Entering History: Nikki Giovanni and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Student Objectives:

Students will:

• identify unfamiliar words and phrases in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
• define these unfamiliar words and phrases both denotatively and connotatively.
• explain in their own words what the speech says.
• write quiz questions about the speech for their peers and themselves.
• read the speech orally.
• demonstrate an understanding of the historical context of the speech and Nikki Giovanni's poem "The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr."
• write reflectively about what they've learned about Martin Luther King, Jr., Nikki Giovanni, and/or Civil Rights in general.

NCTE/IRA National Standards For The English Langauge Arts:

• Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound–letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).