[English Education] Lesson Plan for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (5th & 6th periods) (Junior High School) From Gospel to “I Have a Dream”

5th Period: The March on Washington and Dr. King's Final Message

After a brief review of the previous lesson, it was time to delve into the March on Washington and Dr. King's speech. After finishing the review, I posed the following two questions before entering the textbook text.

・How many people were there?
・What did he get in 1964?

Before reading the text, I dared them to predict the answers. Various numbers came up, such as 10,000, 20,000, and 100,000. When I asked, "What do you think he received in 1964?" various answers emerged, such as "church," "equality," "freedom," "a voice," and "support."
None of these were wrong; in fact, I felt they were words that captured Dr. King's journey well. At first, we did an activity where they had 30 seconds to find these two answers in the text and underline them (page 4 of the textbook). We have been doing scanning since the second year of junior high school through "Reading Training," and this kind of skill is necessary, isn't it?

Reading the speech while "imagining"

Next, we dealt with Dr. King's speech. Instead of just reading the content, I incorporated an activity where they read while imagining how it was spoken, asking questions like, "What volume do you think he is speaking at?" "What about the speed?" "What about his facial expressions?"
and "What about his gestures?" while asking them toread while imagining the way of speakingThese were words spoken in a historic scene in front of a crowd of over 200,000 people. I did this with the hope that they would read while imagining the atmosphere, tension, and sense of expectation of that place.
After thinking individually, we moved to group activities. When sharing in groups, I required them to properly explain the reasons, such as why they thought they should read strongly or why they thought he moved his hands. I think every group thought about how to read aloud with a proper sense of purpose.

Finally, we did an explanation, and then they finished by reading aloud as they pleased.

6th Period: The Place Where Dr. King's Words Were Born

After finishing the review of the previous lesson, I presented a photo of Dr. King's grave and thought about the words inscribed there.

After that, we listened to a gospel audio source and thought about the following questions based on the thoughts embedded in the lyrics.

After letting them hear the beginning, I showed them the lyrics. Then, I asked questions about the lyrics. This part was done in Japanese.

・What does "putting on shoes" mean?
・What kind of thoughts are embedded in "Going to Heaven"?
・What kind of wishes are in "Free at last"?

At that time, Black people could not freely speak their minds. Therefore, I conveyed, along with the historical background, that they were conveying messages of hope, prayer, and resistance through gospel. By touching on the meaning of the words through music, I think the students naturally began to think deeply. Dr. King, of course, must have known this song as well.

Listening to the real speech

As a conclusion to the lesson, we watched the final part of Dr. King's speech (with Japanese subtitles). I told them to "watch Dr. King's facial expressions closely" and had them watch it. The classroom fell silent, and the students were glued to the screen (I used the following video from around 11:00 to 16:38).

“Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

When these words flowed at the end, the eyes of several students were moist. Did they think about it enough to empathize?Learning English in an English class is a matter of course, but I believe that English as a subject is one where you can learn history, touch the power of words, and encounter someone's way of life.If it was such a time for the students, even a little, I would be happy.

How Dr. King's Manuscript Was Created

I searched for materials written about Dr. King.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute (Stanford University)

I translated this content, handed it out to the students, and had them read it. You can see that Dr. King's words are a prepared manuscript up to a certain point, but from there on, they become a voice from the heart. That is surely why he was able to speak with that particular expression.

The song 'Happy Birthday' used in the introduction

I played the chorus of the song I had them listen to in the first lesson again and reminded them who the 'you' in 'Happy Birthday to you' referred to. After that, we skimmed through the lyrics. Then, Dr. King's name appeared. I explained that Martin Luther King Jr. Day was not established immediately at the time, but was later designated as a national holiday, showing that the environment has changed little by little.

We are the world

I used this song as the Monthly Song for January.

I convey how wonderful it is that we can cross racial barriers and cooperate to save each other's lives. It is surely a world that could not have been imagined 100 years ago. I then told them that time had passed since the song was first released, and that in 2010, a different group was formed for the Haiti earthquake to hold a charity for life, and we all watched it together.
It seems it was not just my imagination that some students had teary eyes while watching this video. (I was also moved by the video, with various thoughts crossing my mind.)

I ended with the message that I want you, who will carry the future, to become people who can support such a world. If the story of Dr. King ends as just a 'story about an amazing person,' then that is all it will ever be. Because it is an English class, we face the weight of words. I want to continue to cherish such time.
I hope this story will be incorporated into the unit and appear as teaching material that we can all think about again.

The textbook text ends here, but it will continue for one more hour.