Wood_cover.qxd (Page 1) - National Council of Teachers of English

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Interdisciplinary Connections 71came at the very end of this lesson. Ultimately, I wanted to see thatmy students could accurately define words and explain phrases usingthe context of the speech and historical information to supporttheir answers.What does “in whose symbolic shadow we stand” mean?What is the Declaration of Independence?What does Martin Luther King mean by “a bad check whichhas come back marked insufficient funds”?What does this sentence mean? “The whirlwind of revolt willcontinue to share the foundations of our nation until the brightday of justice emerges.”What was Dr. King trying to say when he said, “together at atable of brotherhood”?Who was the Governor of Alabama when this speech was givenand how did he change as a person after he was governor?Now that students have a better idea of what the speech means,they are ready to prepare for readers’ theater. There are several ways toconduct readers’ theater, but for this lesson the goal is for students toperform their parts of Dr. King’s speech in their own, unique ways andto combine their sections so that, in the end, the speech is read in full.For their sections, students should decide who will read what lines,which words or phrases will be read by more than one person simultaneously,and what tone of voice will be used to express different emotions.For example, toward the middle of the speech, the phrases “goback” and “I have a dream” are repeated several times. The whole classmight want to read those lines or girls and boys might want to alternateto create different voices.Once all of the students are ready, rehearse the speech severaltimes before performing it in front of a real audience. One way to givestudents a chance to ask questions and give feedback is to have the classbecome the audience. Explain that when students are not performing,they will act as an audience that is allowed to ask questions and givewarm and cool feedback after each performance. Warm feedback consistsof encouraging comments about the performance, and cool feedbackis constructive advice on how to improve the performance. Haveeach student or group of students perform their part in the correct order,stopping between sections to answer questions and receive feedback.Continue to rehearse until students feel confident enough to performin front of a new audience.
72 Chapter 4I Have a DreamDirections: Use the space below to write your section of the speech. This will helpyou become more familiar with the speech and will make the speech easilyaccessible while you define the words and phrases from your section.I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as thegreatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand,signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a greatbeacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in theflames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long nightof captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that theNegro is still not free.One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by themanacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.Directions: Use the space below to record information about the words and/orphrases from your section of the speech. List the words and/or phrases in the leftcolumn, record the meanings you found through research in the middle column,and explain what the words and/or phrases mean in the context of Martin LutherKing Jr.’s speech in the right column.Word/Phrase from SpeechScorea great AmericanEmancipationProclamationdecreeseared in the flames ofwithering injusticeFigure 4.1. Example.Definitiontwenty yearsAbraham Lincolnthe document that freedthe slaves in 1862a lawful orderburning in a fire causedby injusticeMeaning in ContextDr. King is explainingthat the EmancipationProclamation was signed100 years ago.He is the President whosigned the EmancipationProclamation.Dr. King opens his speechby mentioning theEmancipation Proclamationto show that, eventhough “Negroes” are nolonger slaves, they arestill not free.Dr. King is saying that theEmancipation Proclamationgave hope to slavesby making slavery illegal.Dr. King is saying thatslavery has hurt AfricanAmerican people andcontinued on next page
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Wood_cover.qxd (Page 1) - National Council of Teachers of English

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