Martin Luther King, Jr. - What is Your Life's Blueprint? - 8th Grade Graduation

Are you looking for an engaging and inspirational activity to study Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy or Black History Month? These reading comprehension and journal activities focus on Dr. King’s “Street Sweeper” speech, “What is Your Life’s Blueprint?”

This resource is perfect for:

✅ Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (MLK Day)

✅ Black History Month

✅ 8th grade graduation

✅ Back-to-school 

This inspirational speech was delivered at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967, six months before Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. In it, King calls students to think about what they want from their lives, and how they can be their very best selves.

Your Martin Luther King, Jr. and/or Black History Month resource includes:

• Reflective journal prompts/discussion questions for before and after the speech
• Comprehension questions (and answer key) for a short study of the speech (Common Core aligned close reading)
• Instructions & Rubric for a mini-project --> students choose from four choices (Inspirational Poster, Mural, Timeline, Creative Journal Entry)
• Editable rubrics --> set your own weights! (points-based or standards-based rubric)

What other teachers are saying:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “I have never analyzed MLK Speech but this gave me the opportunity to close read the whole speech with my students. They loved it!” -Nancy C.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Perfect addition to our memoir unit. My students were thrilled to "discover" another speech by Dr. King, especially one that was just for kids.” -Anne S.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “My reading students LOVED this speech - they could totally relate to what he was saying.  I like the poster creation & applying to themselves personally!” -Whitne L.

Do you want a digital version of this project? Check this out!

Please respect all terms of use as detailed at the end of this document. Enjoy!

About Your Resource:

You will download a .zip file containing a print-and-go version of the Comprehension Worksheet and Extension Activities and journal prompts that are not editable. You will also receive a .doc file that contains an editable version of the extension activities, points-based (analytic) rubric and standards-based (holistic) rubric. Please email me if you have any questions!

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-Danielle @ Nouvelle ELA