Lesson Activities from Julia

Julia is a VariQuest content specialist and former teacher.

January 17th marks Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, making this month a great time to focus on the Civil Rights Movement in your classroom. The below activities offer fresh ideas for exploring Dr. King's impact on the Civil Rights Movement and for presenting the related timeless concepts of justice, freedom, and equality.

Grades K-5

Big Words: Celebrate the positive impact that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had on the Civil Rights Movement by exploring his "I Have a Dream" speech.

To prepare for this activity, find a copy of the text from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.* Format the text so that it fits onto multiple pages. You will want to have one page of text from the speech for each small group of students. If possible, make sure that paragraphs are not separated onto two pages. Use the scan-to-print feature on the Poster Maker to enlarge the text of the speech to poster-size. You should have one poster for each small group of students: each poster will have a different portion of Dr. King's speech. Also, make arrangements to show students the video of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Use the Cutout Maker to cut out Dove 1 (HOL141). Make sure to cut out multiple doves, at a size large enough for each group to write each "big" word and its definition.

Begin this activity with a read aloud of the book Martin's Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport. Discuss with students the idea of "big" words. What do "big" words mean? Ask students: Are they big in size? Are they big in meaning? Help students discover that Dr. King's words are considered big because of their importance in the Civil Rights Movement and the concepts that they represent, such as justice, freedom, equality and civil rights.

After reading the book, show students the video of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Review the concept of "big" words. Explain that they will be given the text from Dr. King's speech and they will work in groups to find Dr. King's "big" words from the speech.

Distribute one poster and a marker to each small group. Give students time to read through their portion of the speech and discuss which of the words they think are "big." Be sure to have plenty of dictionaries available for students to look up words that they are unfamiliar with. Once the group members agree upon a "big" word, have them underline the word with a marker and write the word and their own definition of the word on one of the dove cutouts. There will be more than one "big" word in each section of the speech. Challenge students to find all of the "big" words on their poster. Then attach the dove cutout with the definition to the poster next to each underlined word.

Display each of the posters with dove cutouts and have student groups give mini-presentations about the "big" words they identified from Dr. King's speech. After all groups have presented, review the words that students have identified as "big." Talk about how some of these words are positive (freedom, equality, etc.) and some are negative (injustice, discrimination, etc.). Be sure that all of the students understand the meaning of these words and why they are "big" words. Once all groups have presented, have students write their own short speech using some of the positive "big" words.

* The text of the "I Have a Dream" speech is available online at www.usconstitution.net/dream.html.

Grades 6-8

Cause and Effect - The Civil Rights Movement & Dr. King: Identify significant events in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and the Civil Rights Movement and how they relate to each other.

Use Poster Maker template Timeline History (VIS044), Horizontal Timeline Banner (BAN031) or Vertical Timeline Banner (BAN032) for this activity. Determine how many events you would like students to focus on related to both Dr. King's life and the Civil Rights Movement in general. Print one or two copies of each poster or banner depending on the depth at which you would like students to reach when relating events in Dr. King's life to other events that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement.

For example:

• Print two of the Timeline History posters and record events that relate to Dr. King's Life in the boxes in one color and events that relate to the Civil Rights Movement in general in a different color. Record events that are related to both Dr. King's life and the Civil Rights Movement in a third color.

or

• Print two copies of the Vertical Timeline banner and record events in Dr. King's life on one banner and events related to the Civil Rights Movement on the second banner.

Additionally, edit the title of the Fishbone Map (ORG016) graphic organizer to read: "Cause and Effect - The Civil Rights Movement & Dr. King." Print one poster for each small group of students.

Review with students who Dr. King is and why we have dedicated a day to celebrate his life and accomplishments. Tell students that they will be conducting research to find out more about events that took place during the Civil Rights Movement and how they are related to Dr. King's role in the movement. Provide time for students to conduct research online and take notes on which of these events they consider to have the greatest impact.

The following is a list of websites with timelines to get students started:

• www.history-timelines.org.uk/people-timelines/28-martin-luther-king-timeline.htm
• www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline/civil_01.html
• www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1997/mlk/links.html

Once students have conducted research and taken notes on the events that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement and led up to the assassination of Dr. King, have them add information to the class timeline poster(s) or banner(s). Lead a group discussion about which of the events were related to Dr. King's life, which events were related to the Civil Rights Movement in general, and which events would fall under both categories.

Review with students how to use a Fishbone Map graphic organizer to show a cause-and-effect relationship. Have students begin with the end event: Dr. King's assassination. Ask students to work backwards to identify the main events and supporting details for each of the "causes" that led to Dr. King's assassination.

Students should work in small groups to fill in their Fishbone Map graphic organizers, and then give a short presentation explaining the causal relationship between the events that were taking place during the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King's assassination. Each group's organizer may have different key events. This will expose students to the variety of ways that historical events can be interpreted. Encourage students to draw comparisons between their organizers to understand the complex series of events that led to this tragedy.

Grades 9-12

Civil Rights Awareness in 2011: Inspire students to build upon the legacy that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. set forth: the pursuit of equal rights for all Americans.

Bring attention to civil rights issues that are facing the citizens of the United States today by first reviewing with students how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to bring forth the Civil Rights legislation for African Americans in the 1960's.

Prior to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, have students select a civil rights issue such as national security, immigration or LGBT rights that they would like to research and find out more about.

• A comprehensive list of current issues and campaigns can be found at www.civilrights.org/issues/.
  
• Another informative website on civil liberties is www.aclu.org/key-issues.

After selecting an issue, students should explore the civil rights that are in question, the current laws related to the civil rights issue, the population of people that are affected by the current legislation, how these people are affected and any other important information related to their civil rights issue.

Have students share the civil rights issue that they researched and what they found out about their issue. Talk about ways they can take action to make a difference in the outcome of legislature on their issue of choice. Make sure that students know that the main impact they have comes from voting (if they are of legal age). Another way that students can make a difference is by raising awareness about an issue.

Give students an opportunity to raise awareness and funds by hosting a fundraising event on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As a class, decide on a civil rights issue or organization that the students would like to support. Use the Awards Maker or Cutout Maker to create items to sell for the fundraiser. Donate all profits to the designated organization.

Possible fundraiser ideas include*:

• Doves for Peace – Use the Cutout Maker to cut out "Doves for Peace" using Dove 1 (HOL141) shape. If cut out at 4", 8 doves will fit on one 12" x 18" VariQuest Magnetic Sheet. The cost per dove magnet will be $1.35. Sell dove magnets at $3 for a $1.65 profit per magnet. Students can attach dove magnets to lockers or cars. Use VariQuest Vinyl Sheets and the cost is $1.04 per dove. When vinyl doves are sold at $3, the profit per dove is $1.96.
• Civil Rights Awareness Bumper Stickers – Create bumper stickers using one of the Awards Maker Bumper Sticker Basic Layout templates. Edit the template by changing the text to read, "I support peace!" or "Vote to make a difference!" Add your school's mascot by customizing a graphic box that already exists on the template or adding a new graphic using the Advanced Editing capabilities available in the VariQuest 2.0 Design Center Software. The cost for each 10" bumper sticker is $1.06. Sell bumper stickers for $3.00 to make a $1.94 profit.

*Let students get creative. Give students access to the VariQuest 2.0 Design Center Software and time to explore the templates and cutout shapes that are available. Keeping them involved in the planning and execution of this project from start to finish will provide them with a comprehensive understanding of what goes into the organization of a fundraising event. They will also learn important 21st century skills in the process.

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