GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:  6-12/Social Studies

PURPOSE:
To present activities to be used at a variety of grade levels and classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of the Dr. Martin Luther King Day observance.

OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
1.  understand the events which led to the observance of Dr. Martin Luther  King Day as a National Holiday.  CBC:  {M/J}  G(IIA5),  USH(IIA);  {HS}     AH(IIA), AG (IIE), G(VIC).

2.  identify the influence of particular individuals on the events listed.  CBC:  {M/J}  G(V2), USH(IIIB); {HS}  AH(IIIB), AG(V5), E(IIIA).

3.  locate the places which relate to these events.  CBC:  {M/J} G(IC4e);  {HS} G(IA).

4.  analyze Dr. KingÕs role in the Civil Rights Movement.  CBC: {M/J} G(IIIA),
C(IIA), USH(IIA,B), (IIIB), V(A), VI(A); {HS}  AH(IIIA, B) AG(IIIA,B),  (VA).

5.  evaluate the impact of the Civil Rights movement in American society.
CBC:  {M/J} C(IIA), USH(IIA, B), (IIIB),  V(A), VI(A) ; {HS} WH(VB),   AH(IIA,B),  AH(IIIA,B), (VC), AG(IIIA,B).

MATERIALS:
1.  Background information provided by Dial-A-Teacher web site.
2.  Resources on major American conflicts available at your Media Center  and the Public Library.
3.  Background information available through Internet "search engines" .
4.  http://www.stanford.edu/group/king/chronology/.chr.html
5.  http://www.teacherzone.com/holidays/king98.html
6.  http://www.seattletimes.com/mlk/holiday/index.html

ACTIVITIES:  May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks.

1.  Develop a time-line listing the events which led to the observance of  Dr. Martin Luther King Day as a National Holiday.  (This may be a  permanent  display in the classroom and holidays may be added as  the year progresses.) 
Available at:  www.seattletimes.com/mlk/holiday/index.html

2.  Use the Seattle Times timeline of events leading to the observance of  Dr. King's birthday, and other resources to have students draw   conclusions as to reasons why people supported or opposed such a  holiday.  Allow groups to report their findings to the class.

3.  Research Dr. King's life and work.  Evaluate his role in the Civil Rights  Movement.  Illustrate individual or group opinions through role plays,  raps, newspaper articles, collages, videos, poems, photographs,  drawings, songs, etc…

4.  Define the concept of peaceful disobedience.  Describe its use by Dr.  King.  Write an editorial about it.

5.  Research the Dr. Martin Luther King Day celebrations around the   country.  Have individuals or groups report on their findings.  Draw  conclusions as to what the celebrations should be.

6.  Research the effects of the Civil Rights Movement in American society.   Students should gather data such as charts and graphs illustrating  the effect of the Civil Rights Movement on the economic and   educational standards of African Americans and other minorities  in the United States.  The class may be divided into groups.  Each  group may be assigned a specific area to research.  They may present  the results in a class discussion.  Conclusions may then be drawn as  to the results.  Appropriate action may be taken about areas which  continue to need improvement.  Letters to the appropriate officials  may be written to achieve this end.

EVALUATION:
Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using the M-DCPS grading scale.

Group activities, presentations and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale:
Content             
Creativity     
Clarity   
1= Superior (A)
2= Excellent (B)
3= Good  (C)
4= Fair  (D)
5= Poor  (F)