Develop Vocabulary
English, Social Studies,Government U.S. History
Terms associated with the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom are found in "In the Know." Be sure students know the meaning of each concept. How do they apply to the March and to the continuing struggle for legal, social, economic, political and personal equality?
Read and Research a Timeline
Social Studies, Government, U.S. History
Eight markers on the civil rights movement timeline are featured in the KidsPost "Dream of Equality" timeline. Ways to use the timeline with younger students include:
• Read the timeline and discuss the individuals who are involved, the actions that are related, and the reasons for the actions.
• Write beside each circle why each action took place? What was happening and who was seeking a change?
• Research three six-year groups: 1950-1956, 1957-1963, and 1964-1970. Ask students to add three to five events on their group's timeline. Share with the class the social, political, economic and educational conditions that existed in that timeframe.
• After discussion, ask students to tell how each item in the timeline helps to achieve the dream of equal rights.
Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.
English, Social Studies, Speech, U.S. History
KidsPost introduces younger students to Martin Luther King, Jr., and his most well-known speech in two articles: “Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.?” and “‘I have a dream …’.” These may be read and discussed in a civil rights movement context, in a study of speeches that make an impact or of Americans who made a difference.
As students read “Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.?” they may need some details to be explained. These include:
• Baptist minister — the role of these men in the lives of their congregations
• What do “car” and “piano” indicate about their lives?
• The example of segregation on a long bus ride
• What was “nonviolent protest”? Depending on the age of your students, relate the teachings of Ghandi and Henry David Thoreau.
• Explain the Montgomery bus boycott. How is economic protest a form of nonviolent protest?
• What did it mean for a young pastor, a father of young children, to remain committed to this cause after arrests and his family’s home being bombed?
After students have read and discussed “‘I have a dream …,’” teachers of older students may wish to have students read the entire speech. Ask students to identify examples of metaphor, anaphora, repetition and parallel structure. How do literary devices assist King in conveying his message? What is his message?
Teachers of older students may also wish to study King’s letter from Birmingham jail where he had been secured on April 12, 1963. The Education For Freedom lesson plan, “A Letter Read ‘Round the World,” provides resources for studying his letter in the context of civil disobedience, civil rights activities, and the reasons King and others demonstrated in Birmingham, Ala. Pay particular attention to “1963: A Coalition of Conscience” and the “Letter From Birmingham Jail Questions and Concepts.”
Teachers may look at the other speeches and areas addressed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Craig Gordon addresses this focus in his lesson, “There’s Infinitely More to Martin Luther King, Jr. Than ‘I Have a Dream.’”