HSC English First Paper | Unit: 10, Lesson: 3 | Dreams | I Have A Dream

1. Warm up activity: Look at the picture.

□ Guess who the person is. What do you know about him?

□ Here are a few points about the man in the picture. Make sentences with them to describe him. Yon can go to Google to And out more about him.

Martin Luther King Jr. 

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January 15,1929

April 4,1968

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American pastor,

non-violent activist,

humanitarian

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I have a dream

□ Now write 5-10 sentences describing the man and his work.

2. The following is an abridged version of a famous speech made by Martin Luther King Jr. on 28 August 1963 In Washington D.C. USA. Read It and answer the questions that follow:

… (T)he Negro is still not free. … the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. … (T)he Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. … (T)he Negro is still languishing in the comers of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition ….

I say to you today, my friends, go even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal “

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of ‘interposition’ and ‘nullification’, that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together”.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with.

With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day….

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania …

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and

gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” (abridged)

4. Answer the following questions:

a. What is the text type: an article, a speech, or a short story? Who delivered it?

b. What is the text about?

c. Why did Martin Luther King Jr. have these dreams?

d. Which of the above dreams do you appreciate more and why?

e. What, according to Martin Luther king Jr., will be the ultimate benefit if his dreams come true?

f. Do you think that Martin Luther King’s dreams have been fulfilled? Why/why not?

5. Now read the following statements and write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if the statement is false. For false statements, provide the correct information.

a. The speech is meant only for black Americans.

b. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that all men are equal.

c. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be able to join hands with white boys and girls.

d. Martin Luther King Jr. maintained that the fulfillment of his dreams was a precondition for America to be a great country.

6. Here is a sentence from the text which shows King’s hopes about America. Find more similar sentences from the text.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up.

a…………………………………………… 

b…………………………………………… 

c…………………………………………… 

d…………………………………………… 

e…………………………………………… 

7. Complete the sentences below using adjective clauses.

a. I have a dream that………………………… Bangladesh……………………………………………

b. My friend…………………………………………… has a dream that…………………………………………… 

c. My mother has a dream that ……………………………………………

d. My teacher has a dream that……………………………………………

e. Our leader…………………………………………… had a dream that…………………………………………… 

8. Find the meanings of the following words and make sentences with them:

a. interposition

b. nullification

c. prodigious

d. discord

e. hamlet

9. Project work:

In groups, prepare a list of your dreams for your country or the community you belong to and then present it in the class.

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