"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."
Have you heard these famous words before? Do you know who spoke them?
If you said Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights activist, then you're correct! Here in Cyprus, however, students are naturally less familiar with American history. What's famous to us is sometimes new to them! That is why I took the opportunity leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day to teach my students about this important figure in the American civil rights movements through a fun lesson combining history, art, and English.
Together, we even listened to excerpts of MLK's famous 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech with Greek subtitles. Afterwards, I introduced my students to the Native American tradition of making dreamcatchers (oνειροπαγίδα). Surprisingly enough, I have seen dreamcatchers sold in stores here, so my students were familiar with the idea of them, even if they weren't as familar with their Native American origins. I then led my students in creating dreamcatchers of their own. Each wrote, "I have a dream that..." and then described their own dream for the future. Some chose to write about personal dreams, while others preferred to write about dreams for the world. Take a look at some of the dreamcatchers they made! What dreams do you have for yourself and the world? Several of my students had dreams to travel abroad to Paris and the United States, for example. Do you dream of one day traveling the world or helping to make it a better place?
