Name: _______________________________________
7th Grade Reading
Dear Parents and Students,
Deane Bozeman School believes reading is a valuable experience for all students
and an important extension of our educational programs. Books are the wings on which
children’s imaginations soar. Books dare them to dream, nourish their curiosity, challenge
their ideas, and help to develop internal reading strategies. Reading a variety of texts will
enable students to learn, explore, and discuss new ideas with others. Our objective is for
each student to become a life-long reader and learner.
In order to accomplish this objective, the English Language Arts Department
reviewed student data on multiple assessments. Our research revealed characterization
and informational text/research process as two areas that all of our students could
improve on. All 7th grade students received the book entitled, Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Warrior for Peace. This informational text and the learning activities assigned support
learning in this area. As students read this novel, they will concentrate on two standards.
Standard LAFS.7.RL.2.6, which focuses on characterization, and standard LAFS.7.RI.1.3,
which focuses on reading and comprehending informational text. Below are the directions
to complete the assignments. Thank you for helping achieve our goal and have a great
summer.
Sincerely,
Deane Bozeman
English Language Arts Department
Directions
Students, you are to read Martin Luther King, Jr.: Warrior for Peace. As you read,
focus on the character development of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his father. Refer to the
Text Mark-up page for specific directions on how to mark the text as you read. You may
also make notes in the book; this is your book and your responsibility. We expect to see
your writing on the pages. Once you have completed this task, you will need to place this
information in the graphic organizer for each character. Please return your packet on
the first day of school. We will be using it during the first week and after instruction
and revisions, you will receive a grade. This is mandatory for all secondary level
students. Only students enrolling late will be allotted extended time to read the book and
complete this packet. . It is extremely important that you complete your reading
assignment and come back to school prepared! The materials are your responsibility and
replacement books will not be free.
Name: _______________________________________
Essential Question:
When do actions speak louder than words?
1.
2.
Directions: Before you begin reading, please answer the essential question. (7-10
sentences)
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Name: _______________________________________
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Warrior for Peace
by Tanya Savory
Pre-reading Activity: K-W-L
Directions: Fill in the chart below. In the K column, write information you know about
the Civil Rights Movement, or Martin Luther King, Jr. In the W column, write questions
you would like answered about the Civil Rights Movement, or Martin Luther King, Jr. As
you read the novel, write any new information you learn about the Civil Rights
Movement, or Martin Luther King, Jr., in the L column.
The Civil Rights Movement
K
W
L
1.
1.
1.
2.
2.
2.
3.
3.
3.
4.
4.
4.
Websites with links for pre-reading background information:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/
http://www.usm.edu/crdp/index.html
http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xcivilrights.html
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/index.htm
http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/
http://www.thekingcenter.org
http://www.tolerance.org/memorial/
http://www.bcri.org/index.html
Name: _______________________________________
Text Markups
Underline:
loves, hopes, dreams, this can be for them individually, or
personally, or for the country
Circle:
specific information about their background or who they were before
the Civil Rights Movement began, previous jobs, how their life was
different before they came into power
Highlight in Yellow:
quotes you find interesting for both Martin Luther
King, Jr. and his father.
Highlight in Pink:
descriptions of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and
his father, this can include what they looked like (physical characteristics)
or what are acting like (personality)
Highlight in Green:
descriptions or information about both Martin
Luther King, Jr. and his father’s weaknesses or strengths
Weaknesses: flaws, faults, problems, issues, (mental or physical), look for
words that show that they are weak leaders,
Strengths: power, things they are good at, the (physical or mental), gifts or
gifted at something
Box: specific information about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his father’s
personal accomplishments, awards, or recognitions before and after the
Civil Rights Movement
Write questions you have about anything you need
clarification on or help with in the margins of the
pages or on the assignment. These notes will
assist you with class discussions at the start of the
new school year.
Name: _______________________________________
Character:
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Character’s Hopes or
Dreams for our country:
Quote from text:
Character’s Weaknesses,
Fears, or Challenges:
Character’s Strengths:
Character’s Personal
Accomplishments:
Likes or Loves:
Background Information: (Personal or Historical)
Name: _______________________________________
Character: MLK Jr.’s Father
Character’s Hopes or
Dreams for his son:
Quote from text:
Character’s Strengths:
Character’s Weaknesses,
Fears, or Challenges:
Likes or Loves:
Character’s Personal
Accomplishments:
Background Information: (Personal or Historical)
Name: _______________________________________
3–2–1
3 things Martin Luther King, Jr. and his father have
in common.
1.
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2.
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3.
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2 things unique to Martin Luther King, Jr.
1.
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2.
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2 things unique to MLK, Jr.’s father
1.
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2.
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1 Question you still have about these men, the Civil
Rights Movement, or the book.
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Name: _______________________________________
Ballad of Birmingham
BY DUDLEY RANDALL
(On the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963)
“Mother dear, may I go downtown
Instead of out to play,
And march the streets of Birmingham
In a Freedom March today?”
1
“No, baby, no, you may not go,
For the dogs are fierce and wild,
And clubs and hoses, guns and jails
Aren’t good for a little child.”
2
“But, mother, I won’t be alone.
Other children will go with me,
And march the streets of Birmingham
To make our country free.”
3
“No, baby, no, you may not go,
For I fear those guns will fire.
But you may go to church instead
And sing in the children’s choir.”
4
She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
And bathed rose petal sweet,
And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
And white shoes on her feet.
5
The mother smiled to know her child
Was in the sacred place,
But that smile was the last smile
To come upon her face.
6
For when she heard the explosion,
Her eyes grew wet and wild.
She raced through the streets of Birmingham
Calling for her child.
7
She clawed through bits of glass and brick,
Then lifted out a shoe.
“O, here’s the shoe my baby wore,
But, baby, where are you?”
8
Name: _______________________________________
Activities for “Ballad of Birmingham”
1. Reread the poem. Summarize each stanza in your own words.
a. Stanza 1: ____________________________________________________
b. Stanza 2: ____________________________________________________
c. Stanza 3: ____________________________________________________
d. Stanza 4: ____________________________________________________
e. Stanza 5: ____________________________________________________
f. Stanza 6: ____________________________________________________
g. Stanza 7: ____________________________________________________
h. Stanza 8: ____________________________________________________
2. Identify the speaker in each stanza.
a. Stanza 1: _____________________
b. Stanza 2: _____________________
c. Stanza 3: _____________________
d. Stanza 4: _____________________
e. Stanza 5: _____________________
f. Stanza 6: _____________________
g. Stanza 7: _____________________
h. Stanza 8: _____________________
3. What emotional response does the writer intend the readers to have? What
feelings do the speaker intend to bring to the reader’s attention through the
events of the story?
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4. Dramatic irony is when the readers, or audience, understand more about the
situation than the characters do. The characters do not understand the
symbolism or significance of the details. Explain the dramatic irony in the poem
by answering these questions.
a. What does the reader know that the mother in the ballad does not know?
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b. Why is the mother’s refusal to let her child join a demonstration and
insistence that she go to church instead a powerful example of dramatic
irony?
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Name: _______________________________________
Civil Rights March on Washington
All about the March on Washington, August 28, 1963
By Shmuel Ross
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place in
Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. Attended by some 250,000
people, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital,
and one of the first to have extensive television coverage.
Background
1963 was noted for racial unrest and civil rights demonstrations.
Nationwide outrage was sparked by media coverage of police actions in
Birmingham, Alabama, where attack dogs and fire hoses were turned
against protestors, many of whom were in their early teens or younger.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was arrested and jailed during these protests,
writing his famous "Letter From Birmingham City Jail," which advocates civil disobedience against unjust laws. Dozens of
additional demonstrations took place across the country, from California to New York, culminating in the March on
Washington. Kennedy backed a Civil Rights Act, which was stalled in Congress by the summer.
Coalition
The March on Washington represented a coalition of several civil rights organizations, all of which generally had
different approaches and different agendas. The "Big Six" organizers were James Farmer, of the Congress of Racial
Equality (CORE); Martin Luther King, Jr., of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); John Lewis, of the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); A. Philip Randolph, of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; Roy
Wilkins, of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and Whitney Young, Jr., of
the National Urban League.
The stated demands of the march were the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation; the elimination of racial
segregation in public schools; protection for demonstrators against police brutality; a major public-works program to
provide jobs; the passage of a law prohibiting racial discrimination in public and private hiring; a $2 an hour minimum
wage; and self-government for the District of Columbia, which had a black majority.
Opposition
President Kennedy originally discouraged the march; for fear that, it might make the legislature vote against civil
rights laws in reaction to a perceived threat. Once it became clear that the march would go on, however, he supported
it. While various labor unions supported the march, the AFL-CIO remained neutral.
Outright opposition came from two sides. White supremacist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, were obviously
not in favor of any event supporting racial equality. On the other hand, the march was also condemned by some civil
rights activists who felt it presented an inaccurate, sanitized pageant of racial harmony; Malcolm X called it the "Farce
on Washington," and members of the Nation of Islam who attended the march faced a temporary suspension.
The March on Washington
Nobody was sure how many people would turn up for the demonstration in Washington, D.C. Some travelling
from the South were harassed and threatened. But on August 28, 1963, an estimated quarter of a million people—
about a quarter of whom were white—marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, in what
turned out to be both a protest and a communal celebration. The heavy police presence turned out to be unnecessary,
as the march was noted for its civility and peacefulness. The media, with live international television coverage,
extensively covered the march.
Name: _______________________________________
The event included musical performances by Marian Anderson; Joan Baez; Bob Dylan; Mahalia Jackson; Peter,
Paul, and Mary; and Josh White. Charlton Heston—representing a contingent of artists, including Harry Belafonte,
Marlon Brando, Diahann Carroll, Ossie Davis, Sammy Davis Jr., Lena Horne, Paul Newman, and Sidney Poitier—read a
speech by James Baldwin.
The speakers included all of the "Big Six" civil-rights leaders (James Farmer, who was imprisoned in Louisiana at
the time, had his speech read by Floyd McKissick); Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish religious leaders; and labor
leader Walter Reuther. The one female speaker was Josephine Baker, who introduced several "Negro Women Fighters
for Freedom," including Rosa Parks.
Noteworthy Speeches
The two most noteworthy speeches came from John Lewis and Martin Luther King, Jr. Lewis represented the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a younger, more radical group than King's. The speech he planned to give,
circulated beforehand, was objected to by other participants; it called Kennedy's civil rights bill "too little, too late,"
asked "which side is the federal government on?" and declared that they would march "through the Heart of Dixie, the
way Sherman did" and "burn Jim Crow to the ground—nonviolently.” In the end, he agreed to tone down the more
inflammatory portions of his speech, but even the revised version was the most controversial of the day, stating:
The revolution is at hand, and we must free ourselves of the chains of political and economic slavery. The
nonviolent revolution is saying, "We will not wait for the courts to act, for we have been waiting hundreds of
years. We will not wait for the President, nor the Justice Department, nor Congress, but we will take matters
into our own hands, and create a great source of power, outside of any national structure that could and would
assure us victory.” For those who have said, "Be patient and wait!" we must say, "Patience is a dirty and nasty
word.” We cannot be patient, we do not want to be free gradually, we want our freedom, and we want it now.
We cannot depend on any political party, for the Democrats and the Republicans have betrayed the basic
principles of the Declaration of Independence.
King's speech remains one of the most famous speeches in American history. He started with
prepared remarks, saying he was there to "cash a check" for "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness," while warning fellow protesters not to "allow our creative protest to degenerate into
physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force
with soul force.” But then he departed from his script, shifting into the "I have a dream" theme he'd
used on prior occasions, drawing on both "the American dream" and religious themes, speaking of an
America where his children "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their
character.” He followed this with an exhortation to "let freedom ring" across the nation, and
concluded with:
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every
hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black
men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the
words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."
Name: _______________________________________
Activities for “Civil Rights March on Washington”
1. Mark-up your text using the following:
a. Underline: main idea and supporting details
b. Circle: any new or difficult words
c. Box: any information specific to Martin Luther King, Jr.
2. Compare and contrast the speech excerpts from John Lewis and Martin Luther
King, Jr. How are they similar? How are they different? Complete the diagram
below with you information.
John Lewis’ Speech
MLK, Jr.’s Speech
1.
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3. Based on the information provided in the article, why was the March on
Washington an important event for the Civil Rights Movement? Use details from
the article to support your answer. (4-7 sentences)
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