Lesson Plan: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X
Introduction
Sam Storlie
Minnesota BOT Standard: 4. Individual Development and Identity.
Minnesota BOT Understanding: f. How ethnicity, nationality, and culture interact to influence
specific situations or events.
Minnesota K-12 Academic Standard and Benchmark: Standard 22: Post-World War II
United States was shaped by an economic boom, Cold War Military engagements, politics and
protests, and rights movements to improve the status of racial minorities, women and America's
indigenous peoples. (Post-World War II United States: 1945-1989) Benchmark 9.4.4.22.6:
Indentify obstacles to the success of various civil rights movements; explain tactics used to
overcome the obstacles and the role of key leaders and groups.
Learning Objectives:


Interpret primary sources of a given Civil Rights Leader and analyze the overarching
ideologies portrayed through the reading.
Compare and Contrast the two Civil Rights leaders' tactics and predict how their
philosophies came to be.
Key Vocabulary: Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcolm X, Bayard Rustin, Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Nation of Islam (NOI).
Materials:

Pictures of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr, Bayard Rustin, and Rustin and King
together. Highlighters. Readings: King, M.L. (1966) Nonviolence: The only road to
freedom. Retrieved from
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1426 X, M. (1963)
Message to the grass roots. Retrieved from
http://www.csun.edu/~hcpas003/grassroots.html
LAUNCH - engage learners, set purpose, activate prior knowledge, pre-assess, etc.
Pacing Lesson
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Segments
5 min HookTeacher will:
People
significant -Begin class by showing pictures of Martin Luther King, Jr.,
to History. and Malcolm X and asking students what they know about the
two men. Show the class a picture of Bayard Rustin, and see
what the class knows about him, and then show a picture of
Notes
him and King together. Give background information on
Bayard Rustin, such as work with Mehmet Gandhi, molding of
Martin Luther King, Jr, organizing the March on Washington,
and his work in the LBGT movement, to exemplify the major
role he played in the Civil Rights Movement throughout the
20th century.
1 min Transition- Teacher will:
Into reading
activity.
-Transition from hook activity by passing out readings for the
reading activity for the day, explaining what is expected of the
students during the activity. The class will be split into halves,
a half for each primary source. In each half, students are to
read their perspective piece in pairs, one being from a Malcolm
X's "Message to the Grassroots", the other being from Martin
Luther King's "Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom", and
deciphering their leader's philosophy in regard to attaining
equality, and preparing to share their analysis during a class
discussion. (Sharing examples from the reading is required)
INSTRUCTION/APPLICATION - procedures to acquire new knowledge and/or skills and
apply or use them in a meaningful way, instructional strategies, assessment, active engagement,
practice, feedback, differentiation, etc.
Pacing Lesson
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Notes
Segments
10
Reading
Students will:
Min. Activity
-Complete reading activity and prepare adequately for the
subsequent class discussion.
-Highlight/take notes on the reading to prepare for discussion.
Teacher will:
-Roam, facilitate, and assist during reading activity whenever it
is necessary.
1 min Transition- Teacher will:
Class
discussion -Bring students back together when they have completed the
assigned readings.
CLOSURE - student reflection on learning, assessment, etc.
Pacing Lesson
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Notes
Segments
5 min Class
Students will:
Depending
discussion
on numbers,
-Engage in a class discussion sharing the overall philosophy of
their Civil Rights leader that came through in their reading,
sharing their personal interpretations and examples
throughout. They will be sharing with those who the read the
same piece and those who read the opposing piece.
Teacher will:
-Guide and facilitate discussion to keep it engaging, enriching,
and worthwhile. Asking questions that require students the
think deeper about the readings, and their meaning.
1 min Transition- Teacher will:
Prediction
writing
-Introduce class to writing assignment for homework, which is
assignment. to formulate a prediction about how the Civil Rights leader's
perspective they looked at developed his philosophies on
achieving equality.
-Explains that next time the class will delve into the two men's
early life to see whether or not their predictions were
correct/relatable to the men's past life experiences.
some
students may
have to get
into groups
of 3.