TeachRock

Motivational Activity:

Civil Rights March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963 | Credit: U.S. Information Agency

1. Show Image 1, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington. Ask students:
   • Who is the person pictured in this photograph? (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
   • Where might he be in the photograph? (He is at the March on Washington, which was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. Over 200,000 people participated.)
2. Ask students to do a quick write to list as many things as they can about Dr King in one minute, then ask volunteers to share what they have written. (Martin Luther King Jr. was an American minister, activist, and political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement, which began in 1955.)
3. Play Clip 1 , President Reagan signing legislation authorizing Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Ask students:
   • What is happening in this clip? (It is a news clip revealing that a bill was signed into law recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.)
   • Where did the ceremony take place and why might it have been held at that particular location? (It was held at the White House, because that was where President Reagan signed the Bill.)
     
   • Who was in attendance at the ceremony? Why might particular attendees have been invited to the ceremony? Do you recognize any of the attendees? (Coretta Scott King [Martin Luther King Jr.’s Widow], Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy.)
   • Why did the guests of the ceremony sing “We Shall Overcome”? (Explain to students that “We Shall Overcome” was an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s that Dr. King led.)
   • Why might the president have signed the bill into law if he “so strongly opposed” it? (There was pressure for him to sign it.)

Procedure:

1. Explain to students that in class they will be discussing how the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday was signed into law, and how laws are created in the United States in general. Distribute to students Handout – How a Bill Becomes a Law Vocabulary. Ask students to review the document and answer the questions on each row.
2. Display Image 2: The Constitution of the United States of America. Ask students:
   • Does this document look familiar? (Encourage students to recognize the preamble, “We the People…”)
   • What is the purpose of the Constitution in the United States of America? (Explain to students that the document established and organized the current U.S. system of government.)
3. Display Image 3: Articles 1-3 of U.S. Constitution (if helpful, teachers can send a digital version of the image to students). Ask students:
   • Is there a separate article for each government institution? (Yes, each article outlines a different branch of government.)
   • In what order are the “legislative Powers” established in the Constitution and what do they create?  (Encourage students to recognize and remember that legislative powers are established in Article 1 of the Constitution, before the executive and judicial powers, and the article created the United States Congress.)
   • What do these articles provide or “vest” in each institution of the government? (Encourage students to recognize that the word “vested” found in each article is assigning particular authority to each part of the government.)
4. Display Image 4: 3 Branches of U.S. Government. (Tell students that each institution is also known as a “branch” of government.) Ask students:
   • What is one word that appears with every branch of the U.S. Government? (Encourage students to recognize that “laws” appears with every branch of the United States system of government.)
   • (Ask students the following question again.) In what order was the Legislative branch established in the Constitution and what institution did it create?
   • Do you think the order of the articles in the Constitution relates directly to how laws are created in the United States? Why?
   • How might the Legislative branch “make” laws and might any other branches be involved in this process?
5. Pass out Handout – How a Bill Becomes a Law to each student. Have students read the handout so they can participate in a large group discussion (Differentiation Suggestion: use Handout – How a Bill Becomes a Law Flow Chart Activity). Once students have completed the reading, bring the class back together as a large group. Ask students:
   • What is legislation called before it becomes a law? (A Bill.)
     
   • What branch of government do bills originate in? (The Legislative Branch.)
     
   • What kind of formal congressional groups do bills go to after they are introduced? What happens to a bill in a committee? Does a bill go through the same committee process in both chambers of Congress? (In both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Bill goes through a committee where it is debated and changes and amendments can be added, then it is voted on.)
     
   • What do members of the House and Senate do with a bill after it successfully passes through the committees of each chamber? After debating and amending the bill, do both chambers have to vote on the same version of the bill? (Both houses have to agree to the same bill and vote on it.)
     
   • If majorities in both chambers pass the bill, where does it go next? (It goes to the President.)
     
   • What are the president’s options when a bill is presented for signing? (The president can either sign it, take no action, or veto it.)
   • According to the rules and process of a bill becoming a law, are there instances where a bill can become a law without the president’s signature? What are they? (If the President vetoes the bill, the video can be overridden by a 2/3rds vote by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.)
     
   • Do bills always have to be ideas conceived by members of Congress? Can the ideas for new laws come from the public? Do you think the public might play an important role in a bill becoming a law? If so, what might their role(s) be? (Anyone can come up with an idea for a bill, giving the public a chance to directly participate in law making.)
     
   • What about the support of legislation from a popular public figure and their access to the media? Might that be a factor in passing legislation and creating laws?
6. Play Clip 2, Campaign for a MLK Holiday. Ask students:
   • What might be the significance of an artist like Stevie Wonder lending his popular celebrity and ability to garner media attention to the campaign to establish a national holiday in honor of the civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? (If needed, students can familiarize themselves with Stevie Wonder by reading TeachRock’s bio on Wonder.)
   • According to writer Jeff Chang, why did there need to be a national holiday to recognize Dr. King? Why might a holiday recognizing Dr. King’s birthday “memorialize the breakthroughs that the Civil Rights Movement had achieved”?
     
   • What historic moment in the civil rights movement might Stevie Wonder be referring to in Washington, D.C. when he said, “It’s fitting that we should gather here because it was here that Martin Luther King inspired the whole nation”?
   • Can you think of other national holidays that are “monuments” to individuals, groups, and events in the nation’s history?
   • Do you think the process to establish a national holiday for Dr. King happened quickly or took a long time?
7. Display Image 5, MLK Holiday Timeline and discuss as a class (Differentiation Suggestion: use Handout – Dr Martin Luther King Jr National Holiday Timeline Activity.) Ask students:
   • When was Dr. King assassinated? (April 8, 1968). When was legislation submitted to Congress to establish a MLK national holiday? (Four days after MLK’s assassination.)
     
   • How long was Congressman Conyers’ legislation in Congress before it was voted on in the House of Representatives? Did it pass? (It was voted on 11 years later. The bill failed to pass the first time by 5 votes.)
     
   • What actions did organizations and individuals take after Rep. Conyers’ bill was defeated in Congress? (The King Center and Stevie Wonder began advocating for the bill through a campaign and song, respectively.)
     
   • What do you notice about the pace of the legislative process and lobbying efforts for the MLK Holiday legislation once the King Center and Stevie Wonder became involved? (It quickens and the bill passes.)
     
   • Why might the legislation have moved at a quicker pace? What might Stevie Wonder have been able to uniquely contribute to the lobbying and legislative campaign?
8. Play Clip 3, Happy Birthday. Ask students:
   • What does Stevie Wonder say his purpose is as an artist? How might his song “Happy Birthday” have contributed to that purpose in regard to the successful establishment of the MLK national holiday?
   • Considering Dr. Daphne Brooks’ comments about the song, how might Wonders’ song do “political work” without listeners thinking about it?
   • Why do you think Wonder chose “Happy Birthday” as the title to his song?
   • In what ways is Stevie Wonder’s song similar or different than the traditional version of the “Happy Birthday” song?
   • Do you think the song’s title helped it become popular, and in turn, benefitted the campaign for the MLK holiday?

Summary Activity:

1. Considering all the clips that were viewed and the history of the legislative process and lobbying effort to establish the MLK holiday, ask students:
   • What two branches of government were involved in the MLK Holiday bill becoming a law? (The Legislative and Executive.)
     
   • What chamber of the Legislative Branch did the bill originate in? What two chambers of Congress did it have to move through before being sent to the Executive Branch? (The House of Representatives introduces the bill, and it moves to the Senate after it passes the house.)
     
   • Was there opposition to the legislation by both branches? (Yes.)
     
   • Why might the legislation have passed even if it was opposed by some members of Congress and the president? (Public pressure.)
     
   • What had to happen outside of the government for the MLK Holiday bill to get passed? (Citizens had to get involved in the campaign to pass it.)
     
   • Are you surprised that it took so long for a celebrated person like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to get a national holiday?
   • Since the MLK Holiday bill was controversial when it was legislated and passed, can you think of any controversial holidays that are celebrated in America?
   • Considering the public involvement in getting the bill passed, what opportunities do you have as a public citizen to make change (like new laws) happen in this country?
2. Display Image 5 – Writing Prompt: Message Music. Ask students to react to the following quote from Dr. Daphne Brooks regarding Stevie Wonder’s song, “Happy Birthday.” Consider the quote as a starting point for students to write about a song that they feel contains a political message without perhaps most listeners realizing it.

Extension Activities:

1. Display Image 6 – MLK Day of Service. Read aloud as a class the quote from Mrs. Coretta Scott King about the MLK Holiday as a day of service. Ask students to write a one-page response explaining how they would spend their King Day of Service.
2. “Classroom Congress” activity:
   • Call “Congress” into session.
     • Choose a “clerk” to oversee the activity.
   • Display a list of topics that congressional committees are covering in the current session. Options for topics can be chosen from current sessions via these links:
     • House of Representatives
     • Senate
   • Organize students into small groups (“Committees”) and assign a topic to each group.
     • Choose an issue from the topic provided
     • Name your bill
   • Reconvene as a class
   • Each small group presents its bill to the class
   • Lead a discussion on which bills will be sent to the Executive Branch for signing. (The educator may act as the executive branch to inform the discussion of whether the submitted bill would be signed or vetoed.)
3. Cartoon Storyboard: Create an MLK Day Cartoon Storyboard depicting Stevie Wonder’s support for a National Holiday in honor of Dr. King using one of the following resources (Note to teacher: for information to include in the Cartoon Storyboard, refer to this following article. And consider sharing these resources:
   • Storyboard That!
   • Make Beliefs
4. Illustrated Song Lyrics: Invite students to illustrate lyrics from Stevie Wonder’s song “Happy Birthday”. Encourage students to use imagery that is meaningful to them and make their illustrations especially colorful.

Handout – Dr Martin Luther King Jr National Holiday Timeline Activity Handout – How a Bill Becomes a Law Handout – How a Bill Becomes a Law Flow Chart Activity Handout – How a Bill Becomes a Law Vocabulary

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Social Studies Standards

Civics

• D2.Civ.1.3-5: Distinguish the responsibilities and powers of government officials at various levels and branches of government and in different times and places.
  
• D2.Civ.4.3-5: Explain how groups of people make rules to create responsibilities and protect freedoms.
  
• D2.Civ.5.3-5: Explain the origins, functions, and structure of different systems of government, including those created by the U.S. and state constitutions.
  
• D2.Civ.6.3-5: Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families.
  

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies – National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

• Theme 1: Culture
• Theme 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
• Theme 3: People, Place, and Environments
• Theme 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
• Theme 6: Power, Authority, and Governance
• Theme 10: Civic Ideals and Practices

Common Core State Standards

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.1L: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.2: Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.2: Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.3: Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.