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Martin Luther and the Civil Rights Movement 

Name: Emma F.

Class/Subject: 8th grade Social Studies

Date: 4/8/11 

Student Objectives/Student Outcomes:

· Students will use Martin Luther King Jr.¶s ³I have been to the mountaintop´ speech to

analyze the importance of speeches in major historical time periods, as well as forecast the

significance of this speech in the context of the Civil Rights Movement.

· In small groups, students will compose a speech and examine the significance of word

choice and structure in text.

Content Standards:

16.D.2c (US) Describe the influence of key individuals and groups, including Susan B.

Anthony/suffrage and Martin Luther King, Jr./civil rights, in the historical eras of Illinois and the

United States.

18.A.3 Explain how language, literature, the arts, architecture and traditions contribute to the

development and transmission of Culture.

Materials/Resources/Technology:

- Powerpoint

- Youtube video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbqNaIRW9vY  

- Worksheet

- Assignment Handout with guidelines and vocabulary

Teacher¶s Goals: 

· To make the influence of speeches during the civil rights movement apparent, and to relate

this speech to the greater context of the movement.

· To emphasize the importance of word choice in speeches and text. 

- To facilitate the proccess of analysis and open interpretation of important texts such as the MLK Speech.

Time (1st Period/ 2nd Period)

Start of Class ( 4 min)

Attention getter: Play autotuned version of MLKJ¶s ³I Have been to the Mountaintop´

Speech. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbqNaIRW9vY  

Introduction of Lesson ( 20 min)

Hand out the text of the speech and introduce the objectives of the day. Then, the teacher will

 provide some background information on the speech through a PowerPoint:

-´I Have been to the Mountaintop´ was King¶s last speech given on April 3, 1968 at the Mason

Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. The next day, King was assassinated. The speech primarily concerns

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the Memphis Sanitation Strike, forcing King to demand unity, economic actions, boycotts, and nonviolent

 protest, challenging the United States to live up to its ideals and ³American Dream.´

Students will form small groups of 4 and analyze the text of the speech using teacher-guided

questions:

1.) Why are the days ahead going to be so difficult? Think back to our lecture and discussion onthe causes of the Civil Rights Movement.

2.) What does King mean when he says ³I¶ve been to the mountaintop and I¶ve looked over and

I¶ve seen the Promised Land´? What does the ³Promised Land´ stand for?

` 3.) In the second verse, how can the students ³stand up´ when they are ³sitting in´?

4.) What is the American Dream? What is a democracy?

5.) What is the purpose of King¶s final speech?

The groups will come back together as a class and each group will share their analysis of the

speech. As a class, they will answer the question of ³What is the purpose of King¶ final speech?´

Lesson Instruction: (25 min )

Have students get back into their original groups of 4 and explain them their assignment for the

day.

Assignment: students are to write their own two-three paragraph speeches on the subject of 

freedom.

- Students are able to be as creative as they¶d like within this topic of freedom--

as long as it it school appropriate. (how being in school most of the year represses their 

freedom, parents giving them curfews etc.)

- In order to get full credit on this assignment students must incorporate at least 5

vocabulary words out of the from the ³Mountaintop´ speech that we have provided on a

vocabulary sheet for them. Vocab words will include: American Dream, sit ins,

democracy, conscience, aroused etc.- The teacher will inform the students that each group will present their speech later in the

 period and that they have a half hour.

Assessments/Checks for Understanding (30 min )

Each group of students will perform their speech to the class. They will take turns in reading so

as to insure full participation from all students. The teacher will grade them on fulfilling the

guidelines and the incorporating the correct use of the vocabulary words provided.

Closure/Wrap-Up/Review ( 1 min) 

Today we examined the famous ³Mountaintop´ speech by Martin Luther King Jr. and have

realized the importance of being able to break down and analyze a primary source document. In order to

do this it became clear that you must be able to understand the vocabulary of the particular text. Only by

understanding the vocabulary can you fully grasp the complete meaning of such a text. It is our hope that

through working with the vocabulary and creating speeches of your own you are more equipped to break 

down future readings in order to help you come to a final conclusion and comprehension of the piece.

Self-Assessment

Teacher will make note of went well and what you could have improved on during the lesson.