Sarah Spencer
Grade: 8
Subject: Language Arts/ Literacy
Title: Malcolm X
Organization: Whole group then small group discussion.
Objectives: After this lesson students will have a general knowledge of the life of
Malcolm X and also how his life differs from that of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
through a compare and contrast exercise.
Standards Covered: 1.3A; 1.3C; 1.1G; 1.5F; 1.1F; 1.4B.
Materials: Students will need African American Literature anthology, a handout of the
message to be decoded, and a sheet of 11x17 construction paper to draw a Venn diagram
on to use in small group discussion.
Procedure:
Introduction – (5 min) Give a brief background on Malcolm X’s life and his
autobiography found in the Teacher’s Manual of African American Literature and
http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/about/bio.htm . To assess prior
knowledge students will be asked the following questions to begin their thought
process:
1) Name some activities you couldn’t do if you weren’t able to read and
write.
2) Are there any advantages to being able to read and write well?
Motivation – (3 min) Have students decode the following message from page 607
in the Teacher’s Manual of African American Literature:
MVMRY STUXMYT WZO CAY RMAX TZIS WILL
RMCMIVE OYM ZYXRMX PMR CMYT FOR TXM XAY
(Solution: M=E, X=D, Y=N, Z=H Every student who can read
this will receive one hundred per cent for the day)
Developmental Activities –
A. (20 min) Read excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X out loud
to the class and ask the following questions during reading from the
Teacher’s Manual of African American Literature:
1) What motivated Malcolm X to begin a program of self-education?
2) Why did he envy Bimbi?
3) What does Malcolm X mean when he says that he wasn’t even
“functional” in English?
4) After he learned to read, Malcolm X says he felt more truly free
than he had ever been in his life. Explain what he means.
5) Why is the title “Saved” appropriate for this chapter?
B. (10 min – 5 min in groups, 5 min whole group discussion) After
reading the selection and discussing the answers to the questions, separate
students into small groups to discuss the similarities and differences
between what they learned about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life
and Malcolm X’s life. Have students fill in a Venn diagram to compare
and contrast the two men’s lives and then discuss as a class and chart on
the board.
Closure – Relate the lesson back to literacy and how Malcolm X needed to be
literate more than just being able to speak well to get his ideas across to others.
Ask students why it is important to be literate.
Evaluations:
Student:
Teacher:
Follow Up: Read and discuss “The Power of Nonviolence” in Elements of Literature by
John Lewis and then compare with Malcolm X and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.