ALEX Classroom Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2015] (10) 1 :

1 ) Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. [RL.9-10.1]

[ELA2015] (10) 2 :

2 ) Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. [RL.9-10.2]

[ELA2015] (10) 3 :

3 ) Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme. [RL.9-10.3]

[ELA2015] (10) 7 :

7 ) Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden's "Musée des Beaux Arts" and Breughel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus). [RL.9-10.7]

[ELA2015] (10) 27 :

27 ) Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; and synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. [W.9-10.7]

[ELA2015] (10) 28 :

28 ) Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; and integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. [W.9-10.8]

In this lesson, students identify how the rapper, Common, and writer, Walter Dean Myers, reinterprets Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of nonviolence in their own works. This lesson also aims to expose high school students to nonviolent options of conflict-resolution. To activate prior knowledge, students will watch Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech and read Doreen Rappaport's picture book, Martin's Big Words, and recall how he approached conflict. The students will connect Dr. King's answer to conflict-resolution with Common's interpretation of nonviolence, as demonstrated in his song, “A Dream”. The students will also connect this dream of nonviolence to Walter Dean Myers' short story, “Monkeyman,” from the book 145^th Street. Students are assigned a particular homework task prior to reading the short story in order to encourage a text-based discussion on characterization and conflict. The students will be introduced to Dr. King's Six Principles of Nonviolence and compose a thesis essay as a final assessment.