I Have a Dream - Selection Test

What is Martin Luther King Jr.’s central claim in the speech?

• Racial equality is impossible under the current American justice system.

• Efforts to deny racial equality in America are part of the past.

• People should accept gradual progress toward racial equality.

• The benefits of racial equality will occur only as the result of effort and work.

Reread the first few paragraphs of the speech. What is most likely the purpose of the extended metaphor used in paragraph 2?

• To emphasize the idea that the Emancipation Proclamation created a new hope

• To show that many years have passed since there was a cause for hope

• To show why President Lincoln is a hero to many African Americans

• To emphasize the positive results brought about by the abolition of slavery

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which word is an antonym for sweltering as it is used in the last sentence of paragraph 6?

• Exciting

• Painful

• Refreshing

• Uncomfortable

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read this sentence from paragraph 6. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy; now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children. Which two rhetorical devices are used in this paragraph?

(a)   (b)  

• Parallelism
• Exaggeration

• Repetition
• Irony

• Allusion

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

To what audience did Martin Luther King Jr. most likely direct his speech?

• Everyone who fully supported the Civil Rights Movement

• People who disapproved of efforts to achieve racial equality

• People who questioned his ideas but still worked to achieve them

• Those who agreed with his ideas and those who opposed them

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.8.6

CCSS.RI.8.9

CCSS.RL.8.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.6

Reread paragraph 11. In this part of his speech, Dr. King appeals to his audience by connecting with their —

• experiences with racism and bitterness about it

• sense of decency and hopes for the future

• use of logical reasoning and interest in its revelations

• knowledge of hardships and dread of their continuance

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

Read the following sentence. Every man, woman, and child deserves equal rights. What is the best way to revise the sentence to include parallelism for greater impact?

• Everyone deserves equal rights.

• Every man, each woman, and all children deserve equal rights.

• Equal rights are what every man, woman, and child deserve.

• Every man, every woman, and every child deserves equal rights.

Tags

CCSS.RF.3.3B

CCSS.RF.3.3C

CCSS.RF.3.3D

CCSS.RF.4.3A

CCSS.RF.5.3A

What form of evidence does Dr. King use most frequently to support his claims in his speech?

• Statistics about the differences in the lives of African Americans and other Americans

• Quotations from recognized experts or authorities in the area of civil rights

• Examples and descriptions of the problems caused by racial inequality

• Stories about the experiences of African Americans who suffered from discrimination

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Dr. King uses an extended metaphor when he compares —

• the decree made by the Emancipation Proclamation to a beacon of light

• the promises made by the Declaration of Independence to a bad check

• the segregation of American society to a desolate valley

• the oppression of African Americans to sweltering heat

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which word is an antonym for discords as it is used in paragraph 16?

(a)  

• Compatibility

• Harmony
• Dissonance

• Disunity

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4