| Purpose |
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Students will analyze and interpret the main ideas of the “I Have a Dream” speech (1963) and the Letter from Birmingham City Jail (1963) by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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| Materials |
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For the teacher: chalk, chalkboard, the “I Have a Dream” speech or the Letter from Birmingham City Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. (texts can be found at www.historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=listarticles&secid=8)
For each student: paper, pencil, copy of either the “I Have a Dream” speech or the Letter from Birmingham City Jail
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| Activity |
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A. Introducing the Concept |
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Provide students a brief background on the events, people, and issues important to the civil rights movement. Explain that Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. is perhaps the best-known figure of this struggle. Describe his efforts to secure equal rights for African Americans and his philosophy of nonviolence. Tell students that his work did much to further the civil rights movementthat he was assassinated in 1968.
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B. Individual Activity |
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Assign half of the students the “I Have a Dream” speech and the other half the Letter from Birmingham City Jail. Instruct each student to write a newspaper article as if they were covering the speech or letter that answers the following questions: “When and where did the event take place? What events led to this point? What was the goal that King had when making the speech or writing the letter? What were the main ideas? What was he speaking/writing in response to? What was the public reaction to it? What are the long-term implications of this speech or letter?” Ask student volunteers to read their articles aloud to the class. Guide a class discussion on the state of civil rights today and on contemporary leaders of the African American community.
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| Questions for Review |
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During the class discussion, as students questions such as: |
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What did King mean when he said that “we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check”? |
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Why, in your opinion, did King advocate peaceful means for change instead of violence? Why was this a better option? |
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In your opinion, were all of King’s goals accomplished? |
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| Have students use a computer-publishing program to create an edition of a newspaper. Have students include their articles and write additional articles on other historical events occurring during 1963 to provide historical context for King’s speech and letter. |
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