Introduction
Martin Luther King Jr always believed in equality for all. He fought for the rights of many, jeopardizing himself and his family. He was harassed, taunted, assaulted, and ultimately assassinated for fighting for equal rights and desegregation for all. As a preacher, husband, father, and son, how does all this affect you? What do you lay up at night thinking about? What fears do you have?
Every night, he sits down and writes it all down. He pours his soul into those journals to rid himself of the thoughts that keep him up at night. He keeps them in a place where they can be shut away but revisited if ever needed. He writes them hoping his wife and children will never read them but knows that one day the time will come when they will be discovered, not only by his family but also by the world.
Decades later, you are walking through a school book sale and come across an old journal. These books have been donated by people all over the area. You see an old worn cover and it intrigues you. You open the cover and begin to read. You soon realize that it is a journal written by someone. You read the first section and get sucked in. You discover the journal was written by Martin Luther King Jr! You can't believe it is even here. You run to the counter and buy it before anyone else has the chance. Something like this could be worth so much but you don't care about that. You have read and listened to Dr. King's speech and have always been so entranced by his bravery. You quickly buy the journal without saying much to the women taking your money, running home to read its contents.
Task
The end result of this project will be the journal that you have picked up from the book sale. In order to create the journals you read, you must analyze research, choose specific events to write about, and make an inference on how Dr. King would feel about these events in his life. You must use empathy to connect with how he would feel as a son, father, and husband during this time. Each member of your group much be an active participant in the project and have equal input into the final project.
Process
Your group should analyze the research and choose at least 5 dates that will be included in the journal. Creating an idea web or outline, your group should write important information provided through the research to be provided in the journal. Then your group will need to put yourselves into Dr. King's shoes and infer how Dr. King would feel or think about this situation in his life. Then your group will compile this information into a journal while you, as Dr. King, summarize the event and your inference of his feeling about it into a journal entry. When you are finished, you should have a mini version of the journal you picked up from the book sale that was so intriguing to you.
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Brainstorm dates or events that can be used to incorporate into your journal.
Brainstorming is an important part of the writing process. When brainstorming together as a group, be sure to think of what you would like to include in your journal, as well as how you are going to organize it. During this brainstorming time, you should write down all your ideas. You can choose not to use them later, but everything should be written down and documented.
When you are finished brainstorming, be sure to organize all of your information. You can choose to eliminate different ideas to narrow down what you will use in your journal. You need to remember when narrowing down your ideas that you need at least five journals on different events. If you choose to write two journals on the same event, that is fine, but it only counts for one event, not two journals.
2. Research and compile the facts necessary to write your journals.
For this assignment, it will most likely be necessary for you to conduct research on events in Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. Although we know he gave the "I Have a Dream Speech" and was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, it will most likely be necessary for you to research other significant dates in his lifetime. Use internet sources to help you determine dates that would cause a significant emotional response to Dr. King. Although the research may not say this, remember that you are required to infer how he would have felt, or what his worries may be in your journals.
3. Create a rough draft of your journal entries.
As a group, create Google Doc which will be used as your journal. Using your research, write a summary as well as your inferences of how Dr. King would feel about the events you have chosen. Be sure to write in a first-person point of view as Martin Luther King Jr. himself. Be sure to give enough detail about the event as possible as it is you, Dr. King, who experienced it. Your journal should be a minimum of three paragraphs long, one to explain the event, one to explain your feelings about the event as Dr. King would, and one to express any worries and give any insight to upcoming events.
4. Edit your rough draft journal entries.
Following the steps of writing, edit each journal entry for any errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics. Be sure to double-check that all research is correctly dated and cited within your journals.
5. Correct errors and create the final draft of your journal entries.
Go back and edit all of the corrected errors within your edited journals. Be sure that they are the appropriate length and have met all of the writing requirements for the assignment.
6. Create a journal cover for your journal.
Remembering that the journal intrigued you at the book sale, causing you to pick it up, and create a book cover that you think would be on the journal. This could be as creative as you like as journal covers do not always correlate with the writing inside of them. You can choose to add "stickers", or a memorable quote, or create something simple and classic. You can choose to use Google Slides, your Google Docs, or Google Draw to create this cover. If you choose to use Google Slides or Draw, please remember you must submit both this and your journals in your Google Doc to Google Classroom for full credit.
Evaluation
| 10 | 7.5 | 5 | 2.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brainstorming | The student's brainstorming was well thought out and organized. It contained all components used throughout the project. | The student's brainstorming was thought out and mostly organized. It contained most of the components used throughout the project. | The student's brainstorming was completed and somewhat organized. It contained some of the components used throughout the project. | The student's brainstorming was incomplete and/or disorganized. It contained very few of the components used throughout the project. |
| Organization | Journal is well organized throughout its entirety. Has a clear summary of the event and transitions into the inference with ease. | Journal is mostly organized throughout its entirety. Has a fairly clear summary of the event and transitions into the inference with slight ease. | Journal is somewhat organized throughout its entirety. Has a brief summary of the event and transitions into the inference with difficulty. | Journal is unorganized throughout its entirety. Has an incomplete summary of the event, if any, and barely transitions into the inference. |
| Final Draft | The final draft has been edited fully with little to no errors and handed in on time. | The final draft has been edited fully with some errors and handed in on time. | The final draft has been edited fully with many errors and handed in on time. | The final draft has been edited fully with consistent errors and handed in on time or has been handed in late. |
| Journal Length | All 5 journals have met the requirements of a minimum of 3 paragraphs, 5-7 sentences in each. | All 5 journals have met the requirements of a minimum of 3 paragraphs, but only have 4-5 sentences in each. | Only 4 journals are completed and/ or each journal has less than the required 3 paragraphs and/or has less than 4 sentences in each paragraph. | Journals total in less than 4, only have one paragraph and have less than three sentences. |
| Event Summaries | Event summaries are given with great detail and description. | Event summaries are given with good detail and description. | Event summaries are given with some detail and description. | Event summaries are given with minor detail and description. |
| Inferences | Inferences are made correctly showing good detail and support for those inferences based on the event. | Inferences are made correctly showing some detail and support for those inferences based on the event. | Inferences are made correctly showing no detail and support for those inferences based on the event. | Inferences are incorrect. |
| Vocabulary | A wide variety of vocabulary is used throughout the journal entries. Minor errors occur that will not affect the reader's comprehension. | A variety of vocabulary is used throughout the journal entries. few errors occur. | Basic vocabulary is used throughout the journal entries. Some words are used that do not relate to the topic. | A very limited variety of vocabulary is used throughout the journal entries. Many errors occur that will affect the reader's comprehension |
| Spelling, Grammar, & Mechanics | Journals have little to no errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics. | Journals have a few errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics which are noticeable to the reader. | Journals have frequent errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics which are noticeable to the reader. | Journals are incomprehensible due to the number of errors in spelling, grammar, and mechanics which are noticeable to the reader. |
| Journal Cover | The journal cover is creative and well thought out. | The journal cover is complete without much creativity. | The journal cover is complete and one solid color. | The journal cover is incomplete. |
| English Fluency | The writer does not use a translator. A noticeable effort to write like a native speaker | Very little translation is used for the assignment. An effort is made to write like a native speaker with few errors. | Heavy translation is used for the assignment. Writing is hard to understand. | Writing is incomprehensible; native language is used throughout the assignment. |
Conclusion
You are sitting in your bedroom and have just completed your reading of Martin Luther King Jr.'s journal and you sit there stunned. How amazing is it to finally understand how he felt during these times in his life!
By completing the brainstorming, research, making inferences, and writing each journal you now have a better understanding of not only his life but also how it must have felt to be him during these historical events.
Now that you have completed the assignment, let's reflect upon it. What was your favorite part of the assignment? What was your least favorite? How, if at all, did you connect with Dr. King and these events? How did you work as a group? What worked out well? What would you have done differently?
If you enjoyed this activity, you might be interested in reading a real journal Martin Luther King wrote himself or maybe some journals from other famous people like him.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail
https://morehouse.edu/life/campus/martin-luther-king-jr-collection/
https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/Goodies/Zurich_Notebook/
https://archive.org/details/noteboo00leon/page/n8/mode/1up?view=theater
Credits
Resources
Printed
"The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Junior", Carson, Clayborn. Grand Central Publishing. Jan. 1, 2001.
Web
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-resources/major-king-events-chronology-1929-1968
https://www.britannica.com/summary/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Timeline
https://www.ctvnews.ca/features/timeline-major-events-in-the-life-of-martin-luther-king-jr-1.3871129
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/02/02/martin-luther-king-jr-timeline/1061525001/