Summative Assessment – Student
1. In the following sentence from Letter from Birmingham City Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr., uses the word squares. What does the word squares mean as used in the sentence? “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law of God.”
2. In the following sentence from Letter from Birmingham City Jail, Martin Luther King Jr., uses the word rabid. What does the word rabid mean as used in the sentence? “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law as the rabid segregationist would do.”
3. In the following sentence from Letter from Birmingham City Jail, Martin Luther King jr. uses the word paradoxical. The prefix para means “beside or beyond” and the root dox means pointed. Using these prefix and root definitions, explain what you think the word means as used in the sentence. Use details and/or examples from the passage to support your answer.
“Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, it is rather strange and paradoxical to find us consciously breaking laws.”
4. King wrote in the ‘60s during the Civil Rights Movement. Based on evidence of King’s writings, what can you infer about how he might react to conflict in today’s society? Use details and/or examples from the passage to support your answer.
5. King expresses his message in the form of a letter. Explain how King’s choice of this format influenced the effectiveness of his message. Use details and/or examples from the passage to support your answer.
6. Select the media message that is most effective and explain why it is the most effective. Use details and/or examples to support your choice.
7. Martin Luther King Jr., believed man’s laws fall into two categories—just and unjust. Summarize the difference between the two.
8. Complete the outline below to show the author’s main ideas and supporting details. From Letter from Birmingham City Jail.
I. How Martin Luther King, Jr., can purposefully break the laws
1.
2.
1. Just laws follows moral codes
2. Unjust law doesn’t
1. Blacks are not allowed to vote
2. Not democratic
D. Just and unjust laws
1.
2.
1. No violence (“open, “lovingly”)
2. Willingly accept the penalty
9. Note-taking is a key part of identifying and organizing information. Read the following passage and determine what information is an aid in summarizing the passage. Next, utilize an appropriate note-taking method to record your notes. Finally, using your notes, write a multi-paragraph summary of the passage.