Youngstown City Schools Curriculum Project
ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS - - Grade 9
Grade 9
Unit #6
THE UNQUENCHABLE HUMAN SPIRIT (6 weeks) 2013-14
SYNOPSIS: During this Unit, students will address the unquenchable human spirit as the difference between succeeding and failing in life.
Beginning with Romeo and Juliet and continuing through poetry and important non-fiction about Mahatma Gandhi, the “I Have Been to the
Mountain” speech by Martin Luther King, and “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth, students will consider how great authors have captured
the capacity of human beings to manage some sort of triumph even from the most dreadful and catastrophic circumstances. The students will
also write reflections about and analyses of literature as well as write about their own spirits and times when they have been challenged. By
the end of the Unit, they will apply these analysis skills to unfamiliar literature.
Includes practice for and administration of OGT
STANDARDS
RL 9.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings;
analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of
time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
RL 9.6
Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States,
drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
RL 9.7
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or
absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).
RL 9.10 By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9–10 text complexity
band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
RI 9.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
RI 9.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is
shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI 9.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical
meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court
opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
RI 9.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of
view or purpose.
RI 9.10 By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
W 9.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience
W 9.10
Write routinely overextended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single
sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
SL 9.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and
persuasively.
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation
by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned
exchange of ideas.
b. Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g., informal consensus, taking votes
on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.
c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or
larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when
warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence
and reasoning presented.
Materials
Fiction
Drama
Romeo and Juliet, William
Shakespeare (text, page 735)
Non-Fiction
Biographical Essay: “Darkness at Noon,” Harold
Krents (text, p. 454)
Poetry
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That
Good Night, Dylan Thomas
“I’ve Been to the Top of the Mountain,” Martin
Luther King
“Alone,” Maya Angelou
“Ain’t I a Woman?” Sojourner Truth
Gandhi - - “Synopsis” of his life and “Toward the
Declaration of Independence”
Key Terms
General
cultural experience
media (medium)
author’s rhetoric
Literary Skills
Writing Skills
Speaking / Listening Skills
figurative devices
objective summary
collaborative discussion
connotative meanings
clarity
coherence
building on one another’s ideas
tone
point of view
explicit detail
inferences (supported
by text detail)
draw evidence from text
development
organization
style
central idea of a text
task
purpose
audience
author’s purpose
reflection
Language
Skills
exchange ideas
reach informal consensus
propose and respond to questions
incorporate others’ ideas into the discussion
clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions
summarize points of agreement and disagreement
MOTIVATION
1. Teacher asks students what comes to mind when they of “the unquenchable human spirit.” [ may
want to remind them about the ending of The Pearl.
TEACHER NOTES
What is the human spirit? e.g.,
a. one’s inner drive that motivates his or her to keep on
b. the thing that’s lost when one gives up
c. personal “compass” that helps keep one’s balance with the peaks and valleys of life
What is “unquenchable?” e.g.,
a. root word “quench” - - satisfy, remove, overcome
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b. add prefix “un-” - - does not
c. add suffix “-able”
do-able
like-able
un-do-able
un-like-able
treat-able
un-treat-able
think-able
un-think-able
[ cont’d ]
MOTIVATION
TEACHER NOTES
2. Teacher asks students to think of a time when they “lost” their spirit . . . when it was quenched; or
when their spirit was challenged but emerged unquenched. Students write a reflective essay or
extended journal entry.
3. Teacher and students make a list of people they know who demonstrated an unquenchable spirit
(e.g., Evelyn Lozada, John McCain, Usher, the hikers stuck in the Iranian jail, etc. )
4. Teacher helps students set a personal and an academic goal.
5 As a kick-off, teacher and students read “Darkness at Noon” (Attachment #1). Students determine
whether they feel the author had or did not have an “unquenchable” spirit. Teacher should aks
students to jot down words/phrases that describe the author’s spirit.
6. Teacher previews Unit, explaining and clarifying what will be addressed the expectations for
students.
TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITIES, cont’d
Teachers: the Teaching-Learning activities are listed by selection; feel free to re-order as preferred.
TEACHER NOTES
[ Romeo and Juliet ] text, p. 735 (RL 9.6)
NOTE: teacher selects a movie or video to accompany Romeo and Juliet print; e.g.,
R & J, 1968 - - full movie available on-line
R & J, 1996 - - parts available on-line
Shakespeare in Love - - full movie available on-line
One of several You-Tubes on the life and times of Shakespeare
1. Teacher shows early snippet of a film or You-Tube to acclimate students to the “life and times” of
the play and Shakespeare (e.g., the Globe Theater, the “culture” of theater at that time,
costuming, scenery, men playing women’s parts, etc.). Pictures also available in text, p. 724.
2. Teacher and students compare “plays” with “prose” (stories, novels); e.g., (RL 9.7)
play
story
context/background
at times a narrator or
chorus; other times
explained in dialogue
explained in print
(via dialogue and
narration)
characters
spoken dialogue
and actions;
appearance
described in print
and through actions
and dialogue
setting
scenery
plot events
moved along in actions
and dialogue
described
in print
moved along in actions
and dialogue but also
in narrator’s
explanations
3. Teacher reminds students to record un usual or unknown words (using Attachment #2).
4. Teacher introduces the print version of the play (text, p. 735); students read Act I; Scene 1;
teacher focuses on the family feud as the context of the story. Students take notes.
5. Teacher shows the John Branyan You-Tube showing a comical parody about the language used
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in Shakespeare’s plays (www.YouTubeJohnBranyanthreelittlepigs)
6. Teacher and students read remainder of Act I. As class discussion occurs, students take notes.
[ cont’d ]
TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITIES, cont’d
TEACHER NOTES
7. Teacher summarizes Act II and reads one scene aloud. Show a snippet from the film of Act II.
Class discusses Act II - - perhaps in 2s, generating questions about the play so far, including
language captured in Attachment #2. Teacher may need to stop and re-teach figurative
language, connotation, impact oif language on tone of the piece. (RL 9.4 and RL 9.6)
8. Teacher asks students to predict what they think will happen in Act III; teacher jots predictions on
the board; students and teacher read Act III. Teacher may want to show film snippets of Scenes
1 and 2. Class then reads Act III. Students take notes.
9. Teacher summarizes Act IV - - particularly the key scene between the Nurse and the Friar.
Students take notes.
10. Teacher selects a scene (e.g., Act III; Scenes 1-3; Act V; Scenes 1-3) to compare play with
video. Some ideas below - - (RL 9.7)
emphasized in a play
fixed sets
fixed distances between characters and audience
can adjust timing re: audience reaction
emphasis on lighting
some sound effects
some music
limited “special effects”
emphasis on “overhearing” key information
“reality” of actual, live flesh and blood on a literal
stage
emphasized in a film or video
unlimited sets
unlimited camera angles and distances
can only stop or start film
emphasis on lighting
maximum reliance of sound
maximum reliance on music
significant reliance on special effects
“over-hearing” unnecessary
absence of flesh and blood; performance
is captured on film rather than live
11. Teacher and students read Act V. Students work with a partner to update vocabulary and notes
taken. Teacher leads a culminating discussion on how the play addresses “the human spirit.”
Students consider whether the lovers showed an “unquenchable” spirit in preferring to die than to
live without each other. Students respond to a Journal prompt. (W 9.4; W 9.10)
[ POETRY ]
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” (Attachment #3)
12. Teacher reads the poem aloud; students listen for anything “remarkable.” Teacher asks basic
comprehension questions, tying into the “human spirit.” Be sure to include why the author
might have used an adjective (gentle) rather than an adverb (gently) in the title.
“Do not go gently . . . .” (meaning do not give in quickly or go without a fight )
“Do not go gentle . . . .” (meaning be an ungentle, unwilling traveler)
13. Students work in 2s or 3s to “process” the poem by completing a “Poetry Analysis” - - either
Overview (items 1-7) and/or Deep-Level Analysis (items 8-14) (Attachment #3a) (RI 9.1; RI
9.2; RI 9.4; RI 9.6)
14. Students write to the prompt “How might Thomas’ poem have helped Romeo and/or Juliet
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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make a different decision in the end?” (W 9.4; W 9.10)
“Alone” (Attachment #4)
15. Students read the poem silently, then aloud. Students listen for anything “remarkable.”
Teacher asks basic comprehension questions. Students work in 2s or 3s to complete the
Analysis (Items 1-7 and/or 8-14) - - as per teacher direction. (Attachment 3a, re-run) (RI 9.1;
RI 9.2; RI 9.4; RI 9.6)
[ cont’d ]
TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITIES
TEACHER NOTES
16. Students write to the prompt “For whom would YOU be the person to whom someone else
would reach out? - - and why?” (W 9.4; W 9.10)
“I Have Been to the Mountain” - - speech by MLK (Attachment #5)
Teacher may want to access YouTube of the full speech. As the teacher pre-reads the speech, note
it has been divided into six digestible chunks - - it’s too long to read intact. It is suggested to mix the
audio and print for each Part - - maybe first audio, then print, then the reverse. Hold class
discussions after each Part. (RI 9.1; RI 9.2; RI 9.4; RI 9.6) and (SL 9.1 a. b. c. d. )
17. Part 1 - - as students read and listen, they note key words and elements of Dr. Kin’s message.
They work in small groups to complete a Processing Guide (Attachment #5a)
18. Part 2, same . . . . [ but mix it up a bit to prevent tedium ]
19. Part 3, same . . . .
20 Part 4, same . . . .
21. Part 5, same . . . .
22. Part 3, same . . . .
23. Once the Guide is complete, students complete Attachment #5b.
“Gandhi - - Life Synopsis and Toward the Declaration of Independence” (Attachment #6)
Teacher may want to divide the class into two large groups - - one group reading the “Life Synopsis,”
and one group the “Toward” piece; or sub-divide the two groups in to smaller groups to read smaller
sections and then put them together. (RI 9.1; RI 9.2; RI 9.4; RI 9.6) and (SL 9.1 a. b. c. d. )
24. Students complete Attachment #6a for “Life Synopsis.”
25. Students complete Attachment #6b for “Toward a Declaration of Independence.”
26. Together, the teacher leads the class to compare Gandhi with Dr. Martin Luther King in terms of
mission, point of view, activities and causes, death, and on-going legacy. Students complete
Attachment #7.
27. Students decide which - - if either - - had an unquenchable human spirit and how it was
demonstrated. Students write to that prompt. “How did both Dr. King and Dr. Gandhi
demonstrate an unquenchable human spirit?” (W 9.4; W 9.10)
“Ain’t I A Woman?” (Attachment #8)
28. Students and teachers read through the essay; teacher asks students to interpret text; what is
her major focus / central idea / point of view / purpose ? (RI 9.2 and RI 9.6). What are the literal
details of her speech? - - the inferences that can be drawn? (RI 9.1) Students write a journal
entry on whether Sojourner demonstrates an “unquenchable human spirit.”
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT
TEACHER NOTES
1. Unit test, including multiple choice items and 2- and 4-pt responses
2. Journal or Reading Log notes
3. Completed Task Documents.
4. Evaluate progress on Unit goals.
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
TEACHER NOTES
1. Analyze a passage from a NEW (not read during the Unit) FICTION passage dealing with “the
unquenchable human spirit.” From that analysis, the student will - - [ on a response form
provided ]
a. identify explicit details provided by the author as well as inferential details, supported
by the text (RL 9.1)
b. determine how the author’s organizational structure of the text helped to create his or
her desired mood or effect. (RL 9.5)
b. determine the contextual meaning of marked words and phrases, indicate if they
involve figurative meanings, and whether they include connotative meaninfs (L 9.4; L
9.5)
2. Analyze a passage from a NEW (not read during the Unit) NON-FICTION passage dealing with
“the unquenchable human spirit.” From that analysis, the student will - - [ on a response form
provided ]
a. identify explicit details provided by the author as well as inferential details, supported
by the text (RI 9.1)
b. identify and evaluate the author’s argument, indicating if the evidence presented is
valid, relevant, and sufficient. (RI 9.8)
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AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT - - PROMPTS
1. Please read the fiction section provided - - Text #1. Then complete the following
a. Determine the meaning of boxed words and phrases from context. In addition, indicate if there is a
figurative or connotative meaning to each. (RL 9.4)
Word or Phrase
solve the problems
of the world
Meaning from Context
Figurative Meaning?
Connotative Meaning?
as busy as a family of
bees
moiling
confab
rations
this . . . day is a gift
Mother Nature expects
fruits of their labor
relentless
distributing
b. Explain the cumulative impact of the author’s language on the meaning and tone of the piece.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Authentic Assessment, p. 2
c
Explain the point of view of the author, the ancient Greek servant Aesop as different from what
might be an American author’s point of view. (RL 9.6)
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
d. Compare the story with the picture on the page that follows the story, including what are similar in
both and what are the differences between them. (RL 9.7)
Unique to the Picture
Unique to the Printed Story
Present in Both
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Authentic Assessment, p. 3
2
Please read the non-fiction section provided - - Text #2. Then complete the following
a. List three explicit or literal details from President Roosevelt’s message. (RI 9.1)
(1) ___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
(2) ___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
(3) ___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
b. List three inferences that can be drawn President Roosevelt’s passage, and indicate details from
the text for support. (RI 9.1)
(1) ___________________________________________________________________________
(inference)
______________________________________________________________________________
(text support)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
(2) ___________________________________________________________________________
(inference)
______________________________________________________________________________
(text support)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
(3) ___________________________________________________________________________
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(inference)
______________________________________________________________________________
(text support)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Authentic Assessment, p. 4
c. What is the central idea of President Roosevelt’s text? (RI 9.2) ___________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
d. Explain how this central idea is developed through the piece - - what continued references does
Mr. Roosevelt make to his idea throughout? (RI 9.2)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
e. Determine the meaning of boxed words and phrases from context. In addition, indicate if there is a
figurative or connotative meaning to each. (RI 9.4)
Word or Phrase
sponges that continue to
soak up both
Meaning from Context
Figurative Meaning?
Connotative Meaning?
the right effort of will
readiness to face what is
disagreeable
persevering
a thousand repulses
armament
robust military engines
sufficient inducement . . .
would betray any cause
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moral corruption ate into
the whole social and
domestic fabric
down like a house of cards
f.
In your opinion, what is the impact of President Roosevelt’s language on his message ? (RI 9.4)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
g. Overall, what is President Roosevelt’s point of view ore purpose in his message to young people?
(RI 9.6)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT- - PASSAGES
Passage #1 - - Fiction
The Ant and the Grasshopper - - a Fable by Aesop
In a field one summer's day, a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its
heart's content. In fact, that’s how the Grasshopper spent his days - - playing and singing
and visiting his friends. He saw himself as a great thinker and wasted none of his talent in
labor. Instead, he preferred to talk of great ideas and solve the problems of the world.
An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil, an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
He had a large family to feed, including his own parents and his nieces and nephews. As
he paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead, he thought of all the work being done at
the nest and smiled at the thought of the human expression to be as busy as a family of
ants.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in
that way?" Several of us are gathering at the tree-stump around that bend, and we would
like you to join us in the confab! You can do your work later.
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and I recommend you to do the
same." He had read that the winter was to be especially severe, and he had planned with
his family how to secure the nest against the cold as well as to store plenty of rations.
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we all have plenty of food at present.
And this glorious day is a gift! Mother Nature expects us to enjoy it.” But the Ant smiled,
shook his head, and went on his way. Throughout the summer and into the fall, the ant
and his family worked with the other ants in the community to prepare for the winter.
They worked a good deal but found plenty of time to relax and enjoy the fruits of their
labor.
When the winter came, the snow fell in heaps, and the wind was relentless. On many
days, the whole countryside was a deep freeze. The Grasshopper quickly ran out of food
and was unable to find any warmth. One day - - nearly dead from hunger, he came upon
the ant community. He saw them distributing corn and grain from the stores they had
collected in the summer. And they shared their firewood to help everyone stay warm.
Swallowing his pride, the Grasshopper knocked on the door of the Ant he had met on the
road last summer.
“Hello, Grasshopper!” said the Ant cheerily. “What on earth brings you out in such
weather?!”
“I’ve come to tell you about a great lesson I’ve learned - - if you’ll let me come in a bit.”
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Moral of Aesop’s Fable: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity
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Text #2 - Non-Fiction
adapted from an essay by Theodore Roosevelt on the importance of Character
The average man and woman - - into whom the average boy and girl develop - - may not become
a marvel in every area. But if they only choose to try, they can be very good in one or several
lines, and the chances of their doing good work are immensely increased if they have trained their
minds. Of course, if they get to thinking that the only kind of learning is that to be found in books,
they will do very little. But if they keep their mental balance - - that is, if they show character AND
knowledge - - they will understand both what learning can do and what it cannot, and what is the
right way to treat other people. - - and they will be sponges that continue to soak up both.
All kinds of qualities go to make up character; the term should include the positive virtues. If we
say of a youngster, "He or she is of good character," we mean that he/she is not perfect but does
NOT do a great many things that are wrong. But we also mean that he/she does a great many
things which imply the right effort of will and readiness to face what is disagreeable. Young people
must not steal, they must not be intemperate [a drunkard], they must not be vicious in any way.
They must not be mean or brutal, nor bully the weak. In fact, they must refrain from whatever is
evil. But besides refraining from evil, they must do good. They must be brave and energetic,
resolute, and persevering, even when the task seems impossible.
Perhaps there is no more important component of character than steadfast resolution. The
youngsters who are going to make great adults, or are going to have influence and control in life,
must make up their minds not merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of
a thousand repulses or defeats. They may have to try something entirely new. On the one hand,
they he must not be volatile and indecisive, and, on the other hand, they must not fear to try a
new attack because of having failed in another.
Character is shown in peace no less than in war. The greatest advances in armament, will not
make soldiers out of cowards. Similarly, no mental training and no bodily vigor will make a nation
great if it lacks the fundamental principles of honesty and moral purity. The greatest example of
this is after the death of Alexander the Great. Nearly all of the then civilized world was divided
among the Greek monarchies ruled by Alexander’s companions and their successors. This Greek
world was very brilliant and very wealthy. It contained robust military engines, and huge trading
cities, under enlightened government. They attained the highest pitch of commercial and industrial
prosperity. Art flourished to an extraordinary degree; science advanced as never before. There
were academies and schools; there were many orators and many philosophers. Merchants and
businesses thrived. And for a long period, the Greek soldiers kept the superiority and renown they
had won under the mighty Alexander.
But the heart of the people was incurably false, incurably treacherous and debased. Almost every
statesman had his price, and many soldiers were mercenary who - - for a sufficient inducement - would betray any cause. Moral corruption ate into the whole social and domestic fabric, until, a
little more than a century after the death of Alexander, his amazing empire collapsed from within.
The Greek empire had become only a shell, which went down like a house of cards on impact with
the Romans.
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The Romans, with all their faults, were then a people of good and vigorous health, physical power
and stamina, intellectual strength and wisdom from learning, and - - above all - - of good moral
fiber and honorable character.
Attachment #1
Darkness at Noon
by Harold Krents
Blind from birth, I have never had the opportunity to see myself and have been completely dependent on the
image I create in the eye of the observer. To date it has not been narcissistic.
There are those who assume that since I can’t see, I obviously also cannot hear. Very often people will
converse with me at the top of their lungs, enunciating each word very carefully. Conversely, people will also
often whisper, assuming that since my eyes don’t work, my ears don’t either.
For example, when I go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for assistance to the plane, he or she will
invariably pick up the phone, call a ground hostess, and whisper: “Hi, Jane, we’ve got a 76 here.” I have
concluded that the word blind is not used, for one of two reasons: Either they fear that if the dread word is
spoken, the ticket agent’s retina will immediately detach, or they are reluctant to inform me of my condition,
of which I may not have been previously aware.
On the other hand, others know that of course I can hear, but believe that I can’t talk. Often, therefore,
when my wife and I go out to dinner, a waiter or waitress will ask Kit if “he would like a drink” to which I
respond that “indeed he would.”
This point was graphically driven home to me while we were in England. I had been given a year’s leave of
absence from my Washington law firm to study for a diploma in law at Oxford University. During the year I
became ill and was hospitalized. Immediately after admission, I was wheeled down to the X-ray room. Just at
the door sat an elderly woman—elderly I would judge from the sound of her voice. “What is his name?” the
woman asked the orderly who had been wheeling me.
“What’s your name?” the orderly repeated to me.
“Harold Krents,” I replied.
“Harold Krents,” he repeated.
“When was he born?”
“When were you born?”
“November 5, 1944,” I responded.
“November 5, 1944,” the orderly intoned.
This procedure continued for approximately five minutes, at which point even my saintlike disposition
deserted me. “Look,” I finally blurted out, “this is absolutely ridiculous. Okay, granted I can’t see, but it’s got
to have become pretty clear to both of you that I don’t need an interpreter.”
“He says he doesn’t need an interpreter,” the orderly reported to the woman.
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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The toughest misconception of all is the view that because I can’t see, I can’t work. I was turned down by
over forty law firms because of my blindness, even though my qualifications included a cum laude3 degree
from Harvard College and a good ranking in my Harvard Law School class.
Attachment #1, cont’d
The attempt to find employment, the continuous frustration of being told that it was impossible for a blind
person to practice law, the rejection letters, based not on my lack of ability but rather on my disability, will
always remain one of the most disillusioning experiences of my life.
Fortunately, this view of limitation and exclusion is beginning to change. On April 16, [1978,] the Department
of Labor issued regulations that mandate equal-employment opportunities for the handicapped. By and large,
the business community’s response to offering employment to the disabled has been enthusiastic.
I therefore look forward to the day, with the expectation that it is certain to come, when employers will view
their handicapped workers as a little child did me years ago when my family still lived in Scarsdale.
I was playing basketball with my father in our back yard according to procedures we had developed. My
father would stand beneath the hoop, shout, and I would shoot over his head at the basket attached to our
garage. Our next-door neighbor, aged five, wandered over into our yard with a playmate. “He’s blind,” our
neighbor whispered to her friend in a voice that could be heard distinctly by Dad and me. Dad shot and
missed; I did the same. Dad hit the rim; I missed entirely; Dad shot and missed the garage entirely. “Which
one is blind?” whispered back the little friend.
I would hope that in the near future, when a plant manager is touring the factory with the foreman and
comes upon a handicapped and a non-handicapped person working together, his comment after watching
them work will be, “Which one is disabled?”
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #2
VOCAULARY RECORDING
Name ________________________ Class _______________ Text ________________________________
Page
Chapter
Word or Phrase
Predicted Meaning
Actual Meaning
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
[ make extra pages as needed ]
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #3
Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
http://www.poets.org/tellafriend.php/prmURL/%5E%5E%5Eviewmedia.php%5EprmMID%5
E15377Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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[ Attachment #3a ]
POETRY ANALYSIS
Title _______________________________________ Poet ____________________ Date __________
Student _________________________________________ Class ______________________________
[ Items #1 – 7 OVERVIEW ]
1. Who is the Speaker? _______________________________________________________________
2. Is the voice of the speaker different from that of the poet? ________ If so, what is that voice?
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the poem about? What topic, subject is addressed? ______________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. What figurative language is used? ____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. What prevailing sensory images are used ? _____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. What patterns or repetitions are used ? ________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the poem’s universal appeal ? ________________________________________________
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
19
__________________________________________________________________________________
[ Attachment #3a - - page 2 ]
[ Items #8 – 14 DEEP-LEVEL ANALYSIS ]
8. Explicit details (RI 9.1) ______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
9. Inferences - - with supporting detail from the poem (RI 9.1)
(a) ___________________________________________________________________________
Detail from text ____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
(b) ___________________________________________________________________________
Detail from text ____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
(c) ___________________________________________________________________________
Detail from text ____________________________________________________________________
10. The central idea of the text (RI 9.2) ____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
11. How it is developed throughout the text (RI 9.2) _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
12. Summarize the text (RI 9.2) __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
[ Attachment #3a - - page 3 ]
13. Looking at items #4 and 5, decide the impact of the language of the piece on its overall tone and
meaning. (RI 9.4)
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
14. Given the entire piece, what is the author’s (poet’s) overall point of view, and how does he / she use
the style or structure of the piece to communicate that message? (RI 9.6)
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #4
Alone
- - by Maya Angelou
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Attachment #5
“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”
3 April 1968 - - Memphis, Tenn.
Delivered at Bishop Charles Mason Temple.
Part 1
Thank you very kindly, my friends. As I listened to Ralph Abernathy and his eloquent and generous
introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. [Laughter] It's always good
to have your closest friend and associate to say something good about you, and Ralph Abernathy is the best
friend that I have in the world.
I'm delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm warning. You reveal that you are determined
[Audience:] (Right) to go on anyhow. (Yeah, All right) Something is happening in Memphis, something is
happening in our world. And you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time with the possibility of taking
a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me,
"Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" I would take my mental flight by Egypt (Yeah), and I
would watch God's children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather,
across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, on toward the Promised Land. And in spite of its magnificence, I
wouldn't stop there. (All right)
I would move on by Greece, and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates,
Euripides, and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon [Applause], and I would watch them around
the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality. But I wouldn't stop there. (Oh yeah)
I would go on even to the great heyday of the Roman Empire (Yes), and I would see developments around
there, through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn't stop there. (Keep on)
I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did
for the cultural and aesthetic life of man. But I wouldn't stop there. (Yeah)
I would even go by the way that the man for whom I'm named had his habitat, and I would watch Martin
Luther as he tacks his ninety-five theses on the door at the church of Wittenberg. But I wouldn't stop there.
(All right) But I wouldn't stop there. (Yeah) [Applause]
I would come on up even to 1863 and watch a vacillating president by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally
come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But I wouldn't stop there. (Yeah)
[Applause]
I would even come up to the early thirties and see a man grappling with the problems of the bankruptcy of his
nation, and come with an eloquent cry that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." But I wouldn't stop there.
(All right)
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second
half of the twentieth century, I will be happy." [Applause]
Attachment #5, p. 2
Part 2
Now that's a strange statement to make because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick, trouble is in
the land, confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark
enough can you see the stars. (All right, Yes) And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in
a way that men in some strange way are responding. Something is happening in our world. (Yeah) The
masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg,
South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or
Memphis, Tennessee, the cry is always the same: "We want to be free." [Applause]
And another reason I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we are going
to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the
demands didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. (Yes) Men for years now
have been talking about war and peace. But now no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice
between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence. That is where we are today.
[Applause]
And also, in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done and done in a hurry to bring the colored
peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty; their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is
doomed. (All right) [Applause] Now I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what
is unfolding. And I'm happy that he's allowed me to be in Memphis. (Oh yeah)
I can remember [Applause], I can remember when Negroes were just going around, as Ralph has said so
often, scratching where they didn't itch and laughing when they were not tickled. [Laughter, applause] But that
day is all over. (Yeah) [Applause] We mean business now and we are determined to gain our rightful place in
God's world. (Yeah) [Applause] And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative
protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We
are determined to be people. (Yeah) We are saying [Applause], we are saying that we are God's children.
(Yeah) [Applause] And if we are God's children, we don't have to live like we are forced to live.
Now what does all this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. (Yeah)
We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of
slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula of doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting
among themselves. [Applause] But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court,
and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of
slavery. [Applause ] Now let us maintain unity.
Part 3
Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. (Right) The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of
Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers.
[Applause] Now we've got to keep attention on that. (That's right) That's always the problem with a little
violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. (That's
right) I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that 1,300 sanitation workers are
on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They
didn't get around to that. (Yeah) [Applause]
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again (Yeah), in order to put the issue where it is
supposed to be (Yeah) [Applause] and force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's
children here suffering (That's right), sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights
wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the issue. (That's right) And we've got to say to the
nation, we know how it's coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are
willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory. [Applause]
Attachment #5, p. 3
We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police
forces. They don't know what to do. I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we
were in that majestic struggle there, we would move out of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church day after day.
By the hundreds we would move out, and Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth, and they did
come. But we just went before the dogs singing, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around." [Applause] Bull
Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." (Yeah) And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor
didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the trans-physics that we knew
about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. [Applause] And
we went before the fire hoses. (Yeah) We had known water. (All right) If we were Baptist or some other
denominations, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist or some others, we had been sprinkled. But we
knew water. That couldn't stop us. [Applause]
And we just went on before the dogs and we would look at them, and we'd go on before the water hoses and
we would look at it. And we'd just go on singing, "Over my head, I see freedom in the air." (Yeah) [Applause]
And then we would be thrown into paddy wagons, and sometimes we were stacked in there like sardines in a
can. (All right) And they would throw us in, and old Bull would say, "Take 'em off." And they did, and we would
just go on in the paddy wagon singing, "We Shall Overcome." (Yeah) And every now and then we'd get in jail,
and we'd see the jailers looking through the windows being moved by our prayers (Yes) and being moved by
our words and our songs. (Yes) And there was a power there which Bull Connor couldn't adjust to (All right),
and so we ended up transforming Bull into a steer, and we on our struggle in Birmingham. [Applause]
Now we've got to go on in Memphis just like that. I call upon you to be with us when we go out Monday. (Yes)
Now about injunctions. We have an injunction and we're going into court tomorrow morning (Go ahead) to
fight this illegal, unconstitutional injunction. All we say to America is to be true to what you said on paper.
[Applause] If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of
these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges,
because they haven't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of
assembly. Somewhere I read (Yes) of the freedom of speech. (Yes) Somewhere I read (All right) of the
freedom of press. (Yes) Somewhere I read (Yes) that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right.
[Applause] And so just as I say we aren't going to let any dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren't going
to let any injunction turn us around. [Applause] We are going on. We need all of you.
Part 4
You know, what's beautiful to me is to see all of these ministers of the Gospel. (Amen) It's a marvelous
picture. (Yes) Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the
preacher? Somewhere the preacher must have a kind of fire shut up in his bones (Yes), and whenever
injustice is around he must tell it. (Yes) Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, who said, "When God
Speaks, who can but prophesy?" (Yes) Again with Amos, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness
like a mighty stream." (Yes) Somehow the preacher must say with Jesus, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me
(Yes), because He hath anointed me (Yes), and He's anointed me to deal with the problems of the poor." (Go
ahead)
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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And I want to commend the preachers, under the leadership of these noble men: James Lawson, one who
has been in this struggle for many years. He's been to jail for struggling; he's been kicked out of Vanderbilt
University for this struggling; but he's still going on, fighting for the rights of his people. [Applause] Reverend
Ralph Jackson, Billy Kyles; I could just go right on down the list, but time will not permit. But I want to thank all
of them, and I want you to thank them because so often preachers aren't concerned about anything but
themselves. [Applause] And I'm always happy to see a relevant ministry. It's all right to talk about long white
robes over yonder, in all of its symbolism, but ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to
Attachment #5, p. 4
wear down here. [Applause] It's all right to talk about streets flowing with milk and honey, but God has
commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here and His children who can't eat three square
meals a day. [Applause] It's all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day God's preacher must talk
about the new New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis,
Tennessee. [Applause] This is what we have to do.
Now the other thing we'll have to do is this: always anchor our external direct action with the power of
economic withdrawal. Now we are poor people, individually we are poor when you compare us with white
society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively, that means all of us together,
collectively we are richer than all the nations in the world, with the exception of nine. Did you ever think about
that? After you leave the United States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain, West Germany, France, and I could
name the others, the American Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual
income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States and
more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That's power right there, if we know how to
pool it. (Yeah) [Applause]
We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We
don't need any bricks and bottles; we don't need any Molotov cocktails. (Yes) We just need to go around to
these stores (Yes sir), and to these massive industries in our country (Amen), and say, "God sent us by here
(All right) to say to you that you're not treating His children right. (That's right) And we've come by here to ask
you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment where God's children are concerned. Now if you are
not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing
economic support from you." [Applause]
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight (Amen) to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy
Coca-Cola in Memphis. (Yeah) [Applause] Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. (Yeah) [Applause]
Tell them not to buy - - what is the other bread? - - Wonder Bread. [Applause] And what is the other bread
company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart's bread. [Applause] As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now only
the garbage men have been feeling pain. Now we must kind of redistribute that pain. [Applause] We are
choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring policies, and we are choosing them
because they can begin the process of saying they are going to support the needs and the rights of these
men who are on strike. And then they can move on downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right.
Now not only that, we've got to strengthen black institutions. (That's right, Yeah) I call upon you to take your
money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank. (Yeah) [Applause] We want a
"bank-in" movement in Memphis. (Yes) Go by the savings and loan association. I'm not asking you something
that we don't do ourselves in SCLC. Judge Hooks and others will tell you that we have an account here in the
savings and loan association from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We are telling you to follow
what we're doing, put your money there. [Applause] You have six or seven black insurance companies here in
the city of Memphis. Take out your insurance there. We want to have an "insurance-in." [Applause] Now these
are some practical things that we can do. We begin the process of building a greater economic base, and at
the same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts. (There you go) And I ask you to follow through
here. [Applause]
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Now let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end.
(Amen) Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We've got to see it through.
[Applause] And when we have our march, you need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it means leaving
school, be there. [Applause] Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike (Yeah), but either we
go up together or we go down together. [Applause] Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.
Attachment #5, p. 5
Part 5
One day a man came to Jesus and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At
points he wanted to trick Jesus (That's right), and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and
throw him off base. [Recording interrupted] Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical
and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from midair and placed it on a dangerous
curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. (Yeah) And he talked about a certain man who fell among thieves.
(Sure) You remember that a Levite (Sure) and a priest passed by on the other side; they didn't stop to help
him. Finally, a man of another race came by. (Yes sir) He got down from his beast, decided not to be
compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus
ended up saying this was the good man, this was the great man because he had the capacity to project the "I"
into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother.
Now, you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn't
stop. At times we say they were busy going to a church meeting, an ecclesiastical gathering, and they had to
get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn't be late for their meeting. (Yeah) At other times we would
speculate that there was a religious law that one who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch
a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony. (All right) And every now and then we begin to wonder
whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem, or down to Jericho, rather, to organize a Jericho
Road Improvement Association. [Laughter] That's a possibility. Maybe they felt it was better to deal with the
problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effect. [Laughter]
But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that those men were afraid. You see, the
Jericho Road is a dangerous road. (That's right) I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We
rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. (Yeah) And as soon as we got on that road I said to
my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. (Yes)
It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about twelve hundred miles, or
rather, twelve hundred feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho fifteen or twenty minutes
later, you're about twenty-two feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road. (Yes) In the days of Jesus it
came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over
that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. (Go ahead) Or it's possible that they
felt that the man on the ground was merely faking (Yeah), and he was acting like he had been robbed and
hurt in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. (Oh yeah) And so the first
question that the priest asked, the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will
happen to me?" (All right)
But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what
will happen to him?" That's the question before you tonight. (Yes) Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers,
what will happen to my job?" Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the hours
that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" (Yes) The question is not, "If I stop
to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" The question is, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation
workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question. [Applause]
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
27
Part 6
Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on
in these powerful days, these days of challenge, to make America what it ought to be. We have an
opportunity to make America a better nation. (Amen)
And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you. (Yes sir) You know, several years
ago I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing
books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, "Are you Martin Luther
King?" And I was looking down writing and I said, "Yes."
Attachment #5, p. 6
The next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented
woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through,
and the X rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's
punctured you're drowned in your own blood, that's the end of you. (Yes sir) It came out in the New York
Times the next morning that if I had merely sneezed, I would have died.
Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened and the
blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheelchair of the hospital. They allowed me to read some of
the mail that came in, and from all over the states and the world kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of
them I will never forget. I had received one from the president and the vice president; I've forgotten what
those telegrams said. I'd received a visit and a letter from the governor of New York, but I've forgotten what
that letter said. (Yes)
But there was another letter (All right) that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White
Plains High School. And I looked at that letter and I'll never forget it. It said simply, "Dear Dr. King: I am a
ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School." She said, "While it should not matter, I would like to
mention that I'm a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune and of your suffering. And I read that if you
had sneezed, you would have died. And I'm simply writing you to say that I'm so happy that you didn't
sneeze." (Yes) [Applause]
And I want to say tonight [Applause], I want to say tonight that I, too, am happy that I didn't sneeze. Because
if I had sneezed (All right), I wouldn't have been around here in 1960 (Well), when students all over the South
started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up (Yes
sir) for the best in the American dream and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy,
which were dug deep by the founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
If I had sneezed (Yes), I wouldn't have been around here in 1961, when we decided to take a ride for freedom
and ended segregation in interstate travel. (All right)
If I had sneezed (Yes), I wouldn't have been around here in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided
to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going
somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent.
If I had sneezed [Applause], if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been here in 1963 (All right), when the black
people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation and brought into being the Civil Rights
Bill.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream
that I had had. (Yes)
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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If I had sneezed [Applause], I wouldn't have been down in Selma, Alabama, to see the great movement there.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been in Memphis to see a community rally around those brothers and sisters
who are suffering. (Yes) I'm so happy that I didn't sneeze.
And they were telling me. [Applause] Now it doesn't matter now. (Go ahead) It really doesn't matter what
happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane - - there were six of us - - the pilot
said over the public address system: "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the
plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong
Attachment #5, p. 7
on the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we've had the plane protected and guarded all
night." And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were
out (Yeah), or what would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers.
Well, I don't know what will happen now; we've got some difficult days ahead. (Amen) But it really doesn't
matter to with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. (Yeah) [Applause] And I don't mind. [Applause
continues] Like anybody, I would like to live a long life–longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about
that now. I just want to do God's will. (Yeah) And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. (Go ahead) And
I've looked over (Yes sir), and I've seen the Promised Land. (Go ahead) I may not get there with you. (Go
ahead) But I want you to know tonight (Yes), that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. [Applause]
(Go ahead, Go ahead) And so I'm happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything; I'm not fearing any man.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. [Applause]
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #5 a
[ Copy six times for Parts 1-6 ]
PROCESSING GUIDE for NON-FICITON / INFORMATIONAL TEXT
Text Title ______________________________________ Author ________________________________
Class ________________________ Name ____________________________ Date _________________
Part 
1. What is the central idea of this Part ? (RI 9.2) _____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. How does the speaker/author develop it in the text? _______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. How would you summarize this part? ___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some key terms or unfamiliar words in this part? (RI 9.4)
Word or Phrase
Predicted Meaning
Actual Meaning
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #5 b
Put your notes together for the whole speech.
1. List eight (8) explicit details - - the most important in the speech. (RI 9.1)
(a) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(b) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(c) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(d) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(e) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(f) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(g) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(h) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
2. List eight (5) inferences you drew from the speech, and support each with a few text details.
Include page numbers for each detail.
(a) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(b) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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____________________________________________________________________________
[ cont’d ]
Attachment #5 b, page 2
(c) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(d) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(e) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Write an objective summary of the speech. (RI 9.1)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. What was the speaker’s major point of view or purpose in the speech? And explain how he
uses style and structure to develop it throughout the piece. (RI 9.6)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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______________________________________________________________________________
Attachment #6
Gandhi - - A Synopsis of His Life
Mahatma Gandhi is remembered in the world for four major virtues: non-violence, truth, love, and fraternity.
By applying these four virtues, he brought freedom to India. His full name was Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, and he was born in Porebandar of Gujarat on October 2 in 1869. His father was an officer in charge
of a Province. Mohandas married while he was reading in High School.
After passing the Entrance Exam, he went to England to study law. M. K. Gandhi was not born “great.” He
was an ordinary child. He later admitted that in growing up, he told a lie only once, smoked a cigarette only
once, and took meat with his friends only once. In confessing these sins to his father, he blamed them on
“bad company” and vowed not to repeat them.
Gandhi completed his study of the law in England and returned to India in 1893. He started his career as a
lawyer, defending and supporting clients who were poor and truthful. He also went to South Africa to deal
with the case of a famous merchant named Abdula Smith. In South Africa, Gandhi faced many hurdles. He
discovered that the dark Indians were being mistreated by the white men. He himself was also tortured and
insulted by white men. One day he was travelling in a first class compartment aboard a train. Although he
paid for the compartment, he was harassed by white men and forced out of the compartment.
On another occasion, he was ordered by a white judge to remove his turban, since he “was a coolie lawyer.”
Gandhi fought against this sort of unjust and cruel treatment. He built up his career as a Satyagrahi, or one
who practices non-violence. In 1915, he returned to India and found similar mis-treatment of his own people
by white rulers. In 1930, he began a “non-cooperation” campaign, and in 1942, he joined the “Quit India”
movement. Throughout his struggle, Gandhi never applied violence or jealousy against the Indian rulers.
Finally, he succeeded: the British Government granted independence to the country of India.
Gandhi’s style of living was very simple. He removed the caste barrier. He called “the untouchables” - - the
lowest caste - - the children of God. He advised the Indian people to work at manual labor jobs earn a living
and learn a trade. He suggested they read as much vocational material as possible to become selfdependent. Gandhi was a strong supporter of agriculture and strongly supported putting hand-spinning into
schools.
A highly spiritual man, Gandhi spiritualized politics. It grieved him that many of the Indian politicians became
greedy for power soon after independence was won. Gandhi earnestly appealed to them to work for the
development of the country rather than seek their own ends. He also encouraged the people to love and
tolerate each other. Gandhi became familiar with the Koran, the Bible and the Gita (the book of Hindu) and
stressed religious co-existence and mutual, respectful tolerance.
Sadly, Gandhi died a premature and pointless death. On his way to attend a prayer service on January 30,
1948, he was shot by a fanatic Indian. Every year, that day is observed as the day of the martyr.
Gandhi - - Toward the Declaration of Independence
Gandhi's trial for sedition, and the subsequent imprisonment that began in March 1922 and ended with his
release in January of 1924, marked the first time that he had faced prosecution in India. The judge, C.N.
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Broomfield, was uncertain what to do with his famous prisoner - - Gandhi was clearly guilty as charged, and
willingly admitted as much, even going so far as to ask for the heaviest possible sentence. Like many
Englishmen, Broomfield developed a liking for the Mahatma, commenting, "even those who differ from you in
politics look upon you as a man of high ideals and of noble and even saintly life." He gave Gandhi the
Attachment #6, p.2
lightest sentence possible: six years in prison, which would be later reduced to just two years.
Willingness to accept imprisonment was, of course, an integral part of satyagraha, and Gandhi was perfectly
content while in prison. His captors allowed him a spinning wheel and reading material, and save for a bout
of appendicitis (which actually hastened his release), he was, he wrote to a friend, "happy as a bird."
Still, it must be noted that during his two-year imprisonment, Gandhi's great nonviolent revolution essentially
fell apart. Non-cooperation gradually died away as Indians drifted back to their jobs and routines; the
Congress leaders, notably Motilal Nehru and C.R. Das, were participating in local government again; worst of
all, Hindu-Muslim unity had fallen apart, and violence rocked many communities. The struggle for Indian
independence had run aground on the immense, seemingly insuperable problem of disunity among Indians,
who had never been a nation in the Western sense, and remained divided by caste, language, and most of
all, religion.
Gandhi's greatest achievement, throughout the '20s, '30s and '40s, was to overcome these differences, to
unify India by making himself the symbol of unity. Of course, he never explicitly claimed this role. To do so
would have been anathema to his selfless philosophy. Yet it was undeniably Gandhi's person, more than the
slogans of nationalism and liberation, that united Brahmins and untouchables, Hindus and Muslims in the
struggle against the British. His amazing personal determination served as a beacon to all. His behavior after
leaving prison is a perfect example: no sooner had he left the trying conditions of prison than he immediately
commended a three-week fast requesting peace between the warring religious factions, an event that
captured the imagination of the world and indeed went a long way toward easing tensions between Hindus
and Muslims. His "soul-force" may well have been the only thing that could bring all Indians together, and he
used it to amazing effect.
Even as Gandhi served to unify the Indian people, his figure served to expose the contradictions within the
British position on the subcontinent. The members of Gandhi's home-rule movement strengthened their
arguments by pointing to the oppression of the British Viceroys. But those Viceroys - - attempting to quell
the Gandhi phenomenon - - failed because of a policy not oppressive enough. Theirs was a liberal empire,
and they honored the liberal tradition that prized freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly. Thus the
British could not counter satyagraha and stay true to themselves. Had Gandhi practiced satyagraha in, say,
Stalin's Soviet Union or Hitler's Germany, Gandhi would have been imprisoned and surely executed. Or, had
the British been willing to violate their own liberal principles and imprison him for life, deport him, or even
execute him, the struggle for independence might have taken a dramatically different turn. But then, such a
crackdown was never a realistic possibility.
Indeed, most of his British antagonists genuinely liked Gandhi, and by the 1920s, weary of war and empire,
most of them had reconciled themselves to some sort of home rule for India in the near future.
Independence was coming, in one shape or another, despite the resistance of die-hard imperialists in Britain,
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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because the British had lost the will to sustain their empire. And yet the Viceroys, governors and Secretaries
of State were still not willing to give India total independence.
Gandhi was willing to accept the delay, at least for a time. After his fast ended in October of 1924, he
withdrew from political life and devoted himself to "swaraj from within" - - working to prepare India morally
for its independence. This preparation took the form of travel throughout India, combined with speeches and
articles in his magazine, Young India. Gandhi advocated good hygiene, exercise, sexual self-control,
Attachment #6, p.3
and an end to child marriages, which Gandhi now considered a grave evil. The strangest, and yet perhaps the
most important part of his program, was a devotion to his spinning wheel. For Gandhi, influenced by
John Ruskin's expression of enthusiasm to hand labor, homespun clothing had become the great external
symbol of a free India, and wherever he went, he encouraged young people to learn to make their own
garments. When the Indian National Congress pressured him into accepting its presidency in 1925, he did so
on the condition that every member wear homespun clothing to the sessions; by the late '20s, khadi, as
homespun was called, had become the official garb of every Indian nationalist.
His period of political stillness came to an end in 1928. The British had sent a board of inquiry, called the
Simon Commission, to investigate social conditions in India and recommend solutions. Since the board lacked
any Indian representation, it was considered a slap in the face by the nationalists. Another insult were the
comments of Lord Birkenhead, the Secretary of State for India, who remarked that there was no prospect of
Indian control over their own government in the foreseeable future. Gandhi now returned to his onceabandoned plan for large-scale civil disobedience, which was carried out between February and August in the
district of Bardoli, near Bombay. Led by Sardar Valabhbhai Patel, a Bombay lawyer and a friend of Gandhi for
some twelve years, the inhabitants of Bardoli refused to accept an increase in taxes, and held firm despite
imprisonment and threats from the authorities. To Gandhi's delight, no violence erupted, and on August 6 the
government gave in, released the prisoners, and repealed a recent tax increase.
After the success in Bardoli, there was much talk of immediate independence, especially among the young
nationalists like Subhas Chandra Bose of Bengal and Jawaharlal Nehru, son of Motilal Nehru. Gandhi was
wary of such hotheadedness, since "independence" was an uncertain term, given that no mechanism for an
Indian government existed. Nevertheless, he toured the country in 1929 and prepared for another satyagraha
campaign. The nervous British Viceroy, Lord Irwin, who had just seen a coalition government of left and right
take over from the Conservatives in London, suggested a "Round Table Conference" of British and Indian
representatives. They would discuss the possibility of Dominion status for India, which would give it a
significant degree of self-rule. But the Conservatives were still powerful, and their fury at such a notion forced
Irwin to back down. Disappointed, Gandhi gave in to the demands of the young men in the Congress, which
was now presided over by the younger Nehru, who was forty in 1930. Gandhi returned to his ashram and
emerged, in January of 1930, with a Declaration of Independence of India.
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #6 a Gandhi - - Life Synopsis
1. What is the central idea of the Life Synopsis ? (RI 9.2) _____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. How does the speaker/author develop it in the text? _______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. How would you summarize this part? ___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some key terms or unfamiliar words in this part? (RI 9.4)
Word or Phrase
Predicted Meaning
Actual Meaning
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #6 a, p. 2 Gandhi - - Life Synopsis
1. List three (3) explicit details - - the most important in the Life Synopsis. (RI 9.1)
(a) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(b) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(c) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
2. List three (3) inferences you drew from the Life Synopsis, and support each with a few text
details. Include page numbers for each detail.
(a) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(b) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(c) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Write an objective summary of the Life Synopsis. (RI 9.1)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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______________________________________________________________________________
Attachment #6 b - - Toward a Declaration of Independence
1. What is the central idea of the “Toward a Declaration . . . ?” (RI 9.2) _________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. How does the speaker/author develop it in the text? _______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. How would you summarize this part? ___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some key terms or unfamiliar words in this part? (RI 9.4)
Word or Phrase
Predicted Meaning
Actual Meaning
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
Original Sentence
Figurative?
Connotative?
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #6 b, p. 2
1. List three (3) explicit details - - the most important in the “Toward a Declaration. . . .” (RI 9.1)
(a) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(b) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
(c) _________________________________________________________________________
(page )
2. List three (3) inferences you drew from the Life Synopsis, and support each with a few text
details. Include page numbers for each detail.
(a) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(b) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
(c) _________________________________________________________________________
Supporting detail _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Write an objective summary of the Life Synopsis. (RI 9.1)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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______________________________________________________________________________
Attachment #7
Comparison Between Gandhi and MLK
Mahatma Gandhi
“Platform”
Martin Luther King
mission – causes
point of view
activities
death
legacy
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YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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Attachment #8
“Ain't I A Woman?”
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883):
Delivered 1851
Women's Convention, Akron, Ohio
“Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that
'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men
will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and
to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or
gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and
planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work
as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a
woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out
with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers,
"intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup
won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little
half measure full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ
wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God
and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone,
these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now
they is asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.”
YCS Gr 9 English / Language Arts: Unit 6 - - The Unquenchable Human Spirit 2013-14
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