"Last night changed me. I don't want to walk around all pissed off and looking for problems, but I know I can't continue to pretend nothing's wrong...I need to pay more attention, Martin. Start really seeing stuff and writing it down. Figure out what to do with it. That's why I'm writing to you."
Audience: 8th grade ELA/History, 60% below grade level
Purpose/Essential question: Students will use the text set to prepare for an author visit by Nic Stone, and explore the essential question: How can perspectives from past and present help us address injustice? Anchor text: excerpt from Dear Martin by Nic Stone (Ch. 1-4) |
In the excerpt from novel Dear Martin, by Nic Stone, top high school student, Justyce, has just been arrested and harassed by the police without cause. He writes a letter to Martin Luther King, Jr. to try and sort out his feelings about the incident, and struggles to negotiate his prep school classmates’ perspectives on race, racism, injustice, and privilege.
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Additional Texts
Declaration of IndependencePrimary source from National Archives, referenced in the anchor text, Martin Luther King’s speech, and Banneker’s letter.
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This American Life: Cops See It Differently, Part 2, Act 2Excerpt from a speech by former FBI Director James Comey “calling for law enforcement to redouble its efforts to serve the black community, and calling for a conversation about race in policing.” Segment about a police department “that's doing a good job fixing the problem of cops killing black men: the Las Vegas PD.” (21 minutes)
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Freedom's Ring interactive webpage: Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech 1963 |
"Why Colin Kaepernick and I decided to take a knee" by Eric Reid, article in the New York Times |
Benjamin Banneker's letter to Thomas Jefferson |
"Hi I'm Nic" essay by Nic Stone |
"Not everyone enjoyed Beyonce's Super Bowl halftime show" By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela |
Spoken word poem, "Brown vs. Board of Education" by Brandon Santiago and video by Raise Up Project |