CJUSD Students Learn About Martin Luther King Jr.

Colton Joint Unified School District students have been learning about civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King through some creative lessons. At Crestmore Elementary School, for example, students in Summer Selby’s first-grade class completed directed drawings of Martin Luther King Jr. and learned about his life and what he stood for. “I learned that Martin Luther King wanted people to not fight about their skin and that he wanted people to be treated the way they’re supposed to be treated,” said 7-year-old Crestmore Elementary first-grader Andrea Estrada. “He tried to make the world a better place,” added 7-year-old first grade student Pablo Quezada. Jennifer Damitio’s second-grade class used their iPads to scan QR codes and research videos, websites, and more sources of online information about Martin Luther King. They then used the information to create a timeline of Dr. King’s life. Students also wrote letters to their teacher letting her know how they thought the world would be different without Dr. King’s efforts in the Civil Rights Movement. Kindergarten students at Lincoln Elementary also did art projects for the holiday and learned that he “wanted peace.” Selby said projects such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day drawings help her students become avid learners. “They’re super interested in learning about him. They want to know more and that’s what I want. I want them to want to know more,” she said.