in 2025, definitions of key vocabulary terms and some other common questions your students may ask!

When Is Martin Luther King Day 2026?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be marked as a federal holiday on Monday, January 19, 2026.

While the date of this annual holiday moves each year, it always falls right around the civil rights leader's birthday on January 15, 1929.

Schools will be closed for the day across the US, but that doesn't mean you can't teach about Dr. King's legacy! Schedule your activities for the week leading up to the Martin Luther King Day holiday so students know why they have the day off from school on that Monday, or follow the day off with activities that explain why he is so important to Americans.

Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.? How to Explain MLK to Kids

If you're teaching about Martin Luther King Jr. Day in a classroom with kids who aren't familiar with the civil rights leader or still have plenty to learn about this American hero, you might need a handy description you can use.

Here's one that may help!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and the 1960s. He delivered powerful speeches and organized peaceful protests to bring attention to the injustices faced by Black Americans.

Dr. King fought for equality, which means that everyone has the same rights, regardless of the color of their skin.

What Is Civil Disobedience? A Kid-Friendly Definition

One of the key terms we associate with MLK is "civil disobedience." So how do you explain its meaning to kids? We've got a definition for this too!

Civil disobedience is a peaceful and nonviolent act of disobeying unjust laws or policies in order to protest those laws or policies.

The goal of civil disobedience is to create change without violence, and it was a key strategy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used in his fight for equality.

What Is the Purpose of MLK Day?

Teaching kids about Dr. King and his legacy of non-violent protest starts with understanding why MLK Day is considered a holiday at all. The law that gave us this federal holiday dates back to 1983 when President Ronald Reagan made the third Monday in January official as the national Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Legislation to honor Dr. King with his own federal holiday began four days after his assassination in 1968 but took more than a decade to become law, a point to discuss in your social studies lessons about how a bill becomes a law – regardless of the time of year. It would take until the year 2000 for all 50 states to declare Martin Luther King Day a state holiday as well.

The holiday was the first to honor a Black American, and it's still the only day to pay tribute to a singular Black American (the addition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021 marks the official end of slavery in America, but it's not dedicated to any one person).

Dr. King's widow, Coretta Scott King, gave us a road map for honoring her husband back in 1983 when Congress officially passed its declaration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday:

"The holiday must be substantive as well as symbolic. It must be more than a day of celebration . . . Let this holiday be a day of reflection, a day of teaching nonviolent philosophy and strategy, a day of getting involved in nonviolent action for social and economic progress."