Making Evidence-Based Claims ELA/Literacy Units empower students with a critical reading and writing skill at the heart of the Common Core: making evidence-based claims about complex texts. These units are part of the Developing Core Proficiencies Program. This unit develops students' abilities to make evidence-based claims through activities based on a close reading of the Nobel Peace Prize Speeches of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Barack Obama.

This lesson provides fliers and other documents related to the demonstration in Memphis on March 28, 1968. On that day, students near the end of the march broke windows of businesses. Looting ensued. The march was halted. King was deeply distressed by the violence. He and fellow leaders negotiated a commitment to nonviolence among disagreeing factions in Memphis, and another march was planned for April 8. On April 4, as he stepped out of his motel room to go to dinner, he was assassinated.

Nikki Giovanni's poem 'The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.' is paired with Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, taking students on a quest through time to the Civil Rights movement.

The Civil Rights Movement in America featured many different leaders, some with very different approaches they thought would help African Americans achieve equality. Of these figures Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X are two of the most influential. Students will analyze one writing from each of these leaders to determine what their beliefs were and how they were different from one another, before discussing these beliefs and differences with a partner. Image: Warren K. Leffler (photographer), Library of Congress (source). Public Domain.

The “Own It!” Handbook for Adults & Teens is a step-by-step guide to a fourteen topic after-school program, such as a Boys & Girls Club, or an adult Community Building group. For adults, it seeks to bridge divides and  explore what Americans have in common. For teens, it is a transformative after-school, trauma-informed enrichment program. It nurtures academic skills, personal growth and leadership. For all, it uses history to connect our past to our future, as part of the Own Your History® (OYH) Collection. Our inheritances from family history and the American experience provide the starting point for our personal journeys.  Our individual stories are part of a complex American history. We each can choose consciously to write our life story and work for a greater future. Own It! is not “school” but enhances students’ engagement in being creative, making things happen, and  achieving goals. Its mission is to help them step up and enrich their lives, especially by understanding that they live in history.

Students will analyze census data and graphs that demonstrate how certain aspects of the lives of African-Americans have changed since civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Students will select a fact from these data, facts from other sources, and a historical photograph to include on a poster about King.

This is a unit plan frame for the text I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and "Letters from a Birmingham Jail." It is designed to address the Common Core standards grade band 11-12 and inlcudes suggested activities, supplemental texts, and assessment ideas.

In this lesson students discuss Dr. King's views about alliance-building; consider these in light of Obama's inauguration; learn about the alliance-building work of Ai-jen Poo, founder of Domestic Workers United; and think about things in their own lives that they might want to build alliances to change.

features Atlanta's Auburn Avenue, the neighborhood where the civil rights leader was born and raised. Sweet Auburn, as it came to be called, became the center of African American life in Atlanta between 1910 and 1930. Photos and maps of the neighborhood are provided. King's role in the civil rights movement is also examined.

This lesson provides ideas for celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by encouraging students to explore the connections between Dr. King and themselves through journaling and inquiry-based research.

Students will display their understanding of the symbolism and references that Dr. King used to enrich his famous speech on August 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by constructing a "jackdaw," a collection of documents and objects.

This kit provides teachers, college faculty and other educators with the materials needed to engage students in a dynamic and constructivist process of learning how antiwar movements have been perceived by the people in the United States and how the U.S. media has constructed that public perception. The subject areas covered include U.S. history, African-American studies, labor studies, Latino studies, media studies, Native American studies, peace studies, sociology and womenŒ_ΏŁ_ studies among many others.

This kit explores the ways in which King and his legacy have been portrayed in various media forms. The first lesson follows a chronology of King's life through interactive decoding of rich media documents (comic books, billboards, songs, music videos, etc.). The following lessons use excerpts of Dr. King's speeches from 1963, 1967 and 1968 to examine his views on social change; explore the portrayal of King in magazine covers, advertisements, Web sites, film clips and monuments; and use letters to the editor about celebrating King to explore challenges to change.

This is a short quiz on CCSS.RI.9-10.1, featuring an excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". The passage has a Dale-Chall difficulty level of 9-10, and a Flesch-Kincaid level of 10.7.

The Civil Rights Movement for African American equality is one of the defining social movements of the 1950s and 60s.  Ordinary people took to the streets to demand equality.  This lesson will explore the various forms of protest that defined the movement.  Two of the most notable leaders of the movement were Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.  While both men shared the common goal of equality, their approaches were very different.  Martin Luther King preached nonviolent civil disobedience, while Malcolm X demanded equality “by any means necessary.” You will examine famous speeches and articles written by both men to form your own opinion of which approach is more effective to have your demands met.StandardsCC.8.5.11-12.FCC.8.6.9-10.GCC.8.3.12.D