Martin’s Big Words

Links to Additional Resources:• March on Washington Handbill• We Shall Overcome Song

Anna Hunsaker – Rock Hill, SC – Winthrop University – 2011

Author: Doreen RappaportMartin’s Big WordsHyperion Books For Children; 2001

Book Summary: Using words from his very own speeches, this book gives a brief biological sketch of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and accomplishments.

Setting: Southern States of the U.S.; 1929-1968

Objective: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the Civil Rights movement and Dr. King’s contribution to it using primary sources and the text.

Extension Sites for students:• America's Library•Funschool Interactive Timeline•History.com

How would you feel?

• Growing up, Martin Luther King Jr. saw signs like this one that separated “white” and “colored” people.

• Imagine that you grew up in the time that Martin Luther King Jr. did. Write a journal entry about how you feel about the segregation that you see and experience.

Man drinking from a segregated water cooler in an Oklahoma City street car terminal. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, July 1939. Photograph by Russell Lee.

What would you say?

• This picture shows Martin Luther King Jr. giving his famous “I have a dream” speech at the March on Washington.

• Imagine you are Martin Luther King Jr., what would you say to the crowd? Write a speech using King’s principles of nonviolence.

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking.]

What message would you show?

• Martin Luther King Jr. had a message of nonviolence. This poster is a nonviolent way to use words and images to give a message.

• Create your own poster using some of Martin Luther King Jr.’s words and your own picture.

We Shall Overcome March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963. Created by Louis Lo Monaco.

Standards

• NCSS II: Time, Continuity, and Change &

• NCSS X: Civic Ideals and Practices

• South Carolina Standard 5-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the social, economic, and political events that influenced the United States during the Cold War era.

– 5-5.3: Explain the advancement of the civil rights movement in the united States, including key events and people: desegregation of the armed forces, Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X.

References

• Segregated Water CoolersLee, R. (1939). Negro drinking at “Colored” water cooler in streetcar terminal, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Retrieved

from Library of Congress database.

• March on Washington SpeechU.S. Information Agency. (1963). Civil rights march on Washington, D.C. [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking].

Retrieved from the Library of Congress database.

• We Shall Overcome PosterLo Monaco, L. (1963). We shall overcome march on Washington for jobs and freedom, August 28, 1963. Retrieved

from the Library of Congress database