Hashtag That

Last week I was teaching on the Civil Rights era when this picture of the 1963 March on Washington prompted a bit of a silly moment...

We were looking at pictures as a way of brainstorming for our upcoming historical fiction pieces and got hung up on the guy taking pictures on the right, about three rows back.  We started imagining him taking "Washington Selfies" and then joking about what he would probably hashtag....which turned into this:

 

I love instructional moments like this...when something organic and memorable makes a connection to students.  Don't you think I can count it as formative assessment?!  :)

Make Your World a Little Bigger

I'm watching the inauguration and marvelling at the poetry of seeing President Obama sworn in for a second term as he looks out on the crowd, and just beyond, the new MLK Jr monument and hears the beautiful invocation of Myrlie Evers-Williams, wife of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

...and of course I'm scrolling through Facebook while I watch :)  Once again, my buddy Cynthia Lord nails the sentiment of a day like today by sharing this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.:

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Every stretch, every risk, every new experience changes you. I encourage you all to try something new with me this week in honor of MLK. To take that first step on the staircase, even if you don't see where it leads. To risk reaching out to people and experiences outside your usual comfort zone.

As Cynthia put it, "To make the whole world a little smaller.  And your own world a little bigger."

Martin's Big Words

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr, Day!

To celebrate this amazing man, ATP and I created a lesson integrating primary sources and the text Martin's Big Words.

We started with reading the book My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris.  This sweet book details MLK's childhood and tells about a time white friends in his neighborhood suddenly decided not to play with him.

Then we shared images from The Library of Congress.  We also shared a shortened clip of the "I Have a Dream Speech."  Students had a copy of the text to follow along with and added their own thinking and questions as we watched.

 

After discussion, we read Martin's Big Words.  The students each selected one quote from the book to analyze and reflect on.  [By the way, if you want to hear the text of the book, check out this video. The quality isn't great, but it is the full text and images.]

 

These reflections will become part of a display in our wing with a timeline of important African American figures.  It's a great way to talk not only about this time period, but how we can continue living out the 'big words' of MLK.

I really enjoyed teaching this powerful lesson on a important topic.  What are you doing to keep the dream alive?