The assignment that followed had each student writing his/her own dream. Their words were moving and I plan on taking pictures of their essays to post on here by the end of the week. I was able to relate this assignment to the reading because of the way the students were able to connect to a text and use what they were given to communicate their own personal dreams. Some students wrote about dreams they have regarding their lives, while others discussed dreams similar to those of MLK. It was an amazing experience to see my students compare their thoughts with those of such a respected historical figure.
4 comments:
Popcorn read? I love it when students show their enthusiasm and write, produce, say something great. As a new teacher I have a hard time waiting between these rare events. I hope that as I develop my students can surprise me with something great even more.
Your entry makes me think about the notion of how much powerful a reading experience can be when we use text as a lens through which to view our own understandings.
thanks
vivian
Having the kids write their own dreams is an effective way to connect them to the text. It's powerful for the kids to recognize the connection between themselves and that of Martin Luther King, Jr. who spent most of his life fighting for the civil rights many of them take forgranted today.
It would be even more powerful to have your students write and discuss how they plan to accomplish those dreams. I feel that a lot of our kids dreams watch their dreams diminish so quickly because of the life-changing personal, familial, and societal issues they deal with on a regular basis.
What a great idea! I am sure your students will now have a deeper sense of appreciation for MLK's aspirations. It just shows how you can take any text and make it relevant to your students lives. I remember briefly reading MLK's speech in history class, but I never stop to think about the connection I had to this great historical figure. I think that is the problem with the way history is taught. How does it connect with the present? How does it impact me? History is so much more than just memorizing facts and figures. We see it repeated all the time, along with its mistakes.
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