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Write Your Own "I Have a Dream" Speech

Brief Description

Students use a fill-in-the-blanks work sheet to write speeches that imitate the form and content of Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Objectives

Students:

• listen to King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
• use a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet to express their dreams for the world in a format similar to King's speech.

Keywords

dream, Martin Luther King, speech

Materials Needed

Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech

• King Speech Audio
• MLK Audio Clip
• text version of the speech:
  • http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html (optional)
• "I Have a Dream Too!" work sheet

Lesson Plan

Explain to students that they are going to learn about Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of the future and think about their own dreams.

• Play a recorded version of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech so students can get a sense of King's delivery and of the excitement the speech generated.
• Discuss with students King's dream for the country, and ask why people might consider the speech great. Ask students to think about their own dreams for the future.
• Have students complete the ThinkQuest "I Have a Dream Too!" work sheet at http://library.thinkquest.org/10320/Starter.htm.

Assessment

Students present their speeches to their classmates. Ask each student to privately grade his or her peers' speeches with a rating of 3 (good work), 4 (very good job), or 5 (superb effort). Average the peer scores to come up with each student's final grade.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

National Standards

FINE ARTS

• Theatre
  GRADES K - 4
  NA-T.K-4.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on Personal Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
  NA-T.K-4.2 Acting By Assuming Roles And Interacting In Improvisations

  GRADES 5 - 8
  NA-T.5-8.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on Personal Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
  NA-T.5-8.2 Acting By Assuming Roles And Interacting In Improvisations

  GRADES 9 - 12
  NA-T.9-12.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on Personal Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
  NA-T.9-12.2 Acting By Assuming Roles And Interacting In Improvisations

LANGUAGE ARTS

• English
  GRADES K - 12
  NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
  NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
  NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge

SOCIAL SCIENCES

• U.S. History
  GRADES 5 - 12
  NSS-USH.5-12.9 Era 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)

TECHNOLOGY

GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.4 Technology Communications Tools

See more lessons at Happy Birthday, MLK at
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