More Than a Dream Teacher s Guide Grade Level: 6-8 Curriculum Focus: Social Studies Theme: Martin Luther King, Jr. Objectives After completing this lesson, students will be able to: Describe the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee; Explain Martin Luther King, Jr. s influence and importance in the civil rights movement; Understand the impact of certain civil rights activists; Highlight important events of the civil rights movement and examine the effectiveness of such events; Use new vocabulary words in a variety of contexts. Materials More Than a Dream videos; Computer with Internet access; Writing/drawing utensils; Poster board. Classroom Connections Who is affected by civil rights? How did the civil rights movement gain popularity? Name five different important events for the civil rights movement. Would the civil rights movement have been as successful if Martin Luther King, Jr. had not been a part of it? Besides Martin Luther King, Jr., which other activists were influential to the movement during the 1950s and 1960s? When did people start to realize how bad the situation was for African Americans in the South? Page 1 of 5
To which states did Martin Luther King, Jr. focus his main attention? How were young people influential in the civil rights movement? How are attitudes about civil rights different in the United States today than they were in the 1950s and 1960s? How are they similar? Are there any movements in the United States today that are similar to or draw from aspects of the civil rights movement? In the rest of the world? Classroom Activities 1. After viewing the video selections from More Than a Dream, ask the students to write down on a piece of scrap paper everything they know about Martin Luther King, Jr. Go around the classroom and have each student offer a piece of information they know about Dr. King. Then, have the class do more research on the life of Dr. King using the Internet and library as resource tools. After gaining more insight into Dr. King s life, have each student write a newspaper article set on the day of Dr. King s assassination. Students must report what happened and give background information explaining King s life and influence on the civil rights movement. Remind students to give the article a creative title. When the project is finished, give time for students to share their articles with the rest of the class. 2. It is May 6, 1963. Over 1,000 African-American students decide to skip school for the day in order to gather at the Sixth Street Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama. Their goal is to participate in the struggle for civil rights. Despite their real fear, despite what actually happens to them that day, despite being jailed that day, hundreds more young people joined this cause the very next day. Ask the students the following question: Have you ever believed so intensely in an idea or a cause that you decided to take personal action? After hearing some student responses, instruct each student to design a digital pamphlet. Each digital pamphlet will accomplish the following: explain an idea or concept the student would like to support provide specific examples to persuade the audience Students may use video chapters, images, interviews, articles, and other approved Internet resources. After each presentation, the class will discuss the effectiveness and persuasiveness of each digital pamphlet. To conclude the activity, ask the class to discuss the importance of nonviolent protests for the civil rights movement. 3. During the 1950s and 1960s, the television and newspaper were used as mediums of communication to gather support for the civil rights movement. Through what were the social media of their time, readers and viewers felt compelled to act for social change and justice. Today, social media has become one of the most popular ways to gain national and international support for such movements. After dividing the students into groups of two or three, assign students with the task of creating a mock Facebook profile page for a known civil rights activist of the 1950s and 1960s. Page 2 of 5
The profile pages must be created as if Facebook had existed in the 1950s and 1960s. Each profile page must include photos, friends, groups that the person is involved in, events that the person plans to or has already attended, comments, etc. Students should use the Internet, library, and any other resources they can find to acquire information on their chosen activist. Each activist must be approved by the teacher to avoid any duplicate profiles. Students should use poster board to create the mock profile pages. When the students have finished creating the pages, they must present the profile to the rest of the class. Conclude the lesson with a class discussion about the importance of social media for the civil rights movement and how the movement would have been different had digital media existed at the time. Note: students should be advised on the responsible us of social media before starting this project, and they should know that you must be 13 years of age or older to be eligible to sign up for Facebook. Vocabulary activism a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue civil disobedience refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government civil rights the nonpolitical rights of a citizen; the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress. discrimination the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually; prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment. hate crime any of various crimes (as assault or defacement of property) when motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group (as one based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation). injustice the absence of justice, violation of right or of the rights of another, unfairness integration the act or process or an instance of integrating, as incorporation as equals into society or an organization of individuals of different groups (as races) protest the act of objecting or a gesture of disapproval, especially an organized public demonstration of disapproval, a complaint, objection, or display of unwillingness usually to an idea or a course of action Page 3 of 5
racism a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race segregation The separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforced or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means. *By permission. From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (www.m-w.com). Assessment Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson. 3 points: Students were active in class discussions; demonstrated a strong understanding of Dr. King s life and wrote a thorough, engaging article describing his influence in the civil rights movement; created a persuasive pamphlet for social change; designed an interesting and accurate portrayal of a civil rights activist. 2 points: Students participated in class discussions; demonstrated a satisfactory understanding of Dr. King s life and wrote a thorough article describing his influence in the civil rights movement; created a satisfactory pamphlet for social change; designed an acceptable portrayal of a civil rights activist. 1 point: Students did not participate in class discussions; demonstrated a weak understanding of Dr. King s life and did not accurately portray Dr. King s influence in the civil rights movement; created an unpersuasive pamphlet for social change; designed a vague or spare portrayal of a civil rights activist. Alignment to McREL Content Knowledge Standards and Benchmarks History > United States History Era 9 Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s) Understands the struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties Level II (Grades 5-6) Understands the development of the civil rights movement (e.g., the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education and its significance in advancing civil rights; the resistance to civil rights in the South between 1954 and 1965; how the "freedom ride," "civil disobedience," and "non-violent resistance" were important to the civil rights movement; Martin Luther King Jr. s "I Have a Dream" speech in the context of major events) Page 4 of 5
Level III (Grades 7-8) Understands individual and institutional influences on the civil rights movement (e.g., the origins of the postwar civil rights movement; the role of the NAACP in the legal assault on the leadership and ideologies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X; the effects of the constitutional steps taken in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government; the shift from de jure to de facto segregation; important milestones in the civil rights movement between 1954 and 1965; Eisenhower s reasons for dispatching federal troops to Little Rock in 1957) * Available via http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/index.asp. Accessed December 2011. Page 5 of 5