Varitions on a Dream

A Language Arts Lesson Plan by Vance Holmes

Based on Lorraine Hansberry's play,
A Raisin in the Sun

I. OVERVIEW

Variations on a Dream is an instructional unit designed to synthesize and super-size 11th Grade students' literacy and language skills through activities and exercises related to the Civil Rights era. Study encompasses Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun and other post World War II, African-American literary works.

The month-long lesson plan begins with a PowerPoint presentation on the Civil Rights era, followed by discussion about the "American Dream." Throughout the unit, learners practice using various reading strategies with the assigned texts: two Langston Hughes poems, a section of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963, "I Have a Dream" speech, and Hansberry's drama. Along with personal reflection on the readings, lessons include instruction on learning tools for text analysis and techniques for promoting collaborative group discussion.

III. Unit Themes

11th grade Language Arts

A. Big Topics:

• Challenges and successes
• Transforming dreams into reality

B. Big Ideas:

• Power of dreams
• The American Dream
• Multiculturalism vs. Melting Pot
• Literature as cultural and political expression
• Realization of dreams through literacy

C. Big Content Area Questions:

• Does twentieth-century American literature represent a fulfillment of America’s promise?
• How do the classic literary traditions differ from those of post WW II African American literature, and what does that tell us?

D. Big Learning Questions:

• How do we learn about ourselves through literature?
• How do words affect the world?
• How do wishes and dreams manifest themselves in language?
• How does the spoken word relate to writing and reading?
• How have books, poems and plays affected my family and my community?
• How has literature directly affected my life?
• How can I effect change through speaking and writing?

IV. Objectives

Through this focus on A Raisin in the Sun and other selected works, learners will examine the civil rights movement in America, considering its relationship to African-American literature and to their own lives. Learners will:

Ø  Explore the nature of Post WW II African-American literature

Ø  Examine the emergence of dynamic, multicultural views represented in civil rights era literary texts

Ø  Explore the nature of their own dreams for themselves and their family, and gain knowledge about honoring the dreams of diverse groups and individuals in our multicultural society

Ø  Analyze the use of themes as literary devices in a text

Ø  Identify similes, metaphors, alliteration, allusions, and personification

Ø  Employ a range of strategies to grasp the definition and connotation of unfamiliar words and phrases.

Ø  Examine the relationship between the written and the spoken word.

Ø  Analyze persuasive writing strategies.

Ø  Engage in a variety of discussion groups.

Ø  Develop and organize documents of various styles

Ø  Analyze the text of Hansberry's play, and in written response to its themes and format, use citations to support conclusions.

V. Resource Materials:

Raisin in the Sun

Text of the 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. “Dream” Speech

Various Civil Rights era video clips

Langston Hughes Poems: “Dream Deferred”

“Let America Be America Again” and “I, Too, Sing America”

VI. Activities:

Reading Selection Discussions

Unit Review Games

Assignment List:

Text to Outline assignment

Construct an Outline

Wish List: poem, dream essay, letter to editor, poster

* Article Summary assignments

RSD synopsis reports

Reading Worksheets

In-class Essay

Reflective Essay

Journals with summary

RitS Final Outline and Essay Summary

Expert Panels

VII. Assessment List

RL6 - Short Essay Test (20%)

• Q & A / selected response worksheets
• outline assignments 1 & 2
• Q & A / THEME GAME
• in-class essay / EVALUATION GAME

W4 - Dream Magazine (15%) Dream Essay (20%)

• Q & A
• wish list, dream poem, dream essay, letter to editor, poster, speech
• Draw Conclusions game

L2 - RitS Paper Outline and Summary (15%), RitS Journals (10%)

• Q & A / writer's workshop
• summarizing assignments 1 & 2 (Write a paragraph summarizing King's dream in your own words)
• TEXT ANALYSIS GAME

SL1 -- Expert Panels (20%)

• Q & A / worksheets
• Q & A / Seminar assignments 1 & 2
• Q Reading Selection Discussion Group

VIII. Reading Strategies:

Expert Panels

Journals

Write Stuff - I

Write Stuff - II

If I Were the Author

Share and Pair

What is Good Writing?

Alliteration

Bookmark Technique

SQ4R

Acrostic Poems (dream poems)

Reading Selection Discussion Groups

Theme Music

THEME GAME -- strategy for analyzing main themes

EVALUATION GAME -- strategies for critical evaluation of text

TEXT ANALYSIS GAME -- interaction of the central ideas in a text

Semantic Map

Sketch to Sketch

Paired Questioning

Admit Slips

Exit Tickets

First Lines

RHETORICAL DEVICE GAME -- strategy for identifying similes, metaphors, alliteration, allusions, and personification in a poem

IX. Learning Target Alignment

A. Standard -- RL6

1.) Long term Target

I can determine the author’s purpose or point of view in a text and identify passages of particularly effective rhetoric by analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.

2.) K-S-R components

1. recognizes important characteristics of effective writing |K|
2. organizes text |S|
3. formulates questions, infers meaning of text |R|
4. analyzes language and critically examines text |R|

3.) Supporting Learning Targets

1. I can list the elements of effective writing
2. I can reduce a written text to an outline of its central ideas
3. I can analyze the central ideas in a piece of written text.
4. I can objectively evaluate the quality of writing

4.) Target Assessments

1. Q & A / selected response worksheets
2. outline assignments 1 & 2
3. Q & A / THEME GAME
4. in-class essay / EVALUATION GAME

5.) Summative Assessment

Short Essay Test (20%)

B. Standard -- W4

1.) Long term Target

I can produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

2.) K-S-R components

1. recognizes paragraph structure, transition paragraphs, formatting |K|
2. constructs outlines for written material in multiple genres |S|
3. analyzes and appraises effectiveness of language |R|

3.) Supporting Learning Targets

1. I can name the elements of a cohesive essay.
2. I can use an outline to construct a written work in various formats
3. I can analyze writing quality, drawing conclusions based on standard criteria

4.) Target Assessments

1. Q & A
2. wish list, dream poem, dream essay, letter to editor, poster, speech
3. Draw Conclusions Game

5.) Summative Assessment

Dream Magazine (15%) Dream Essay (20%)

C. Standard -- L2

1.) Long term Target

I can analyze the development of central ideas and themes over the course of a text, and provide an objective summary of the text.

2.) K-S-R components

1. identifies components of an objective summary |K|
2. writes summaries using properly cited evidence. |S|
3. interprets text through content, style and structure |R|

3.) Supporting Learning Targets

1. I can name the qualities of an objective summary
2. I can write a summary paper with properly cited evidence.
3. I can analyze the interaction of the central ideas in a text

4.) Target Assessments

1. Q & A / writer's workshop
2. summary assignments
3. TEXT ANALYSIS GAME

5.) Summative Assessment

RitS Paper Outline and Summary (15%), RitS Journals (10%)

D. Standard -- SL1

1.) Long term Target

I can effectively lead and thoughtfully engage in discussions with diverse people of diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, expressing my ideas persuasively while collaborating and building on others’ thoughts and ideas

2.) K-S-R components

1. recognizes productive group discussion strategies |K|
2. contributes clear, convincing discussion points |S|
3. critically synthesizes others' ideas |R|

3.) Supporting Learning Targets

1. I can list 4 strategies for guiding great discussions
2. I can summarize my thoughts clearly and communicate ideas persuasively in a discussion
3. I can analyze and build on the thoughts and ideas expressed by others

4.) Target Assessments

1. Q & A / worksheets
2. Q & A
3. Q Reading Selection Discussion Group

5.) Summative Assessment

Expert Panels (20%)

X. Calendar