Powerful Words

In Morning Meeting, second graders presented their writing inspired by Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport. The book uses quotes from Dr. King’s speeches to tell his life story and highlights his belief in the power of language. After discussing the book and listening to Dr. King’s I Have Dream speech, second graders chose one of Dr. King’s “big words” to reflect on in writing. Students created stained glass window artwork to “light up” their chosen word as Dr. King gave many of his speeches in church. Second graders read their reflections at Primary Morning Meeting, explaining how Dr. King used powerful words like peace, love, dream, courage, and together to communicate his message. Head of Primary School Katie Knuppel also shared her thoughts during the meeting. “One of my favorite parts of the book is that when we talk about big words, we tend to think of words that have a lot of syllables and are hard to sound out. But in this case, it can also mean words that are weighty and have such a big impact on our lives. I think about words that we have been learning about like kindness and respect, and those big words can have a big impact in our community and inspire us.” After Primary Morning meeting, students went back to their homerooms to read Martin’s Big Words together and discuss his story and message.