On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a march on Washington, D.C. The speech he gave that day is one of the best known in American history. When people remember the “I Have a Dream” speech, as it has come to be known, they recall King’s message about civil rights. But perhaps the reason it is so memorable is because King was a master of literary and rhetorical devices. His word choice matched the strength of his message.
This lesson plan allows students to review literary terms, rhetorical devices and figurative language with a scavenger hunt through “I Have a Dream” speech. Then you can have students discuss or write about the speech using the literary terminology. This lesson can be modified to work well for everyone from students just learning about metaphor for the first time to AP students reviewing for their upcoming exams.
