Lesson Plan Template rev 1/22/18

Date: 24 February 2019 Teacher’s Name: Emily Hay

Subject: English Language Arts Grade level: 11th
Unit: Evaluating Multiple Sources Length of lesson: 45 minutes
Central Focus:
This learning segment will look at how civil liberties, discrimination, and racism has changed or
hasn’t changed in the Nation since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream”
speech in 1963. In order for students to have an understanding of the relevance of the social
issues discussed in the “I Have a Dream” speech, they will have to analyze and evaluate original
texts of historical significance. Students will listen to and close read excerpts from Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.’s civil rights speech and Barack Obama’s Nobel Prize speech. Additionally, they
will view a Civil Rights Movement timeline, and various newspaper articles that incorporate
historical background information, and watch videos on historical facts about Martin Luther
King Jr.’s March on Washington. The goal of this learning segment is for students to engage
with, evaluate, and use multimodal literacies to think about and address the question: how
American citizens have been/continue to be oppressed in the form of racism and discrimination?
It is important for students to be aware of the controversial social and political events that are
unfolding in our country today. Students will understand how evaluating multiple sources can
broaden their perspective on social issues. Students will be able to critically think about multiple
sources of information and identify social issues from the Civil Rights Movement are still
relevant in today’s society.
Lesson Title: The Power of Speech
For unit, _2_ out of _5_:
Essential Question(s): What were key points mentioned in MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech?
What civil rights issues are still visible today? Why is it important to refer to the past in order to
understand the progress made in the Civil Rights Movement?

Learning Standards:
New York State Content Standards
Literacy Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or
formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or
solve a problem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly
as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
a. Develop factual, interpretive, and evaluative questions for further exploration of the
topic(s).

Pre-Assessment: N/A
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Learning Objectives: Assessments:

 Identify main ideas from Dr. Martin  Turn-and-Talks

Luther King’s “I Have a Dream  Handout 1: Making Connections
Speech”  Handout 2: Reading Response
 Describe and explain the historical  Exit Slip: Short Response
significance of King’s speech in terms
of the Civil Rights Movement
 Interpret what parallels can be drawn
between MLK’s battles and the events
of modern society
 Use textual evidence to formulate
analysis and opinions
Differentiation: During the guided practice, students will be split into four different groups
based on mixed ability levels to help facilitate discussions and support student’s reading
comprehension skills. The video and audio based clips will help support the visual and auditory
needs of learners.
Academic Language: This lesson will contain the academic specific vocabulary and phrases
civil rights, Civil Rights Movement, discrimination, racism, emancipation. Students will also
have to engage with the following language functions identify, analyze, evaluate.
Procedure:
Anticipatory Set
The teacher will have an image of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his name on the
smartboard at the beginning of class. Students will be asked to write down any words or phrases
that come to mind about MLK and why he is a historically significant figure for about One
minute. Students will then turn-and-talk with a partner and discuss what they wrote down and
what else they might already know/or remember about MLK for 3 minutes. This is a pre-reading
strategy that prepares students to read excerpts of MLK’s “I Have a dream” speech later in the
lesson. Once students are done discussing, students will be called up to write possible answers on
the board. This will take three minutes and students will be reminded not to repeat any words or
phrases that have already been listed on the board. The purpose of this activity is to activate
student’s prior knowledge about the Civil Rights Movement, and think about why MLK was an
important figure.
Initial Phase
Direct Instruction
The teacher will go over the answers on the board, looking for words such as: activist, non-
violence, “I Have a Dream” speech, discrimination, equal rights. Students will be reminded that
it is important to understand the historical context of a source of information when analyzing a
speech or another informational text. Students will be told that they will be reading the famous “I
Have a Dream” speech delivered by MLK. The teacher will ask students what they know about
the 1963 March on Washington and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The teacher will handout a
Making Connections worksheet and tell the students that they will watch a short clip that
explains important background information on MLK’s speech. Students will be instructed to use
 Lesson Plan Template rev 1/22/18

the handout to take notes on what they did and didn’t know about the speech’s context. Video
Link: https://vimeo.com/67224181 (2:30 minutes). Once the video ends, the teacher will ask
students what was one interesting thing that they learned from the video and why they think it is
important to know before reading MLK’s speech? Now that students have been taken notes on
some background information of the speech, they will be reading excerpts of the speech in
groups. The direct instruction should take approximately 8 minutes.

Middle Phase
Guided Practice
Students will be given a shortened version of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech
and put it into four different groups based on student’s ability levels. Students will be asked to
independently read and annotate the shortened speech for 10-12 minutes. The teacher will write
four different main points from the speech on the board and assign them to each group. Group 1-
The promise of freedom, Group 2-American Brotherhood, Group 3-Focus on the past, Group 4-
Economic mobility. Once in groups, students will discuss their assigned main ideas that are
articulated by King in his speech and complete the Reading Response Handout for 15 minutes.
Having students focus on just one point from the text will help them deepen their comprehension
and evaluation of that one idea in the overall historical context of King’s speech. Students will
describe and explain why the main idea is significant in the context of civil rights, and identify
three points of evidence to support their claim. Students will be reminded that they can cite
evidence from the speech itself, and if they need, cite evidence from their Making Connections
handout as additional support. Students will hand in their responses at the end of the lesson.
Concluding Phase
In the last 2-3 minutes of class, students will be given an exit slip that they will have to complete
for homework. Students will be asked to listen to the full 17-minute audio clip for MLK’s “I
Have a Dream Speech” for homework (they will be given the link on their exit slip). Students
will write one paragraph on why listening to the spoken speech is different from reading the
shortened speech. Additionally, students will write another paragraph on which ideas from the
speech they see as relevant to today and why. Students will be reminded to use the written
speech and Making Connections worksheet as references when evaluating the two informational
sources as they complete the homework.

Follow up: Students will complete an exit-slip for homework. This homework assignment is
based on what students began to think about in class today.
Materials:
Smartboard, Handouts 1 and 2, Exit-slip, “I Have a Dream” excerpt of speech.
Video: https://vimeo.com/67224181
Audio Recording: https://youtu.be/smEqnnklfYs

References and Resources:

Video: https://vimeo.com/67224181
Audio Recording: https://youtu.be/smEqnnklfYs
Speech Excerpt: Teacher Resource: "I Have a Dream" Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
(excerpts). Source: Reprinted by arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther
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King Jr., c/o Writers House as the proprietor New York, NY. Copyright: © 1963 Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. © renewed 1991 Coretta Scott King.