SOCIAL SCIENCE

Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, like Dr. King, sometimes organized their thoughts as speeches, songs, or poems. Discover how others’ views can inspire you to express your own views.

• 1 ResearchWith a partner, search for speeches, songs, or poems from the civil rights era. Think about these questions as you search:

  • • How did people organize their views?

  • • What feelings did their words create?

  • • How did the power of words affect others during the movement?

• Choose a speech, song, or poem that is meaningful to you and your partner. Use an Idea Web to organize the information you found. Write the name of the song, poem, or speech in the center. In the outer circles, write the views that are expressed. Think about how these ideas affect you.

• 2 Discuss Your ViewsTalk about something you feel strongly about in your own life. Express your views to your partner.

  

• 3 Organize Your ViewsChoose a way to organize your views, such as on an Idea Web. Then write a short speech, song, or poem to express your views. Think about

  • • the views you would like to express

  • • how you want people to feel about your views

  • • words that will affect people’s feelings.

• 4 Express Your ViewsShare your views with the class. Explain where you got the ideas for your speech, song, or poem and why it is meaningful.

  • • Use facial expressions and gestures to show your emotions and convey the meaning of your speech, song, or poem.

  • • Make sure your posture and gestures match your feeling, tone, and pitch as you speak. For example, if you are excited, speak standing up straight rather than sitting in your seat.