The American Dream in literature and today unit plan
Tamara Salisbury
1.9k Followers
Grade Levels
11th - 12th, Higher Education
Subjects
Resource Type
Standards
CCSSRL.11-12.1
CCSSRL.11-12.2
CCSSRL.11-12.5
CCSSRL.11-12.6
CCSSRL.11-12.9
Formats Included
- Zip
Pages
34 pages
Tamara Salisbury
1.9k Followers
What educators are saying
I use this for my Dutch students who learn English as a foreign language. This was a great resource for my introduction to American literature!
Description
This 26-day unit introduces the historical concept of the American Dream. Five days of the unit are devoted to "A Raisin in the Sun." We also read some articles about the American Dream today, and students write an essay on literature's depiction of the American Dream and its relevance today.
At the beginning, each day focuses on an aspect of the dream, plus an aspect of reading poetry (such as persona/tone, poetic language, form, etc.). After that, we read "A Raisin in the Sun." Finally, we read one more poem as well as several articles from news media to aid in deciding the relevance of the American Dream today. Several videos are interspersed in the unit as well.
The culminating assignment is a persuasive essay asking students to evaluate the presentation of the American Dream in a piece of literature that we studied and then decide whether it is still relevant today. This assignment is used as the "research" essay for the semester, so students are also required to use at least two other sources to back up their opinion.
Included in this unit is a detailed daily plan, the overall unit plan and a weekly calendar, poems, essays, articles and links to the videos shown (either to be viewed online or to be downloaded from a Google Drive folder) worksheets, and the assignment sheet and rubric and self-edit for the final essay.
Note: the play "A Raisin in the Sun" is not included.
Click here for just the first 5 days of this unit, which could serve as an introductory unit for another piece of American Dream themed literature, such as "The Death of a Salesman."
At the beginning, each day focuses on an aspect of the dream, plus an aspect of reading poetry (such as persona/tone, poetic language, form, etc.). After that, we read "A Raisin in the Sun." Finally, we read one more poem as well as several articles from news media to aid in deciding the relevance of the American Dream today. Several videos are interspersed in the unit as well.
The culminating assignment is a persuasive essay asking students to evaluate the presentation of the American Dream in a piece of literature that we studied and then decide whether it is still relevant today. This assignment is used as the "research" essay for the semester, so students are also required to use at least two other sources to back up their opinion.
Included in this unit is a detailed daily plan, the overall unit plan and a weekly calendar, poems, essays, articles and links to the videos shown (either to be viewed online or to be downloaded from a Google Drive folder) worksheets, and the assignment sheet and rubric and self-edit for the final essay.
Note: the play "A Raisin in the Sun" is not included.
Click here for just the first 5 days of this unit, which could serve as an introductory unit for another piece of American Dream themed literature, such as "The Death of a Salesman."
Total Pages
34 pages
Answer Key
Rubric only
Teaching Duration
1 month
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Standards
to see state-specific standards (only available in the US).
CCSSRL.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSSRL.11-12.2
Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSSRL.11-12.5
Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
CCSSRL.11-12.6
Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
CCSSRL.11-12.9
Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
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Questions & Answers
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