Lesson 5
Objectives
- Using evidence from Martin Luther King Jr's life, students will be able to write a letter identifying why he was, or wasn't, a great leader.
- English 1.13 The student will write to communicate ideas for a variety of purposes
b) Focus on one topic
d) Use complete sentences in final copies
e) Begin each sentence with a capital letter and use ending punctuation in final copies
f) Use correct spelling for commonly used sight words and phonetically regular words in final copies
g) Share writing with others - History 1.2 The student will describe the stories of American leaders and the contributions to our country, with emphasis on George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington Carver, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
- What Are You Thinking worksheet (attached below)
- MLK Jr. Powerpoint (attached below)
- Promethean/Smart board
- Computer
- Internet access to get on Wordle.net
- Paper with area for illustrations
- Decorated box to replicate a mail box
- Why Martin Luther King is a Great Leader rubric
- Wrap up the unit by asking students if they have any additional questions, wonderings, or concerns about Martin Luther King
- Once all questions have been answered, have the class get into their groups and hand out the What Are You Thinking worksheet and play the slideshow on the Promethean/Smart board that has the pictures of MLK.
- Tell students that they will think about what they know about Martin Luther King, discuss as a group, and answer the questions on the worksheet.
- Once everyone is done, groups will share out what they know about Martin Luther King and the teacher will put the information into a Wordle, exactly as it was done on the first day of the unit.
- The teacher will help students to make comparisons between the two Wordles, as well as point out how much their knowledge of Martin Luther King has grown.
- Once students have examined their final Worlde, the teacher will remind students that now it is time for them to decide whether or not Martin Luther King meets the requirements of a great leader and should be added to their Great Leaders wall.
- Students will write a letter and/or draw pictures, explaining why or why not Martin Luther King should be added to their Great Leaders wall. Students will need to provide specific examples of why he is, or isn’t, considered a great leader, making sure that they refer to the classes characteristics of a great leader.
- Once students have finished, students will put their letters in a "mail" box so that they can be sent to the president of the Great Leaders wall (the teacher), who will read the letters and decide if Martin Luther King will be added. The teacher will then announce the decision based on the students' letters and then they will have a small ceremony to inaugurate Martin Luther King Jr. onto the Great Leaders Wall!
- Students who struggle with writing, or don't like to write, may draw their 'vote' instead. In addition, students who struggle with writing or drawing their ideas could simply share them verbally with the class and be assessed that way.
- The summative assessment for this unit is the letters students write. Students writing will be assessed based on a rubric. The rubric will assess whether they are able to provide specific examples of why Martin Luther King is considered a great leader, specifically connecting their ideas to the classed characteristics of great leaders. The rubric will also assess how many examples they provide that explains why Martin Luther King is a great leader. Finally, the rubric will assess their conventions and organization.
- For this lesson, the teacher will need access to a Promethean/Smart board, as well as access to the internet to get on Wordle.net.
- The teacher will also need to be able to run Powerpoint on their computer in order to access the attached slideshow.
mlk_powerpoint.pptx | |
File Size: | 479 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
whatareyouthinking.docx | |
File Size: | 44 kb |
File Type: | docx |
why_martin_luther_king_is_a_great_leader_assignment_rubric.docx | |
File Size: | 94 kb |
File Type: | docx |