Daily Activities – MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
The daily activities created for each of the Today in Georgia History segments are designed to meet the Georgia Performance Standards for Reading Across the Curriculum, and Grade Eight: Georgia Studies. For each date, educators can choose from three optional activities differentiated for various levels of student ability. Each activity focuses on engaging the student in context specific vocabulary and improving the student’s ability to communicate about historical topics.
One suggestion is to use the Today in Georgia History video segments and daily activities as a “bell ringer” at the beginning of each class period. Using the same activity daily provides consistency and structure for the students and may help teachers utilize the first 15-20 minutes of class more effectively.
Optional Activities:
Level 1: Provide the students with the vocabulary list and have them use their textbook, a dictionary, or other teacher provided materials to define each term. After watching the video have the students write a complete sentence for each of the vocabulary terms. Student created sentences should reflect the meaning of the word based on the context of the video segment. Have students share a sampling of sentences as a way to check for understanding.
Level 2: Provide the students with the vocabulary list for that day’s segment before watching the video and have them guess the meaning of each word based on their previous knowledge. The teacher may choose to let the students work alone or in groups. After watching the video, have the students revise their definitions to better reflect the meaning of the words based on the context of the video. As a final step, have the students compare and contrast their definitions to their textbook, dictionary or other teacher provided materials definitions.
Level 3: Provide the students with the vocabulary list and have them use their textbook, a dictionary, or other teacher provided materials to define each term. After watching the video, have the students write a five sentence paragraph based on the provided writing prompts.
Vocabulary/Writing Prompts:
Vocabulary Terms
Eloquent
Coordinated
Allusions
Moral Imperatives
Lyrical Cadence
Garnering
Nobel Peace Prize
Defining
Writing Prompts
1. In a five-sentence paragraph, use evidence from the segment to support the claim that the march on Washington and MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech was a defining moment for the Civil Rights Movement.
2. Can words make a difference? In a five-sentence paragraph, explain how the words MLK used and how he used them made a difference on August 28, 1963.
3. In a five-sentence paragraph, summarize the goals of the march on Washington and explain to what extent those goals were met.
Related Georgia Performance Standards:
Reading Across the Curriculum (Grades 6-12)
SSRC1 Students will enhance reading in all curriculum areas by:
c. Building vocabulary knowledge
• Demonstrate an understanding of contextual vocabulary in various subjects.
• Use content vocabulary in writing and speaking.
• Explore understanding of new words found in subject area texts.
d. Establishing context
• Explore life experiences related to subject area content.
• Discuss in both writing and speaking how certain words are subject area related.
• Determine strategies for finding content and contextual meaning for unknown words.
Common Core, College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
Theme 2: Time Continuity and Change; Theme 5: Individuals Groups and Institutions
Grade 8 Georgia Studies
SS8H11 The student will evaluate the role of Georgia in the modern civil rights movement.
a. Describe major developments in civil rights and Georgia’s role during the 1940s and 1950s; include the roles of Herman Talmadge, Benjamin Mays, the 1946 governor’s race and the end of the white primary, Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 1956 state flag.
b. Analyze the role Georgia and prominent Georgians played in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s; include such events as the founding of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Sibley Commission, admission of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to the University of Georgia, Albany Movement, March on Washington, Civil Rights Act, the election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta, and the role of Lester Maddox.
c. Discuss the impact of Andrew Young on Georgia.
United States History, 9-12
SSUSH22 The student will identify dimensions of the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1970.
a. Explain the importance of President Truman’s order to integrate the U.S. military and the federal government.
b. Identify Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball.
c. Explain Brown v. Board of Education and efforts to resist the decision.
d. Describe the significance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail and his I Have a Dream Speech.
e. Describe the causes and consequences of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Grade Two: Georgia, My State
SS2H1 The student will read about and describe the lives of historical figures in Georgia history.
a. Identify the contributions made by these historic figures: James Oglethorpe, Tomochichi, and Mary Musgrove (founding of Georgia); Sequoyah (development of a Cherokee alphabet); Jackie Robinson (sports); Martin Luther King, Jr. (civil rights); Jimmy Carter (leadership and human rights).
b. Describe how everyday life of these historical figures is similar to and different from everyday life in the present (food, clothing, homes, transportation, communication, recreation, rights, and freedoms).
Grade Five: United States History since 1860
SS5H8 The student will describe the importance of key people, events, and developments between 1950-1975.
a. Discuss the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.
b. Explain the key events and people of the Civil Rights movement; include Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and civil rights activities of Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
c. Describe the impact on American society of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
d. Discuss the significance of the technologies of television and space exploration.