11th Grade English: The American Dream: Fact or Fiction

Fall 2015/Spring 2016

Instruction: 4-5 weeks

Testing/Remediation: 1 Week (CFA)

Unit Summary & Rationale
Our country is founded on our forefathers’ dreams of freedom and material prosperity. Many early American colonist believed that with hard work any individual could succeed and attain “The American Dream”. This dream included owning both home and land, living a comfortable lifestyle, and having the opportunity to attend universities. Indeed, the American dream was not out-of-reach for colonists because our country was new and there were jobs for all who wished to work. Most of the people who lived here were of the same race and ethnic background, so there was no discrimination on those counts. Not every colonist, however, had an easy life or attained the American dream. The concept of the American dream evolved and became widespread because the people who had money to publish their own stories chronicled rags-to-riches accounts of their lives. Unfortunately, the American dream eludes most citizens who live in the United States today. This fact does not stop people from immigrating to the United States because conditions are frequently worse in their native countries, and the image of America—as “a land full of milk and honey whose streets are paved with gold”— persists. It is important to deconstruct the myth of the American dream in order to provide a well-balanced and realistic picture for adolescents.
Theme, Concepts, & Essential Questions / CC/CCR / Targeted Standards-Based Tasks / Targeted Standards-Based
Essential Strategies / Demonstration of Students’ Understanding / Resources
(text complexity and lexile levels)
Theme:
The American Dream: Fact or Fiction
Concepts/Understandings:
Freedom and Pursuit of Happiness
America – the land of opportunity
Essential Questions:
What is the American Dream and to what extent is it achievable for all Americans?
In what ways does the American Dream mean different things for different Americans?
How has the American Dream changed over time?
Where does the concept the “American Dream” come from?
What does the American Dream mean to those included from within the culture? What does it mean to those excluded from the culture?
What are the obstacles that prevent people from achieving their dream?
Where does “success” fit in with the “American Dream?”
How does one’s family create one’s concept of success and self-worth?
What does the modern “American Dream” look like? Does it exist?
Do the factors of success, family, inclusion, and self-worth still affect the American Dream as they have in the past? / RL: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
RI: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9
W: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9
L: 1, 2, 3
RI: 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,10
W: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9
L: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
W: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
SL: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
L: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
L: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, / Reading for Literature
Read multiple literary sources to determine theme and give textual evidence to what text says
Read “I Have a Dream”
Write a persuasive speech modeled after “I Have a Dream” (theme)
Define the stereotypical American Dream (theme)
Interview two different people about their American Dream
(character advance the plot or theme)
Do a CLOSE read on each literary and/or informational piece
Quick write on the American Dream
(writing explanatory texts)
Visit a library or use the internet. Find three quotes, statistics, etc. to support a “discrimination claim.”
(draw evidence)
Reading for Informational Text: Read multiple informational texts to determine central idea and analyze its development
(theme)
(R, U, AP, AN)
Writing:
Support or negate on of the concepts and understandings of The American Dream Unit.
(present findings)
(use media)
Speaking/Listening:
Students will lead Socratic Seminars on concepts and understanding of The American Dream.
(present information clearly, concisely, and logically)
(adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks)
Language:
Peers edit essays using writing with evidence rubric/checklist.
Write definition paper on The American Dream using multiple resources from this unit
(gather/synthesize information)
PBL:
Create a multi-genre project to sell the American Dream to other American Citizens
(standard English grammar)
(standard English mechanics) / Reading for Literature:
-Close Reading
-Justification Notebook (chunking/vocabulary, error analysis, writing with evidence)
Group discussion on what one must obtain to attain the American Dream (bubble map)
Create a “Where I’m From” poem
Outline their ideas of The American Dream
Bubble map of The American Dream
Play a modified version of Monopoly (who can be the wealthiest person in 45 minutes)
Reading for Informational Text:
-Close Reading
-Justification Notebook (Chunking, vocabulary, error analysis, writing with evidence)
Create an opinionnaire on The American Dream (Pitas)
Cross notes for close reading and annotation (questions, vocabulary, details, revelations)
Writing: Justification Notebook (writing with evidence checklist/rubric)
Vocabulary
Write newspaper articles (with examples of other articles) on The American Dream to publish in a class notebook
Writing templates for each piece of literature
Speaking/Listening:
Cornell notes on multiple sources addressing one of the concepts and understandings
Analyze the campaign speeches of two US presidents
(vocabulary of speeches)
Discussion of pieces of literature with ALL students
Language:
Think/pair/share using the rubric/checklist.
Present persuasive speeches on The American Dream
Technology:
Use bubble graphic organizer to arrange thoughts for creation of avatar or animated script.
Situate yourself in 1920 and create a text that will persuade other Americans that the dream is attainable
Advertisement
Radio Script
Short, silent film clip
Song
Newspaper Editorial / Diagnostic
Assessment(s):
Pre-reading of text with constructed responses
KWL Chart
Formative Assessments:
-CFU’s
-Justification Notebook
Reading Quizzes
Pop Quizzes
Gallery Walks
Four Corners Activities
Summative Assessment(s):
-Reading texts with constructed responses
-essay with evidence from multiple sources / Anchor Text(s):
Informational –
Short Stories
“Winter Dreams”
“America and I”
Poetry –
“I, Too, Sing America”
“I Hear America Singing”
Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream”
“What is an American?”
“How much land does a man need?”
Novel –
The Great Gatsby
Great Expectations (excerpts)
Drama –
Death of a Salesman
A Raisin in the Sun
Informational Text
The American Dream (Pitas)
Historical Documents
Obama campaign speech
Declaration of Independence
Martin Luther King, Jr – I Have a Dream
Supplemental Text(s):
(global/current events)
Media:
Song –
America by Neil Diamond
Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen
I Know - Nas
Video Clip –
“The American Tale” (where mice sing song on boat)
(Remember multiple and varied genres)
Vocabulary: Academic
Analyze, Synthesize, Evaluate, Develop, Determine, Satire, Characterization, Conflict, Theme, Foreshadowing, Narrator, Character, Symbolism, Flashback, Imagery, Mood, Structure, Plot, Symbols, Setting, Irony, Stream of Consciousness, Point of View / Vocabulary: Content
Dream, The Great Depression, vulnerable, hostile, egotism, languid, contiguous, swelter, manacle, sear, engulf, bankrupt, tribulation, degenerate, ghetto, wallow, languish

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