Martin Luther King : Remembrance on the Beacon Team

January 20th was our first day back following the Martin Luther King holiday.  In Social Studies students worked on several different actives.  The period began with a CNN student news report which brought our students up-to-date with recent current events in our nation and in the world.  While viewing the student news report students logged onto computers and prepared to take a CIA (Check in Assessment) on the standard that we have been working on in class.  After students completed the CIA they received immediate received feedback on how well they have mastered this content so far.

Following the CIA students continued work on a DBQ (Document Based Question) Essay.  Students received multiple sources in different formats and were asked to answer the question "Should Hatshepsut be included in a study of Ancient Egypt?"  This question has allowed our students to contemplate several interesting thoughts and questions including the role of women throughout history, and the question of what should or should not be included in curriculum.  

At the end of class students were able to listen to an excerpt from Martin Luther King's famous I have a Dream Speech.  Students were asked to reflect one or both of these prompts.

• King’s speech is a call to action. According to Doctor King what do African-Americans want? What kind of action, does he warn against? Why?
• The most quoted sentences of this speech repeat the phrase “I have a dream.” What progress have we made on Martin Luther King’s dream over fifty years later?