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January 15, 2018

Lesson plan: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech as visual text

Subjects

English, social studies

Estimated Time

One 45-minute class

Grade Level

Middle School

Introduction

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Students will examine why the speech was a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement and explain their analysis through a visual drawing or illustration.

Warm Up Activity  

Facts about the speech
    1. Watch on History’s Vimeo channel: “Bet You Didn’t Know – March on Washington” by (2:33) CLICKING HERE. Give students the “I HAVE A DREAM” FACT PAGE to gauge their knowledge about the speech.
    2. Once they have finished answering the questions go back and read the correct answers to them from the ANSWER KEY.

Main Activity

“I Have a Dream” speech
    1. Hand out a copy of the “I HAVE A DREAM” speech to each student in class. Tell them to follow along as they listen to Martin Luther King Jr. give his famous speech and try to picture the rich imagery from his words in their head. To listen to the speech CLICK HERE.
    2. After the speech is over give students the following assignment:
Your Task:
    • Select your favorite phrase or line as your title…THEN illustrate it!
    • Use color, creativity, design…try to express what that phrase means or why it is so powerful or important.
    • Use of technology and digital work are encouraged.
    • Be prepared to explain it to your teacher or classmates.

By Tina Yalen, NBCT, Early Adolescence: Social Studies/History 

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    • Standards

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    Relevant National Standards:
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.3 Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.7 Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
    • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.

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