The qualitative and quantitative measures by and large agree on the placement of Kennedy’s Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. into the middle of the grades 9-10 text complexity band.  This text is a good fit in an American literature or American studies curriculum.  

Recommended Complexity Band Level

The speech announces the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. to a group of civil rights protestors and calls upon the assembled group to move forward with peace and compassion.

Text Description

Knowledge D

Text Structure: 
Slightly Complex - The main ideas are sequentially organized and explicitly stated. Kennedy makes connections to the assassination of his brother, John F. Kennedy. Parallel structure is clearly evident. For example, Kennedy states: “We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization -- black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another….”  Kennedy uses rhetorical devices such as repetition and allusion throughout the brief speech. 

Language Features: 
Moderately Complex - The language of the speech is explicit and easy to understand with some occasions for more complex meaning. The vocabulary is slightly complex with mostly contemporary and conversational language, with some higher level vocabulary (e.g., polarization) and phrases (e.g., “the awful grace of God.”  The speech contains many complex sentences with several subordinate phrases and transition words. For example, Kennedy states: “What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.”

Meaning/Purpose: 
Moderately Complex – The general purpose is explicitly stated and is clear and concrete with a narrow focus. Kennedy announces the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. but also calls for a peaceful response as would befit the peacemaker.  The call for peace is the greater purpose and is supported with subtle use of language to reinforce the call for a peaceful response.  For example, Kennedy ends his speech with the following: “And let's dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”

Knowledge Demands:  
Moderately Complex - The text requires students to have practical knowledge of Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Knowledge of the civil rights movement may enhance student understanding of topics in the speech. “I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.” There is a reference that includes another text (e.g., poem by Aeschylus).

Qualitative Measures

Quantitative Measure

Quantitative Measure of the Text:
1230L
	Range:
1050-1335
	Associated Band Level:
9-10

Updated July 2015          Reviewed by members of ELA and ASES SCASS

Potential Challenges this Text Poses:
CONTEXT:  Presented baldly, without information about the Civil Rights Movement and the role Martin Luther King, Jr. played in it, this speech will be difficult to understand.  Presented as the anchor text for a study of Eulogies as a genre study in a larger unit about the civil right movement, the speech will have greater meaning and be more accessible to students.  

It will be important to point out the devices used to present a written transcript of a spoken presentation such as multiple dashes or midsentence corrections.  Students may be confused by Kennedy’s side comments to the crowd (e.g., “Could you lower those signs, please?”), as well as his use of the poem by Aeschylus. Some readers may struggle with the complex sentence structure, which includes the repeated use of dashes.

Differentiation/Supports for Students:
For close reading:  
•	Have students watch the video of Kennedy delivering the speech.
•	Handout the transcript and have students follow along while listening.  
•	Read the speech aloud pausing frequently to allow students to annotate the text indicating words they don’t know, places they find confusing, or questions they have.
•	Have students read together and annotate.    
Multiple readings coupled with text-based questions will improve comprehension and increase fluency.

For learning extension, 
•	Consider analyzing Kennedy’s word choice, tone, style, and syntax used in the delivery of his speech as they relate to his message. (SL.11-12.3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.)  
•	Comparing this speech to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech may help students extend their understanding of the context, why Kennedy was so respectful. 
•	Reading about Robert Kennedy’s subsequent assassination just two months later and comparing messages may also deepen the analysis.

Possible Major Instructional Areas of Focus for this Text

Reasoning and Evidence: 
•	RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
•	RI.9-10.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
Speaking and Listening:
•	SL.9-10.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
•	SL.9-10.4  Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
Language:
•	L.8.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. [Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break.]

o	How does Kennedy introduce and develop his message of peace and understanding?  What are specific rhetorical devices he uses to encourage a peaceful response?
o	How is the transcript of a speech written differently than an essay?  
See the text set 

Considerations for Reader and Task