List the names of other group members:

Transcription

1 Junior English B Student Hour List the names of other group members: A Raisin in the Sun UNIT: American Literature and the Civil Rights Movement We will explore how the social, educational, economical and political climate of the 1950 s affected African Americans' quest for "The American Dream." Our critical reading and analysis of the play by Lorraine Hansberry will be complemented with a close examination of biographical and historical documents that students use as the basis for synthesizing into reaction statements, essays, scripts, speeches, and a final project. Guiding Questions How does the play A Raisin in the Sun mirror the social, educational, political, and economical climate of the 1950s? How does the play illustrate the impact this climate had on African Americans' quest for "The American Dream?" Learning Objectives After completing this lesson, students will be able to: Develop a definition of "The American Dream" Recognize the historical setting of the play A Raisin in the Sun Identify various forms of discrimination against African Americans in the Jim Crow era Identify and analyze specific biographical and historical documents Read and compare two poems by Langston Hughes Engage in a literary analysis of the play A Raisin in the Sun by analyzing characterization, plot, setting, figurative language, theme, and symbolism Demonstrate an understanding of the play's themes by engaging in various writing tasks Adapted from an exercise developed by Edsitement

2 Day 1: Read these two poems by Langston Hughes and make connections to your own experiences. I, too, sing America I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed - I, too, am America. -Langston Hughes, 1925 "Harlem" What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore - And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over - like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? - Langston Hughes, 1951 What is the purpose of a preface? Why do you think Hansberry chose this poem as her preface? What central question does the poem ask? Use the Figurative Language Chart (available as a downloadable PDF file) to analyze the similes and metaphors in the poem. Discuss responses to the Figurative Language Chart. Although the poem is phrased as a list of questions, Hughes is making a statement. What is Hughes' message about dreams deferred? How do "dreams deferred" relate to the American Dream? Watch the video clip Dream Deferred ideo/hughes.html Adapted from an exercise developed by Edsitement

3 Days 2,3,4: Students will work in small groups of three (assigned) to investigate photographs, videos, recordings, and documents from the 1950 s. Although time will be limited, if your group focuses on the task, together you should cover most of the material listed below. As you begin your investigation, each group should split up the list of 18 sources and assign each group member certain sources to review. In order for your group to receive at least a "B" grade for days 2, 3,and 4, your group must complete EACH of the analysis forms: 2 Written Document Analysis worksheets, 4 Photo Analysis worksheets, 2 Sound Recording Analysis worksheets, 1 Motion Picture (Video Clip) Analysis worksheet, and 1 Map Analysis worksheet. Assigned Internet Links: Source #1 Academy of American Poets ( Source #2 Langston Hughes, "Let America Be America Again" ( Source #3 Africans in America ( Source #4 Jim Crow-Close Up Source #5 American Memory Collection: ( Source #6 African American Odyssey: The Civil Rights Era [ Source #7 Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine Letter "Dark Laughter" Source #8 Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Forces Source #9 Montgomery Bus Boycott Source #10 Saving the Race Source #11 The Genesis of Racial Identification and Preferences in Negro Children Source #12 African American Perspectives: Progress of a People [ Source #13 Protection of American Citizens: Pamphlet "The Black Laws" by Bishop B.W. Arnett [ Source #14 Mob-Violence and Anarchy, North and South: Pamphlet "Lynch Laws in Georgia" by Ida B. Wells-Barnett [ Digital Classroom (National Archives and Records Administration) ( Document Analysis Worksheets ( analysis_worksheets/worksheets.html) Written Document ( analysis_worksheets/document.html ) Adapted from an exercise developed by Edsitement

4 Photograph Analysis Worksheet ( analysis_worksheets/photo.html) Source #15 Documents Related to Brown V. Board of Education ( brown_v_board_documents/brown_v_board.html) Learner.org [ Source #16 Montage of a Dream Deferred [ Source #17 Audio-clip of a Dream Deferred [ Perseus Project ( Source # 18 Perseus Encyclopedia ( Source #19 We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement Adapted from an exercise developed by Edsitement

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19 Day 5: Before we begin the drama, students will participate in small group discussions to explore the following questions: 1. Why do people from other countries immigrate to America? 2. When we talk about "The American Dream", what do we mean? What are some of the obstacles to achieving the American Dream? 3. Which groups of people have had trouble attaining "The American Dream"? There are a variety of acceptable responses to this question. E.g. Native Americans, Irish Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans, and Japanese Americans, as well as the poor and women. 4. Given the obstacles that some Americans have to overcome, what makes the American Dream appealing? Day 6: We will read together Langston Hughes poem Let America Be America Again. Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me.) Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-- Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above. (It never was America to me.) O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.") Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars? I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, Adapted from an exercise developed by Edsitement

20 I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-- And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed! I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-- Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today--o, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years. Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home-- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free." The free? Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay-- Except the dream that's almost dead today. O, let America be America again-- The land that never has been yet-- And yet must be--the land where every man is free. The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-- Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Adapted from an exercise developed by Edsitement

21 Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again. Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America! O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-- America will be! Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain-- All, all the stretch of these great green states-- And make America again! Day 7: Following the four class periods of small group investigation and discussion, each group will formulate one definition of The American Dream. The definition should be written in the style of a dictionary definition. Give a literal meaning of the term. Then, give cultural contexts (what do specific American cultures- Jewish, Japanese, African American, Mexican, etc.- view as an American dream?) At the end of your definition, include antonyms. Each group will share its definition with the class. Please construct your definition on the next page. Adapted from an exercise developed by Edsitement

22 Our group's definition: Cultural contexts: (example, for Japanese Americans, this means ) Antonyms: Adapted from an exercise developed by Edsitement