Strategy Lesson Plan

Patricia Marsh

EDTP 639

University of Maryland Global Campus  

Name:                                                             Grade: 8th Grade

Unit:   Black History Month/ Civil Rights Movement

  Time Allotted: 60 minutes

Lesson Topic: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream”/Journal Entry

Content Area” English/Writing

Reading Strategy Focus: Activating Background Knowledge, Questioning,

Summarizing, Chunk and Chew

Digital Literacy Focus: YouTube videos, Graphic Organizers “Hamburger”,

Google Slides

Type of Lesson: The students will be learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
and reviewing his speech “I Have a Dream”. Within the unit of Black History, the
students will be exposed to famous African American men and women in history
and what their significance was during the Civil Rights Movement.

Context for Learning:

During the Black History unit, the students have learned about Harriett Tubman,
Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, The Freedom Writers, and their significance in
African American Black History. The students have been able to review the
various roles that each person played in history. Today many African Americans
are judged because of the color of their skin instead of the content of their
character. Former First Lady Michelle Obama stated, “that when they go low, we
go high.” In other words, we should want more for ourselves and to be better
than our ancestors and strive for greatness.

This lesson is important for students to understand their cultural heritage and to
be able to understand where they come and where they are going now. There
were so many leaders that paved the way for African Americans to have the right
to vote, the rights to ride the buses, to live or even have a place of employment.
African Americans have come a long way in history over the years. We were able
to see our first African American President, President Barack Obama to become
our 44th President. We were able to see our first female astronaut Mae Jameson,
our first African American mayor of Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser and
recently our first female vice president, Kamala Harris. History is constantly
challenging, and things are starting to change for the better because new laws
and being created, regulations are challenging as well as new legislation.

In the eight-grade classroom (Room 19) the classroom size is sixteen students.
There is eleven boys and six girls. There are six African American boys and five
Caucasian boys. Their two African American girls and four African American
girls. Two of the boys have special needs and one has been diagnosed with
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and the other boys has been
diagnosed with Visual Impairment. With his Visual Impairment he must wear
glasses according to his supplemental aids on his IEP (Individualized Education
Plan) and his must have large, printed materials based off his accommodations
on his IEP. For both boy’s frequency of breaks and allotted wait time is including
within the classroom routine. For both special needs additional picture and visual
cues are incorporated into the classroom. Both boys are receiving related
services for Speech. The boys can walk independently on their own and they are
able to feed themselves independently as well. The lesson plans are scaffolded
to meet the needs of all students. Differentiated instruction and modeling is
incorporated within each lesson. There are no ELL learners in the class currently.

Within the classroom set-up there is a designated area for the students to use
when they need to calm down and de-escalate when they are having a tantrum.
The calming area has sensory games, fidget spinners and additional games that
will calm the students whenever they need a break.

The classroom set-up in Room 19

The classroom has the latest Promethean smartboard in the classroom.
Throughout the classroom there are various posters, the students have a word
wall, content area sections with vocabulary words for all content areas, such as,
Social Studies, Mathematics, English, and Science. The classroom is open
space for all students with labeled bins for storage of classroom materials. The
students can stay within the classroom space and be able to do small group
when given directions by the teacher. The classroom environment is a cultivating
environment for all students. The space is friendly that allows the students to
speak their own truth and without any judgement.

The classroom has a Chromebook on teacher’s desk that can be used for
YouTube videos, interactive games, websites and sharing content during the
lesson. The students also have access to Chromebooks within the classroom in
a storage closet. The students can use their Chromebooks to complete research
and then print their findings.

Curriculum Standard Addressed:

The Maryland College and Career Ready Framework for English Learning Arts
(ELA) coincides with the Common Core Standards. Listed below are those
standards.

Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific
word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other
texts.

Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for ELA

RL.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a
text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of
specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions
to other texts.

RL.8.7 Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or

drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the
choices made by the director or actors.

RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions

between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies,
or categories)
Writing Standards

W1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant

evidence.

W2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas,

concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis
of relevant content.

Objectives (observable and measurable):

The students with 80% accuracy, will recognize and understand the “I Have a
Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The students with 80% accuracy, will analyze the “I Have a Dream” speech and
create their own journal entry in their composition notebooks or binders about
what the speech meant to them.

The students with 75% accuracy, will analyze the “I Have a Dream” speech and
students will reflect on how things have changed in society today for African
Americans.

Materials:

The teacher will need the following materials:

 Promethean Board/Smart Board

 Google slides
 Handouts (for IEP students there will be large, printed materials for
students)
 Markers
 Chart Paper
 Handouts on graphic organizers
 YouTube videos
 Smart Board marker and pointer
 Worksheet (printed for each student to complete their graphic organizer)

Students’ materials:

 Chromebook
 Pencil with eraser
 Pencil sharpener (located in the classroom on the countertop)
 Composition notebook or journal binder
 Google classroom (the students will do a follow up with this activity by
typing their journal entry on their WordPad in the Google Classroom for a
graded assignment)
  Each student will receive colored pencils to complete their journal entry
outline worksheet.

Proactive Behavior Management:

Although there are well-established benefits of teachers engaging in positive and

proactive behavior management strategies to prevent and respond to behavioral
infractions (Sugai & Horner, 2002, 2006), research demonstrates that their use
does not adequately meet the behavioral needs of all students (Siwatu & Starker,
2010) or close the discipline gap for African American students (Vincent, Swain-
Bradway, Tobin, & May, 2011). Specifically, such positive behavior supports
reduce the overall use of such exclusionary disciplinary responses (e.g.,
Bradshaw, Mitchell, & Leaf, 2010), although African American students are still
disproportionally represented.

The students were previously paired with a partner during the beginning of the
unit. The students will bring their seats closer to their partner. The students will
seat their partner for the remainder of the unit till the end of the month. When
students do well on a particular activity and answer a question correctly the
teacher will give that student positive praise. Throughout the classroom the
teacher will be walking around the room to supervise the students during the
activity.

Provisions for Student Grouping:

Johnson (2014) talked about student groupings being heterogenous and

homogenous some of the findings effective learning in groups must have at least
the following elements:

 The work must involve every member of the group.

 Each person has a valid job to perform with a known standard of
completion.
 Each member is invested in completing the task or learning goal.
 Each member is accountable individually and collectively.

The students will be grouped into groups of two based off the classroom size and
the capacity of the classroom. The students are grouped based of their academic
needs. The students that are functioning at a lower pace than other students will
be grouped with a higher student that will be able to support them. The teacher
will model and scaffold the activity for the students with special needs.
Accommodations and modifications will be in place for the students with special
needs.
Within the student group differentiated instruction will be incorporated.
Differentiated instruction is tailored to meet the needs of students with special
needs at the learning level where they currently are. Differentiated instruction
looks at four different areas:

1. Content
2. Process
3. Projects
4. Learning Environment

Procedures:.

Warm-Up/Opening (5 minutes)

The students will be greeted at the door by the teacher with a welcoming smile
and high-five upon entering the classroom. Greeting the students is a great way
to build personal relationships with the students. The students will be asked to
grab their Chromebooks along with their journal composition notebook or binders
and then take to their seat. All the students’ names on printed on a sentence strip
and laminated at their designated seating area. The teacher will have the
message of the day on the Promethean/Smartboard upon the students sitting at
their seats. The message of the day will say will be the objective which states:
Students will be able to learn about Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and students will
create their own journal entry summarizing the I Have a Dream speech. We will
review the I Have a Dream Speech. The teacher will come in and greet the
students with a Good Morning friends I hope everyone is ready to get started with
our day. On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his I Have a
Dream Speech.

Motivator/Bridge (10 minutes):

The teacher will read the objective for today. Our objective is students will be
able to listen to the I Have a Dream speech and create their own journal entry
and summarize what they speech meant to them. The teacher will say whenever
you must stand in front a large group of people to give a speech would you be
nervous or afraid? The teacher will allow allotted wait time for students to give a
response. On August 28, 1963, in Washington, DC at the Lincoln Memorial
thousands of people gathered all of races came to hear this powerful speech that
Dr. King was going to deliver. During our lesson today we will listen to that very
speech. We will also create a journal entry outline.

Essential Questioning

The teacher will ask students questions regarding the I Have a Dream Speech
some of the questions include:
  Why was the I Have a Dream speech so powerful?
 Why was the I Have a Dream speech important?
 How did the I Have a Dream speech impact society?
 How did the speech inspire change?
 How does the speech make you feel?

Within the motivator the teacher will be incorporating the concept of chunk and
chew. Chunk and chew a strategy are a new term for turn and talk. With chunk
and chew the teacher can give students a little bit of information at one time and
allow them to process the information in little pieces at time.

Procedural Activities (30 minutes):

The beginning of the lesson will be a whole group activity. The teacher will play
the I Have a Dream speech on their Smartboard. The students will listen to the
speech, and they will be able to take notes if needed that will be able to use
when preparing their journal entry at the end. Now, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
was apart of era of the Civil Rights Movement.

The Civill Rights Movement was a struggle for social justice that took
place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to gain
equal rights under the law in the United States. The Civil War had
officially abolished slavery, but it didn’t end discrimination against Black
people—they continued to endure the devastating effects of racism,
especially in the South. By the mid-20th century, Black Americans had
had more than enough of prejudice and violence against them. They,
along with many white Americans, mobilized and began an
unprecedented fight for equality that spanned two decades.

The teacher will also engage the students in a questioning and answer portion
regarding the questions that are listed in the motivation section of the strategy
lesson plan. The teacher will record the students answers to the questions on
chart paper that is already prepared in the front of the classroom on the bulletin
board.

The teacher will ask the students who can tell me what are unit is for the month?
A student will raise their hands, yes, our unit is Black History. The teacher will
ask why do we need to study Black History? Your right friends to know where we
come from and to know where we are going. Within African American history we
have learned a lot of some famous African American men and women in history.
Our focus today again is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We will now transition into our small group activity. The teacher will assign a
different motivator question to each small group. The students will have five
minutes as a team to create one answer. The teacher will have a timer on the
Smartboard that the students are able to see. The teacher will also walk around
the classroom to listen to the different conversations that are happening within
the small group.

Once the five minutes is over the students will come back to whole group and
two of the groups will be able to share out their response to their question.

The teacher will next transition again into individual activity. The teacher will
review again the objective for the lesson. So, friends, we have listened to the I
Have a Dream Speech about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so now, we will begin
our journal entries. The teacher will pass out the Hamburger graphic organizer to
help the students to outline what their journal entry will be. The teacher will give
instructions to the students about how to complete the worksheet. Once you
have completed your worksheet you will then create your own journal entry in
your journal notebooks or binders which ever one you have with you at your seat.
This is an individual assignment, and no one should be talking to a partner.

Adaptations: 

For the two students with IEP’s each student will have large, printed materials for
them to use to complete the assignment. During the video presentation of the
lesson the teacher will have headphones for the students to use on their
Chromebooks to watch the video from their personal computers. The teacher will
also allow the students to complete the assignment later in the day if sitting
becomes overwhelming for the students. The two students have their own
sensory basket with different games or objects that will help them remain calm
during the writing activity in class.

Assessment (separate into formative and summative): 

Within the context of the lesson their will also be informal assessment during the
lesson. The teacher will be able to take anecdotal records throughout the lesson
and visual pictures of the students completing the activity. The formative
assessment will be embedded within the activity. The concepts of reading
strategy focus of activating prior background knowledge, questioning, and
summarizing are familiar skills to the students. The teacher will reteach the skill
again and determine whether the students have mastered this skill.

 Formative Assessment- The purpose of formative assessment is to

monitor the students learning and ongoing feedback that can you utilized
in the classroom environment throughout various lessons. The formative
assessments that will be given to the students would be to draw a concept
map that can represent their understanding of the topic we are working on
in class. The teacher will walk around the classroom to offer support to
each student if they need additional support. During the journal entry the
students will be able to provide one and two sentences to explain what the
 speech meant to them in their own words as well as summarizing the
speech.

 Summative Assessment- the goal of the summative assessment is to be

able to evaluate student learning at the completion of a unit. At the
completion of the unit the students will be able to prepare a paper and
explain facts about African American history.

Summary/Closure:

Alright friends we our lesson is ending for the today. So, let us review what we
have learned today. What is our unit that we are working on? Great job, our unit
is Black History or African American history either answer is correct. Who did we
learn about what? Great, we learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and what
era was he apart of? Yes, the Civil Rights Movement. Now he gave a speech on
remembers what that speech was? The speech was I Have a Dream. Let us
review our objective again for today. Now, our objective for today was Students
will be able to learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his I Have a Dream
speech. Students will be able to summarize the speech what it meant to them.
Were we able to complete this task today? Great job everyone. When they bell
rings make sure to put your journal notebooks or binders in the bin on the
countertop and leave your Hamburger graphic organizers on my desk at the end
of class.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a brave man that believed in everyone being
treated failure and treating everyone equal not based on the color of our skin but
the content of our character. Having a strong education student, can be anyone
or do anything you set your mind to be. Now, look back we had our first African
American President and now first African American female Vice President. This
tells me that we can do anything with strong determination, motivation, and
perseverance.

Generalization/Extension Activity:

If we could extend this lesson, how would we do that? If Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. was still alive today how would he feel about the treatment of African
Americans in society today? I want to you to think about that question for a
second because so much has happened in our culture over the years; for
instance, we have the Black Lives Matter Movement and in our city of Baltimore
around the world there is so much gun violence happening. If you could sit down
with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. now what would you say to him?
Review/Reinforcement (Homework):

For a homework assignment I want you to research Juneteenth and tell me at

least five facts about Juneteenth. The teacher will also post the google slides on
the Google Classroom of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speech along with
additional facts about Dr. King for the students to review. The research that you
prepare will be a graded homework assignment.

For an extra credit assignment select one person in African American history that
we have learned about thus far and prepare at least five questions that you could
ask them.

Reflection: 

The strengths of the lesson were being able to expose to the students to their
African American history. Having a diverse class of African American and
Caucasian students it has been a pleasure to experience this lesson with my
students. Incorporating digital literacy strategies into the lesson was a strong
strength to explain the lesson to the students.

A weakness regarding the lesson was not having adaptive materials for the
special needs students. One of the students have visual impairment and the
large, printed materials for the worksheets were helpful but having an adaptive
storybook would enhance the lesson and the teacher would be able to scaffold
and model for the student.

Another strength was having various reading strategies for the students to
explore during the lesson and learning new strategies and concepts to enhance
the classroom environment. Being an educator, one must create safe havens for
all students to be able to explore the various concepts of learning. Knowledge is
power and having an education is the key to success. Another strength would be
having amiable timing throughout lesson and giving students frequent breaks is a
positive. For the length of the lesson students would get tired of sitting and
listening to someone talk but allowing them a chance to move around is needed
for any instructional lesson.

For the special needs students to accommodate their supplemental aides and
accommodations was crucial because no teacher should want their students
behind while they other students are thriving on a particular skill and other
students need additional support to complete a simple task.

References
Bradshaw, C. P., Mitchell, M. M., & Leaf, P. J. (2010). Examining the effects of
schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports on student outcomes:
Results from a randomized controlled effectiveness trial in elementary schools.
Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 12, 133– 148.
doi:10.1177/1098300709334798

Chunk and Chew. Retrieved from

https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2017/03/23/102-chunk-and-
chew/#:~:text=Chunk%20and%20Chew%20is%20also,chew'%20or%20digest
%20the%20material.

History.com, (2021, May 17). Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement

Johnson, B. (2014, January 2). Student Learning Groups: Homogeneous or

Heterogeneous? Whether to form groups with students of similar or mixed ability
depends on the purpose of the learning activity. Retrieved from
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-grouping-homogeneous-heterogeneous-
ben-johnson

Maryland State Department of Education, (2010) MD College and Career Ready

Standards for Writing. Retrieved from
https://mdk12.msde.maryland.gov/INSTRUCTION/StandardsandFrameworks/ela
/Documents/Home/MDCCRS_Writing_gr6-8.pdf

Maryland State Department of Education, (2010), MD College and Career Ready

Standards for Reading Literature retrieved from
https://mdk12.msde.maryland.gov/INSTRUCTION/StandardsandFrameworks/ela
/SiteAssets/HomePage/MCCRS%20Middle%20School%20(6-8)%20(2).pdf

Siwatu, K. O., & Starker, T. V. (2010). Predicting preservice teachers’ self-

efficacy to resolve a cultural conflict involving an African American student.
Multicultural Perspectives, 12(1), 10–17. doi:10.1080/15210961003641302

Sugai, G., & Horner, R. R. (2006). A promising approach for expanding and
sustaining school-wide positive behavior support. School Psychology Review, 35,
245–259.

Vincent, C. G., Swain-Bradway, J., Tobin, T. J., & May, S. (2011). Disciplinary
referrals for culturally and linguistically diverse students with and without
disabilities: Patterns resulting from school-wide positive behavior support.
Exceptionality, 19(3), 175–190. doi:10.1080/0936283 5.2011.579936
 Appendix

Freedom’s Ring. I Have a Dream speech. Video retrieved from

http://freedomsring.stanford.edu/?view=Speech

Freedom Ring. Stanford: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education
Institute. Lesson Plan: The Power of Freedom. The video utilized for the lesson
came from this website retrieved from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-
curriculum/lesson-plans/activities/part-three-freedom-s-ring

Worksheets for the lesson are the Hamburger Graphic Organizer

Google slides that talk about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Facts)

Analyze a written document.

Essential Questions from the lesson will be given to the groups.

Graphic Organizer: Hamburger Writing hamburger-writing_WBRDM.pdf

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Worksheets retrieved from

file:///C:/Users/ladyd/Downloads/Sample-Martin-Luther-King-Jr.-Worksheets.pdf
 Analyze a Written Document

Meet the document.

Type (check all that apply):

❑ Letter ❑ Speech ❑ Patent ❑ Telegram ❑ Court document

❑ Chart ❑ Newspaper ❑ Advertisement ❑ Press Release ❑ Memorandum

❑ Report ❑ Email ❑ Identification document ❑ Presidential

document

❑ Congressional document ❑ Other

Describe it as if you were explaining to someone who cannot see it.

Think about: Is it handwritten or typed? Is it all by the same person? Are there
stamps or other marks? What else do you see on it?

Observe its parts.

Who wrote it?

Who read/received it?

When is it from?

Where is it from?

Try to make sense of it.

What is it talking about?

Write one sentence summarizing this document.

Why did the author write it?

Quote evidence from the document that tells you this.

What was happening at the time in history this document was created?

Use it as historical evidence.

What did you find out from this document that you might not learn anywhere
else?
Concept Map
 Partner Assignment

Name: __________________________________ Date: _______________

Directions: Students will be given various essential questions. The students

would have to choose one to work on with their partner. The students will have
five minutes to complete the activity.

 Why was the I Have a Dream speech so powerful?

 Why was the I Have a Dream speech important?

 How did the I Have a Dream speech impact society?

 How did the speech inspire change?

 How does the speech make you feel?

 Extended Activity/Homework

If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was still alive today how would he feel about the
treatment of African Americans in society today?

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 Extra Credit Assignment

Name: _____________________________________________________

Date: _____________________________

Directions: We have learned about a lot about African Americans in history. For
an extra credit assignment, I want you to pick one person that we have learned
about in our unit thus and come up with five questions you ask them.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
 Journal Entry

Name: _______________________________________________

Date: ___________________________

Directions: For today’s journal entry you will be writing an entry about what the I
Have a Dream speech meant. You will give a summary about what you thought
the speech was all about.

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 Examples of Journal Writing

Journal Writing Examples to Help Students Begin

Here are some journal writing examples your students may enjoy:

Gratitude Journal: Have students maintain a record of the good things in their
lives and everything they feel grateful to have. Gratitude journals encourage
positivity and are a powerful tool of self-reflection.

Project Journal: Project journals are a great way to keep track of your notes and
the things you have learned when you are tackling something like a new hobby,
sport, or even a major school assignment.

Therapy Journal: Writing is therapeutic, and a therapy journal is a safe,

designated space where students can explore their thoughts and feelings
privately. Though therapy journals are often used in conjunction with a therapist,
they can also be used and maintained on their own.

Dream Journal: If students remember their dreams and are interested in learning
more about their significance, encourage them to keep dream journals! A dream
journal is a fun way to explore what goes on in the brain during sleep.

School Journal: A school journal is a fun way for students to keep track of what
they have learned throughout the year—and multitasks as a fantastic
organizational tool! Have students track their questions, assignments, interesting
things they have learned, and notes about their own thoughts and reflections
throughout the year.