Grades 9-12: The Arts & Social Change
Lesson Three
Your World Today
Student Connection: Making It Personal
Many Americans feel disconnected from civil rights movements today, observing civil rights only as a day off in the form of a national holiday (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day). Click on the link below to read a news article written by Paul Andrews for the Seattle Times, on the creation of this holiday. After reading, discuss the following questions as a class.
Discussion Questions:
1. Dr. King is the only American besides George Washington to have a national holiday designated to honor him. Compare Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to America's first president. How were they similar? How were they different?
2. Do you think that it is right for Dr. King to be celebrated with a holiday, in the same manner as George Washington? Why or why not?
3. In the above article, the question was asked, "Why put Dr. King above other famous people?" How would you respond to this question?
Reflect on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders in the civil rights movement. Choose one of the following options to write an essay on: A). Compare the messages in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches and letters to the visual messages found in the sculptures of Dr. Charles Smith. B). Write a reflective essay on the impact or inspiration that Dr. King and the civil rights movement has had upon your own life. Read the below links for essays written by students and adults from across the United States:
Student Connection: Would He Still Have A Dream?
"I have a dream..." is a well-known quote from one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s most famous speeches, delivered in 1963 to an audience of over 200,000 civil-rights marchers at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. While you may be familiar with this quote, do you know what the dreams that Dr. King spoke of in his speech were? Click on the link below to read this speech in its entirety, then reflect on the following question below. Students may want to take turns reading each section aloud so that they can dramatize the energy of Dr. King's words.
Discussion Questions*:
1. What key images and phrases did Dr. King choose?
2. What was the overall emotional tone of his words?
3. Imagine that Dr. King has returned to today's world. Would he still have a dream for our country? Write a speech that he might deliver today.
4. What is your personal dream for your life, community, or world? Dr. King challenged students to develop a blueprint for their lives. Click on the link below and read aloud a speech that Dr. King gave to a group of high school students. After listening to his speech, take time to reflect and develop your own life blueprint.
The Seattle Times: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s What Is Your Life's Blueprint?
*Questions derived from: Discovery Education
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