For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities based on a reader's theater for Martin Luther King, Jr, and on Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.

Concepts

martin luther king jr., barack obama, civil rights, civil rights leaders, the civil rights movement, biopoems, reader's theater, discrimination, i have a dream speech, american heroes

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Have the class perform the reader's theater in front of the school during Black History Month, or as part of a Parents' Night
• Assign small groups one of the people mentioned in the reader's theater, and have them present to the class information from a research project

Classroom Considerations

• Based on the illustrated book My Dream of MLK by Faith Ringgold, which is good background for the lesson but not necessary
• You can use the lesson as a whole or the assignments on their own

Pros

• A great connection between social studies and language arts
• Incorporates speaking, writing, and reading skills

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.6 SL.7.6 SL.8.6