The American Dream: What is Your Source? Coming to America
What is Your Source? • Defining and classifying primary and secondary sources. • Recognizing situations that warrant (call for) specific sources.
What you know … • In your group, share what you know about primary and secondary sources. • Give examples of each. • What are the differences? • What examples of primary and • secondary sources have you • encountered before? • Be ready for me to call on you!
Primary Source defined: • An original document containing firsthand information about a subject. • Read this definition, and adjust yours to match.
Secondary Source defined: • Summary of discussion about or commentary on a primary source. The key feature of a secondary source is that it offers an interpretation of information gathered from primary sources. • Again, read this definition and adjust yours to match.
Applying and Checking for Understanding: • identify the sources listed on your page as either primary or • secondary.
Class Discussion and Closure: • What are the advantages of using different sources? • What situations would warrant using primary sources? • Secondary sources?
Coming to America: • Developing a working definition of the American Dream • Applying knowledge of denotation and connotation • Demonstrating control and understanding of the effect of • diction choices • Contrasting past and present views of the American Dream
Pre-reading: • brainstorm a list of characteristics or traits youbelieve are part of the American Dream. You may consider words that describe the dream, qualities of someone who could achieve the dream, or words associated with the attainment of the dream. • Share your response with your group and be ready to contribute to discussion with the whole class. • As we discuss, add new information to your list as a result of the class discussion.
Writing for Ideas: Fluency • select one trait from your list and complete a • quickwrite about that trait. • Share your quickwrite in your group.
How do I write about it: Heuristics • What happened? • · Where did it happen? • · Why did it happen? • · When did it happen? • · What does it look like? • · What are its characteristics or qualities? • · What are some typical cases or examples of it? • · How did it happen? • · What makes it work? • · How is it made? • · What caused it? • · What are its effects? • · How is it related to something else? • · How is it like other things? • · What are its parts? • · How can its parts be separated or grouped? • · Do its parts fit into a logical order? • · Into what categories can its parts or types be arranged? • · On what basis can it be categorized? • · How does it resemble other members of its own class? • · How does it differ from other members of its own class? • · How much can it be changed and still remain within its class?
Volunteers? • Do we have any volunteers to share his or her ideas about the American Dream with the whole class?
Immigrants and The American Dream • Considering that the American Dream is often associated with people who are new to our country, think for a moment • about your ancestors. What do you know about where they came from? Freewrite for 3-5 minutes to jog your memory(this is a fluency writing-point-wise, about a half of a page).
“Ellis Island” and “Europe and America” • Read “Ellis Island” silently, two or three times. • On your paper, create a T-chart. • On one side, quote an image presented in the poem. • Next to it, on the other side, note whether this image presents a dream, or a disappointment about America, and what it is. Also note whose dream or disappointment it is, the speaker’s grandparents, or his own.
For Discussion: • Think back about your own ancestors. • Are you aware of any dreams, successes, or failures your ancestors had when they were coming to America, or growing up here?
“Europe and America” • Go back to page eight and complete the “Biographical Sketch”. • Share with your group in order to gain an idea of what “The American Dream” has meant not only to your ancestors, but to others’ as well.
Denotation and Connotation • Now look at page 11 and let’s review the concepts of “denotation” and “connotation.” • Take 3 minutes to read page 11 silently, while I take role.
“Europe and America” • Now read the poem silently, noting passages on chart like the one on page 11 thatcontrast the two generations presented in the • poem. You should determine the denotation and connotation of the words or the phrases included on the graphic on page 11 and be prepared to explain. • When a reasonable amount of time has passed, I will call for group discussion of your responses followed by a whole class discussion. Be prepared to contribute.
Create and complete a Venn diagram (or some • other type of graphic organizer) to compare and contrast the past and present generations’ ideas and dreams. • You should use information from the two poems as well as your biographical sketch. You should also try to characterize the conflict, or juxtaposition, or contrast of each poem.
Closure: Connotation and Meaning • The words writers choose have a specific impact on the reader. • Tofurther understand this concept, turn to page 12 in your books, and do the exercises you find there on your papers.
Our Dreams, Our Poems • To support your learning and self-understanding, we will review the elements of poetic structure (e.g., stanzas, line breaks, rhythm, imagery), and I will ask you to transform the information you generated from the • biographical sketch into a poem. Take the knowledge gleaned • from this activity (imagery, word choice, and syntax) to revise your • poem.
Goal: To write poems that include: • • Extended and illustrative figurative language. • • A variety of poetic techniques. • • Precise vocabulary and compelling verbs. • • Detailed images. • • A variety of sentence structures. • • Purposeful tone, either formal or informal. • • Transitional words and phrases.
Use the chart to rate your level of familiarity with the following terms: • stanzas, line breaks, rhythm, imagery, word choice, and syntax
Write a poem that… • Uses either “Ellis Island,” or “Europe and America” as a model. • In your poem, use your own biographical data as a starting point for a poetic reflection on your own idea of the American Dream in comparison or contrast to that of your parents or grandparents.
Ideas to Generate Content: • Freewrite about your American dreams, successes, and disappointments; • Then freewrite about your parents or grandparents American dreams, successes, and disappointments. • Underline your best word or phrase, and rewrite that word or phrase on a line underneath your freewriting, and freewrite about that idea. • This will help you spark new ideas, and refine and clarify your thoughts. • Highlight your favorite lines, and then work with a partner to help you select those lines that fit best with your purpose and intended tone.
Elaborating to Spark Originality • With your partner, brainstorm ideas for figurative language. You may choose to transform lines that have already been created, or create new lines that elaborate upon ideas. • Identify your best figurative language that powerfully communicates your ideas about the American Dream and contributes to your selected tone. You might want to look back at “Ellis Island,” or “Europe and America,” to see how the author uses figurative language to make his or her ideas more vivid for the reader.
Sequencing and Refining Ideas • Number the lines you agree upon and determine the most logical and effective sequence to get your ideas across. You may find that you need to create some new lines to address any gaps in ideas.
Revising by Adding Poetic Techniques • Review the poetic techniques in “Ellis Island,” or “Europe and America”. Determine the best place to purposefully incorporate a variety of techniques in your poem. Discuss where your line breaks should fall for deliberate effect. Read your poem aloud softly to check for fluency, and revise and edit as needed.
Reflecting and Publishing • Evaluate your poem to determine the extent to which: • • The ideas in the poem are coherent. • • The organization, language, and conventions work to achieve the desired • purpose and tone. • When you are ready to share your poem with an audience, each partner should carefully recopy his or her poem and rehearse reading it aloud, paying close attention to how your voice communicates meaning and using the poem’s punctuation (pauses, exclamations, questions, etc.) as a guide.
Reflecting and Publishing, cont’d • Combine with another pair of students to form a writing group for sharing and responding. In your writing group, decide which pair will read first. Listeners should be ready to give specific feedback focusing on the strengths, such as: • Unique ideas • Vivid/compelling diction (word choice) • Extended/illustrative figurative language • Effective tone.
Exchange written copies of your poems, • and create a third 4-square graphic organizer on your own paper. With your original partner, use the guiding questions below to help you respond to and analyze the writer’s craft.
Closure • Share feedback in your group. • Reflect on areas of poetry writing where you need additional support? What questions do you still have?
Historic Pathways to the Dream • Identifying and evaluating the philosophical, religious, ethical, and social influences that shaped the literature of a period • Extrapolating from primary sources to construct an understanding of a philosophical viewpoint. • Analyzing purpose and historical context in varied sources and evaluating the usefulness of those sources • Researching and identifying primary source documents that exemplify philosophical viewpoints