An Update on "Letters about Literature"

LAL Contest Update from LAL Central! As a participant in this year’s Letters About Literature competition, we’re sending you this February update. LAL received 54,000 letters this year from your readers across the country. Of these, our team eliminated 49,000 in the first two rounds of assessment. What happens next? Round 3 – state level judging is now underway. Each state center for the book has its own panel of judges and will select their state winners on or before March 6.

Meanwhile, please visit our website www.lettersaboutliterature.org for

some fun quotes from this year’s letters,
terrific tips from teachers on how they use LAL in the classroom, plus
information on reader response and reflective writing
contact information for your state competition

Malcolm X/MLK, Jr. Reflection Questions

Students, as a whole I am very impressed with your analytical responses to our discussion on "good" leadership. If you are struggling with spelling, don't be ashamed -- but choose to take initiative in editing! One great way to solve this problem is to type your responses in a Word Document, use spell-check, and then copy/paste it to your blog (or mine -- wherever you are posting). Please be anal about grammar and spelling -- articulate writers and speakers change history! :)

On that note, these are the reflection questions on Malcolm X that we didn't quite finish during class on Thursday:
1) What two types of African-American slaves does Malcolm X describe in his speech?

2) What is the TONE (emotion) that he uses to get his ideas across to his audience?

3) What can you infer his feelings are about solving problems "peacefully"? Consider the way that he says this word, and the context of this part of his speech.

4) What does Malcolm X mean when he talks about the dentist? Do you feel that this is a good analogy? Why or why not?

Also to consider about MLK, Jr.:

1) What are some specific differences in style that you noticed between MLK, Jr. and Malcolm X?

2) What was one phrase/image that really caught your interest as you read/listened to his speech? Why was this striking to you?

3) Which of these two individuals do you consider to be a better leader? Why? (Remember, "better" is a word that compares levels of "good." Please use your thoughts on "good leadership" to influence your answer to this question.)

Feel free to post to any/all of these questions. You are required to answer the first four (4) in your journal -- but it would behoove you to answer all seven (7) in your journal. Not only will this help you to remember MLK, Jr. better for the purpose of discussions, but it will also positively influence your quiz/test scores.