Has Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream been achieved in our current American society?
I took the picture of the bronze statue of Martin Luther King Jr. and it is located between Vine Street and Walnut Street on Martin Luther King Drive in
Milwaukee, WI.
Milwaukee, WI.
Lesson Plan for Teachers
Central Focus:
Analyzing different mediums of historical social studies content (video, audio, websites, pictures, political cartoons, and articles) to determine if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream has been achieved in current American society by creating their own response to the posed essential question.
Essential Question:
Has Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream been achieved in our current American society?
Common Core State Standards:
RH.6-8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies
RH.6-8.6
Identify aspect of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose
RH.6-8.7
Integrate visual information with other information in print and digital texts
RH.6-8.8
Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text
WHST.6-8.1
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.8-8.6
Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently
Related NCSS Theme(s) and explanation of relationship to theme(s)
Time, Continuity, and Change. This NCSS theme is related to the content and essential question because students will examine what happened in the past with MLK’s I Have a Dream speech and how it relates to today’s culture with determining if the Dream has been achieved.
Differentiation – Planned Supports:
· Tactile-Kinesthetic learners:
Students will move around the room from table to table and look at various sources of information that compliments the essential question. Students can touch the documents. This lesson is not chair bound and movement is required but chairs are at each table if students need.
· Verbal/linguistic learners:
Students will talk to one another during the engagement strategy as well as during the lesson as they share ideas and opinions. Students are encouraged to ask questions to peers or teacher for guided practice. Assistive technology like tablets will be used for those with communication supports.
· Auditory learners:
Video and audio will be provided for I Have a Dream speech and Common’s music video for students who don’t like to read a lot of text or are not strong with content related text. Computers will have text to speech options for students as well.
· Visual learners:
Photographs, written lyrics, written speech, video, political cartoons, visual timeline and vocabulary of speech are provided for students who learn by images provided to support plain text. Visuals will support inferencing.
· Students with additional needs:
Materials will be differentiated to meet the learning needs of each student to be able to fully participate in lesson and not be excluded in any way.
Analyzing different mediums of historical social studies content (video, audio, websites, pictures, political cartoons, and articles) to determine if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream has been achieved in current American society by creating their own response to the posed essential question.
Essential Question:
Has Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream been achieved in our current American society?
Common Core State Standards:
RH.6-8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies
RH.6-8.6
Identify aspect of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose
RH.6-8.7
Integrate visual information with other information in print and digital texts
RH.6-8.8
Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text
WHST.6-8.1
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.8-8.6
Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently
Related NCSS Theme(s) and explanation of relationship to theme(s)
Time, Continuity, and Change. This NCSS theme is related to the content and essential question because students will examine what happened in the past with MLK’s I Have a Dream speech and how it relates to today’s culture with determining if the Dream has been achieved.
Differentiation – Planned Supports:
· Tactile-Kinesthetic learners:
Students will move around the room from table to table and look at various sources of information that compliments the essential question. Students can touch the documents. This lesson is not chair bound and movement is required but chairs are at each table if students need.
· Verbal/linguistic learners:
Students will talk to one another during the engagement strategy as well as during the lesson as they share ideas and opinions. Students are encouraged to ask questions to peers or teacher for guided practice. Assistive technology like tablets will be used for those with communication supports.
· Auditory learners:
Video and audio will be provided for I Have a Dream speech and Common’s music video for students who don’t like to read a lot of text or are not strong with content related text. Computers will have text to speech options for students as well.
· Visual learners:
Photographs, written lyrics, written speech, video, political cartoons, visual timeline and vocabulary of speech are provided for students who learn by images provided to support plain text. Visuals will support inferencing.
· Students with additional needs:
Materials will be differentiated to meet the learning needs of each student to be able to fully participate in lesson and not be excluded in any way.
Assessment:
This lesson is designed for students to show what they know through a performance assessment, not an achievement test (paper and pencil). Students may respond through poetry, music, dance, essay, art, common craft video, movie clip, animation, and so on. Let the students use their talents to show you what they have learned.
Create a rubric so that the students know what it is that they should have and how you will grade fairly.
My rubric would include the following elements:
- Student responded to the essential question clearly and with supporting evidence.
- Student created an authentic response that is original and their own work.
- Student included resources either attached to their work or a separate handout for the teacher (if dance).
- Student demonstrated a clear connection to the past and present.
This lesson is designed for students to show what they know through a performance assessment, not an achievement test (paper and pencil). Students may respond through poetry, music, dance, essay, art, common craft video, movie clip, animation, and so on. Let the students use their talents to show you what they have learned.
Create a rubric so that the students know what it is that they should have and how you will grade fairly.
My rubric would include the following elements:
- Student responded to the essential question clearly and with supporting evidence.
- Student created an authentic response that is original and their own work.
- Student included resources either attached to their work or a separate handout for the teacher (if dance).
- Student demonstrated a clear connection to the past and present.
Below are all the various materials used to answer the essential question in an 8th grade social studies unit lesson.
You may cater this lesson as it fits the needs of your class using the following materials. Every classroom is diverse with the use of technology, space, and time. This could be a 5-10 day lesson depending on your classroom needs.
Below is a graphic organizer I created for students to use as they walk around the room looking at and listening to various types of materials to answer the essential question in the middle.
Click the link to check out Civil Rights Movement timeline that I created. This would be a great way to assess student learning if they created their own timeline:
http://timeglider.com/t/375698757bf62644?min_zoom=1&max_zoom=100
It is a work in progress...
Students can also create a presentation or another form of a timeline using Prezi. Below is an example of a Prezi presentation I made.
Students will listen, watch, and discuss the following:
* Listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech here:
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_august_28_1963_i_have_a_dream/
*Dr. King spoke in Milwaukee at UW-Milwaukee. Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC9fiMqdwck&noredirect=1
*Lyrics for Common's A Dream: http://www.songlyrics.com/common/a-dream-lyrics/
*Listen to both of Common's A Dream music videos below.
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_august_28_1963_i_have_a_dream/
*Dr. King spoke in Milwaukee at UW-Milwaukee. Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC9fiMqdwck&noredirect=1
*Lyrics for Common's A Dream: http://www.songlyrics.com/common/a-dream-lyrics/
*Listen to both of Common's A Dream music videos below.
The use of primary sources is very important to have the students interact with as it relates to the Civil Rights Movement because there is so much information out there.
The National Archives is a great place to find authentic documents:
http://docsteach.org/
Below is a primary source from the National Archives website that the students will analyze and discuss.
There are various documents and articles from http://indykids.org/main/ that were used as materials for students to look over and infer meaning from. Check out the site and have students read some great information written by middle school kids!
Below is a timeline used for the lesson that was found from Teaching Tolerance website.
Lesson: Dr. King and the Movement | Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org/activity/lesson-dr-king-and-movement
Lesson: Dr. King and the Movement | Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org/activity/lesson-dr-king-and-movement
Below is my Shelfari from Amazon. It is a list of suggested books for students to read related to the Civil Rights Movement.
To create your own click here: http://www.shelfari.com/
To create your own click here: http://www.shelfari.com/
Freedom Riders would be a great book to read with the class as a Think Aloud and have students talk with another classmate while completing a graphic organizer or write down reflections in a journal.
It would be a great activity to have students select one of the people listed at the end of the book and have the students either pretend to be the person they selected and write a letter from jail to a family member. Or the student could be a person for or against the Freedom Ride and write to the person in jail. Students could also write a letter to the President of the United States and state reasons why change should our should not be made by using facts from the story.
Here is a link to Teaching Tolerance's website with great lesson plan ideas for teaching it in a social justice perspective:
http://www.tolerance.org/search/apachesolr_search/freedom%20riders
Quizlet.com (www.quizlet.com) is a great place for students to learn and study social studies content and vocabulary. Teachers can create sets and have students learn from them in the classroom or at home, especially if preparing for a formal test. Students can add to the sets, play games and test themselves before the actual assessment in class.
Below is a sample I created.
The document blow is a sample collection of materials used for the students to sort through as part of the lesson in a center type fashion and have a graphic organizer to help keep track of content, thoughts, and help prepare for their performance assessment.
Check it out!!!
The Readers Choice, Inc. was opened in 1989 and is Wisconsin's first and only Black American bookstore owned by Carla and Robert Allison. They have a large collection of books that are written by Black and minority authors. I highly suggest going to The Readers Choice as they have a great selection of books for children, young adults, and adults.
Located: 1950 N. M.L. King Drive Milwaukee WI 53212
Phone: 414-265-2003
http://www.thereaderschoicemilwaukee.com/about-us.html
Located: 1950 N. M.L. King Drive Milwaukee WI 53212
Phone: 414-265-2003
http://www.thereaderschoicemilwaukee.com/about-us.html