MartinLutherKingElemTn.doc

Tasks:              to complete a text about Martin Luther King

              to learn various ways people celebrate Martin Luther King Day

              to revise past forms of some irregular verbs

              to find similarities between Hughes’ and Fitzgerald’s lives

Preparation:              make an equal number of the copies of the worksheets (a set of worksheets A+B for each pair)

              make copies of the texts for Tasks and (1 copy per pair)

Skills:              writing, reading, speaking

Language:              linking devices (and / but)

              past forms of irregular verbs

              Past Simple

Sources:              Degnan-Veness, C. (2003), Martin Luther King, Pearson Educated Limited (Penguin Readers – Level 3)

              Broukal, M. (1997), A First Look at the USA: A cultural reader. Longman

              Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English on CD-ROM

              Task 1 – lead-in             

(writing)

■        Write Martin Luther King on the board and try to elicit some associations and/or facts from your Ss.

■        Explain that the text in this task gives some basic facts about Martin Luther King Day in the US. The text must be completed with AND or BUT.

·         You may want to explain or revise the use of these linkers, i.e. we use AND with two positive elements, whereas we use BUT with one positive and one negative element.

■        Depending on your Ss’ age and knowledge, you may want to comment on some phrases from the text (either in English or Polish), including:

·         African-Americans suffered terribly under white men’s laws – the text refers to Jim Crow laws, i.e. various laws introduced after the end of the American Civil War. Although official freed, the former slaves were still discriminated.

·         all men were not equal – i.e. black people were not allowed to go to white people’s restaurants or churches.

■        It may be a good idea to give them a brief outline of the American history (possibly in Polish).

              Task 2              

(reading)

■        Again, you probably have to explain certain things before you ask the Ss to complete the task. It may be useful to say that:

·         for more than 10 years King was a leader of the movement which demanded equal rights, but not all Americans supported this movement;

·         in 1968 King was murdered; thus, he became a hero and a martyr, whose birthday is now a public holiday;

·         King’s campaign became eventually successful – segregation based on the colour of the skin was announced unconstitutional (= illegal) by the Supreme Court, and Black people gradually gained more and more rights.

■        Explain that Task describes a few ways of celebrating King’s Day in the US now. Ask the Ss to match the phrases to form five sentences. Check the answers with your group.

·         You may need to present some facts about Rosa Parks (see below).

              Task 3             

(grammar, vocabulary)

■        First, ask your Ss to work in pairs or small groups using the same worksheet (i.e. A+A, B+B). Distribute copies of the texts about Hughes and Fitzgerald.

■        Ask your Ss to look at the table on the worksheet. Tell them to find past forms of the verbs on the worksheet.

■        Once your Ss have the past forms of verbs, rearrange the groups and ask Ss to work in A+B pairs/groups. Ask them to exchange the information about the remaining past forms of verbs.

              Task 4             

(reading, speaking, grammar)

■        Again, change the sitting arrangement and ask the Ss to work in their original pairs, i.e. A+A and B+B.

■        Ask the pairs to read their texts again, this time focusing their attention on the facts and meaning, rather than the form. Ss should decide whether the sentences on the worksheet refer to the life of the person described in their text. If the sentences are not true, they should cross out the unnecessary pronouns (i.e. he or she). Then, Ss should write questions about the other famous person (in the Past Simple tense). 

■        Once they have the questions, ask Ss to work in mixed pairs (A+B). They should ask and answer questions they have written.