Black Lives Matter

Remember that this class will work as a collective. This means that we will show care for everyone, help one another learn, help one another understand, work together, talk together, share our ideas, and work to trust one another.

As a whole class, review your shared values. Use these during your discussions.

A. Warm up

Think about the questions below. Talk about your ideas with your classmate(s).

1. What phone number do you call in an emergency?
2. Do you know what a #hashtag is?
3. Do you know what “Black lives matter” means?

B. Vocabulary Preview

In this section, you will preview the vocabulary from the reading. You can check your answers to Exercises 2-3 afterward by visiting: Answer Keys by Chapter.

Exercise 1:

These are the words that you will learn in this chapter. How many words do you already know?

Exercise 2:

Choose the best word or phrase to match each definition. Use a dictionary to help!

1. a tool for fighting or hurting a person (noun)
   1. Volunteer
   2. Operator
   3. Weapon
2. to offer to do something without payment (verb)
   1. Volunteer
   2. Operator
   3. Protect
3. this person answers telephone calls (noun)
   1. Volunteer
   2. Operator
   3. Activist
4. to become popular online (verb phrase)
   1. Post
   2. Hashtag
   3. Go Viral
5. to stop from getting hurt (verb)
   1. Go Viral
   2. Protect
   3. Volunteer
6. to put online (verb)
   1. Post
   2. Go Viral
   3. Volunteer
7. a word or phrase online with the # symbol (noun)
   1. Activist
   2. Hashtag
   3. Weapon
8. this person tries to make change in the world (noun)
   1. Operator
   2. Activist
   3. Protect

Exercise 3:

Choose the best word or phrase to complete each sentence. Please note: screen readers will read the blank spots as “underscore.”

1. The 911 _ answers the emergency line in the United States.
   1. volunteer
   2. go viral
   3. operator
2. We _ to clean up the park. It was fun to help.
   1. weapon
   2. protect
   3. volunteered
3. Being a parent is an important job. A parent always _ their child.
   1. protects
   2. activist
   3. operator
4. Our school does not allow _. We have a safe place to learn.
   1. posts
   2. volunteers
   3. weapons
5. My friend _ a photo of us on social media with the _ “friendsforever”.
   1. volunteers, hashtag
   2. posted, hashtag
   3. Posted, volunteer
6. Martin Luther King, Jr., was an _.
   1. operator
   2. activist
   3. hashtag
7. I made a popular video on social media. It _.
   1. protect
   2. went viral
   3. volunteer

C. Prepare to read

Get comfortable in your seat. Pay attention to your body and your place. Take three slow breaths. Now you are ready to read.

D. Read all about it!

Black Lives Matter

On February 26th, 2012, Trayvon Martin was walking to his father’s house. He was a teenage child. He was Black. George Zimmerman was Martin’s neighbor. He volunteered to watch the neighborhood. He was not Black. Zimmerman saw Martin walking. He followed him. He called 911.

The 911 operator told Zimmerman to wait. The 911 operator said that the police were on the way. Zimmerman did not listen. Zimmerman shot Martin. He killed him. Zimmerman said that he was protecting himself. But Martin did not have a weapon. He was not dangerous. He was Black.

Zimmerman did not go to jail. The judge said he was not guilty. Many people were shocked about the news. Many people thought Zimmerman should go to jail. Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors are activists. They heard the news. Garza posted on Facebook: “Black people. I love you. I love us. We matter. Black lives matter” (Zakarin). Cullors added the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter to the post. The post and the hashtag went viral.

People everywhere started saying Black Lives Matter. There were too many murders of Black people then. There are still too many now. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter reminds people to notice the injustice.

Black Lives Matter is for everybody. We can say the names of the Black people that we lost. We say that Black Lives Matter (“330 Names”).

E. Grounding

• Notice your feelings about the reading.
• Which parts gave you those feelings?
• Why?
• Now let go.
• You can take three deep breaths, stretch, or count down from ten.

You can choose to talk about your reactions or not. Maybe you want to think or write quietly, or maybe you want to talk. Our reactions teach us about our beliefs and experiences.

F. Discussion

Read the questions below, then look at the reading again. Talk about the questions with your classmate(s). Where did you find the answers?

1. Who was Trayvon Martin?
2. What did the operator tell Zimmerman to do?
3. How do we know that Martin was not dangerous? Name two details.
4. What happened to Zimmerman?
5. What did the activists do?
6. Why did Garza post on Facebook?
7. Why is Black Lives Matter for everybody?
8. Why do we say the names of the Black people that we lost?

G. Topics for Writing

1. What is the reading about? Explain the key points.
2. Who is #BlackLivesMatter for? Explain with support.
3. Have you ever seen #BlackLivesMatter posts online or events in your community?
4. Do you know about any activists in your community? Write about him/her/them.

H. Project!

Option 1:

Find a quote online or on social media, a song, an art piece, or a poem about Trayvon Martin. Tell why you chose this. Explain it to a partner or in a small group.

Option 2:

Create an art piece to express your reaction to Trayvon’s story. It can be a poem, song, or post on social media in English or in another language. Or it can be a drawing, painting, or sculpture. Explain it to a partner or in a small group.

I. More Information

• BreakingNewsEnglish (Audio and Article): Black Lives Matter. The website shows this article in four levels of English difficulty (Level 0, 1, 2, and 3), and it provides a PDF version.