Name
of Module: Martin Luther King’s Letter
from a Birmingham Jail and the
Civil Rights Movement
Topic(s)): 1. Learning about the Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King,
Jr.’s role in it 2. Learning about writing as a powerful tool for empowerment
and change
Course (if appropriate): English 102: Composition II
Designed by: Jennifer Berlinda Thompson
Duration: two weeks
Brief Description: The second course in the composition sequence continues and
reinforces the writing skills practiced in English 101, emphasizing literary
research and the writing of analytical and argumentative papers making use of
the thesis–support format and MLA style used in a variety of academic
disciplines. Students focus on language through literature by writing, reading,
responding, viewing, listening, and discussing.
Description of Learners (size of class/prerequisite skills, etc.): Twenty to
twenty-five students in a college English Composition II course.
Prerequisite:
English Composition I or writing competency exam
Goals: The primary goal of reading Letter from a Birmingham Jail is to enhance students’ awareness of the Civil
Rights Movement and Martin Luther role in it. A secondary goal is to introduce
them to King’s writing style and purpose as well as the vocabulary of the Civil
Rights movement. Finally, reading Letter from a Birmingham Jail will introduce students to the notion of writing
as a resource for drawing attention to and solving conflict.
Objectives:
Instructional
Strategies: Use technology integration to enhance the goals and objectives of
the module.
Assessment:
Pre-test
Students
write a paragraph describing what they know about the Civil Rights Movement and
Martin Luther King and share by reading them aloud.
Resources/Materials Required:
McMahan, Elizabeth, Susan
X. Day, and Robert Funk, eds. Literature and the
Writing Process 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice, 2002
Videos
Video
of March on Washington, including King’s “I Have a Dream Speech”
Video
of Black Leadership in America,
pt. 3
Site map:
On-line components:
Letter
from a Birmingham Jail—complete text
Audio
I Have a Dream—online
audio recording
Biographies and
Timelines
Seattle Times: Martin Luther
King, Jr.
MLK Page—Timeline of the American
Civil Rights Movement
Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Scavenger Hunt
Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Biographical
Sketch
Martin Luther
King, Jr.: Selected Bibliography
Contemporary Human/Civil Rights
Evaluating
Internet Resources
Content outline:
Technology integration
Download
a rubric from University of Albany “Evaluating
Internet Resources.”
Suggested next steps: