Understanding by Design
Curriculum Unit Plan
With Differentiated Instruction
Subject Area: English Course/Grade Level: E5
Unit Title: A Raisin in the Sun Number of Days: 15-20
| Enduring Understanding | Essential Questions | Skills & Knowledge | Assessment| Core Vocabulary | Critical Lens Essay |Enrichment Activities |
| Background Info Day 1| Day 2 | Day 3| Day 4| Day 5 |Day 6| Day 7| Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11Day 12|Day 13 | Day 14 |Day 15| Day 16|Day 17 | Day 18| Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21 | Day 22| Portfolio|
Unit Summary:
During this unit, students will focus on reading and understanding for emotional impact. They will be required to read for literary response and expression, along with emotional impact. They will continue to improve their reading skills and comprehension through specific reading techniques. As the unit progresses, students will be able to analyze representations of masculinity and femininity through A Raisin in the Sun. Students will consider how persistent effects the Younger family throughout the play.
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Objective: Students will prepare to read A Raisin in the Sun. Students will understand the
- impact of segregation on life in the 1950s
- political and social context of 1950s Chicago.
Aim: How would my life be different if I were a teenager in the 1950s?
Key words: Segregation/Word Web
Do Now : When you think of “segregation”, what words and images come to your mind? How do they connect to society today?
Agenda:
- Review Do Now
- What is a word web? (Acquisition) -define the concept, give examples to illustrate it and list consequences associated with it)
- Define the concept, give examples to illustrate it and list consequences associated with it
- What word web can we develop as a class for segregation?
- Where is the title “A Raisin in the Sun” from? What predictions can we make about the play according to the title?
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- The original title of the play was “Crystal Stairs”. Which title do you prefer? Why?
- Read the following quote by Lorraine Hansberry:
…”I have, like all of you, on a thousand occasions seen indescribable displays of man’s very real inhumanity to man; and I have come to maturity, as we all must, knowing that greed and malice, indifference to human misery and, perhaps above all else, ignorance-the prime ancient and persistent enemy of man-abound in this world.”- What words do you need to look up in the dictionary?
- How do you interpret this quote? What do you think it might mean?
- How does this quote connect to the word webs we created earlier?
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- Pair work: (Meaning Making)
- By the lockers – Create a word web about the word Dreams
- In the middle – Create a word web for the word Materialism
- By the windows – Create a word web for the word Self-Esteem
- Groups share their word webs with the class.
- Transfer: Respond to the quotation using a dialectical journal-
- “I have given you this account so that you know that what I write is not based on the assumption of idyllic possibilities or innocent assessments of the true nature of life-but, rather, my own personal view that, posing one against the other, I think that the human race does not command its own destiny and that that destiny can eventually embrace the stars.” Quoted from “To Be Young, Gifted, And Black“
Homework – Create a word web on your own for the word “Family”
Day 2 Jigsaw Puzzle Activity -Building Up Prior Knowledge
Objective: Students will be prepared to
- read A Raisin in the Sun
- discuss the political and social context of 1950s Chicago
- develop their research skills
- make predictions about the purpose of the play based on their pre-reading activities.
Aim: How would life be different in the 1950s in Chicago?
Key words: research/Great Migration/Back to Africa
Do Now: If your family were looking to change neighborhoods, how would you choose a place to live? What would you look for in neighbors?
Agenda:
- (Knowledge Acquisition)Teaching Point – Research:
- Authenticate Sources: How do you find websites to research? How do you know what a good website is? What signs will you find? What is a citation?
- Avoid Plagiarism: How can you use citations to avoid plagiarism? What is plagiarism? How can plagiarism affect your life?
- Annotate a text
- Meaning-Making –
- Pair work: Research and Present
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- By the lockers – What was life like in the 1950s, especially for African-Americans? http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade50.html
- Front half of the middle section – What was the Great Migration in African-American history? What effect did it have on African-American culture? http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/545.html
- Back half of the middle section – Who is Marcus Garvey? What is the Back to African Movement? http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/226276/Marcus-Moziah-Garvey
- By the windows – Who was Lorraine Hansberry? What can you tell the class about her life? http://voices.cla.umn.edu/artistpages/hansberryLorraine.php
- Groups will present the information found. Other groups take notes on the topics they didn’t research.
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- (Exit Slip) Transfer: Put this quote in your own words. What do you think this quote suggests about the play we will be reading? Based on the research you have completed, what miseries do you think Hansberry saw in her life?
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- “I say all of this to say that one cannot live with sighted eyes and feeling heart and not know and react to the miseries which afflict this world” by Lorraine Hansberry.
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Homework : Write a paragraph – What miseries do you see in the world you live in? How could they be used as inspiration for a play, poem, book or short story?
Day 3 Pre-reading activity- Listening and Understanding (excerpt of a critical essay on the play)
Objectives: Students will assess their listening skills. Students will build their prior knowledge for reading A Raisin in the Sun.
Aim: How can using note taking and listening skills help me succeed in every school subject?
Agenda:
A Raisin in the Sun Quiz #1:
Part I. Use your notes from yesterday to answer the following questions:
- What was the name of the case that ended segregation in schools?
- What year was the case?
- What year did Rosa Parks refuse to sit in the back of the bus?
- What years did African-Americans move north in the Great Migration?
- Where was Marcus Garvey born?
- What was the Back to Africa movement?
- What years did Lorraine Hansberry live?
- What award did Hansberry win for a Raisin in the Sun?
Part II Listen carefully as the review of the play is read to you and answer the following questions:
- What was Walter Younger looking for in A Raisin in the Sun?
- What frivolous act does Walter Younger commit?
- Walter Lee destroys one of Beneatha’s dreams. What dream is that?
- Walter Lee’s fears almost cause him to destroy another dream. What does he nearly do?
- Which two characters urge Walter to be his own man?
- Which two things did the family struggle over: _____________ and ______________
Exit Slip Reflect on the past two days of class, and answer the following question:
How do you think living life as a teenager in the 1950s would be different?
HW: Respond to the following thematic questions using a dialectical journal-
- Maintaining and working towards a dream can provide a person a reason to live.
- Families can be brought together by shared dreams or torn apart by conflicting dreams.
- Individuals are constantly making choices that further their dreams or undermine them.
- Dreams can wither save or destroy a person.
- It is crucial to develop and fight for your own values and ideals.
- Materialism and money, in themselves, are worthless.
- The family is the most important relationship in most people’s lives.
- We do not simply live for ourselves, but for those who came before us and will come after us.
- One can start at any age.
- It is better to fight with dignity than surrender in shame.
Objectives: Students will continue to develop their
- listening skills through note-taking
- reading skills through QAR questions
Aim: How can answering QAR questions help me understand a text and help me recognize my confusion?
Do Now: Describe a good parent.
Agenda:
Acquisition: Exposition- A Raisin in the Sun Setting:
Literary Concept– Stage Directions
Most plays include stage directions-instructions for the director, performers, and crew. These directions also may describe the scenery-decorations, props, or lightning that help create the setting. Hansberry uses her stage directions to describe the Youngers’ living room. This description not only tell what objects are in the room and where they are placed, but also reveals much about the family itself. For example, the sentence “Now the once-loved pattern of the upholstery has to fight to show itself from under acres of crocheted doilies and couch covers” reveals the pride with which the Youngers once furnished the room, the poverty that has prevented them from maintaining their surroundings, and their determination to keep things as nice as they can. As you read, be aware of what else you learn about the world of Hansberry’s characters through her stage directions.
- Read the setting as a class. What is the playwright’s purpose of providing the Stage Directions?
- Answer the following QAR questions in your small groups. Everyone needs to answer every question in his notebook. (Notebooks will be checked at the end of the unit.)
- Where is A Raisin in the sun set?
- Re-write this sentence in your own words: “The Younger room would be a comfortable and well-ordered room if it were not for a number of indestructible contradictions to this state of being.
- What can you infer about the family’s income based on the description in the setting?
Meaning-Making: A Raisin in the Sun Act 1, Scene 1:
- Read pages 6-21 as a class.
- Answer the following QAR questions in your small groups. Everyone needs to answer every question in his notebook. (Notebooks will be checked at the end of the unit.)
- In your notebook, create a family tree.
- What are the characteristics of Walter Lee Younger?
- What are the characteristics of Ruth Younger?
- Why do you think Walter give Travis the money? Why doesn’t Ruth?
- In your opinion, what are the advantages and the disadvantages of giving children everything they want?
Exit Slip: Transfer-How do Walter and Ruth react to the coming insurance money? How would you react if you were about to get a large sum of money?
HW: Answer the questions-
1. Which character do you think is most entitled to part of the insurance money? Why?
2. Do you think Mama is a good parent? Why or why not?
Day 5 Act One Scene 1
Objectives: Students will continue to develop their
- listening skills through note-taking
- ability to recognize and define aspects of characterization
Aim: How would you describe Walter Lee Younger and the dreams that motivate him?
Do Now: Are some dreams/life goals better than others? Could one have a dream that is destructive? How would that affect a person?
Agenda:
Acquisition: Act 1 Scene 1 Pages 6-16
- What is characterization? How does a playwright portray a main character?
- physical traits
- personality traits
- what the character says
- what the character does
- relationship between the main character and other supporting characters
- Read and act out the first part of the scene as a class. How does the playwright present the characters of Ruth and Walter Younger?
Meaning-Making: A Raisin in the Sun Act 1, Scene 1
Answer the following questions in your small groups or in pairs using QAR strategies:
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- In your notebook, create a family tree.
- What are the characteristics of Walter Lee Younger? Use a T -Chart or dialectical journal to support your descriptions.
- What are the characteristics of Ruth Younger? Use a T -Chart or dialectical journal to support your descriptions.
- Why do you think Walter give Travis the money? Why doesn’t Ruth?
- In your opinion, what are the advantages and the disadvantages of giving children everything they want?
Exit Slip: Transfer-How does Walter think his dream will help himself and his family? How is this a dream that will help pull Walter up? Or will it bring him down?
HW: Answer the questions
1. Which character do you think is most entitled to part of the insurance money? Why?
2. Who do you think is a better parent, Walter or Ruth? Explain why.
Day 6 Annotating/Locating Details
Objectives: Students will be able to take notes while reading. Students will understand the importance of annotating a text. Students will be able to read for emotional impact.
Aim: Why does taking notes matter?
Do Now : How far back do our cultural identities reach? Our parents? Our grandparents? Further? How do you know?
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
- Why do teachers want students to take notes in every subject?
- How is taking notes helpful?
- How do we take notes?
- Take out your sticky notes.
- As we read, put a sticky note every time you see the word dream or the idea of a dream is referenced. Why do we put the note in the book instead of our notebook?
- In your notebooks or on the sticky note, write down the page number and any/every word that you do not understand.
- In your notebooks, write down every idea that sticks out to you.
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
- In your groups or in pairs, complete the chart below.
In the first act of the play, you met the members of the Younger family and learned what each person’s dream was. Fill in the chart below describing each character’s dream and how the insurance money will help him or her make that dream a reality.
Walter’s Dream: |
How Money Will Fulfill it: |
Beneatha’s Dream: |
How Money Will Fulfill It: |
Mama’s Dream: |
How Money Will Fulfill it: |
Ruth’s Dream: |
How Money Will Fulfill It: |
Exit slip: (Transfer) Which character do you think is most entitled to part of the insurance money? Why?
Homework : Review your notes from the day. Using your notes, which character’s dreams are most similar to your own?
Day 7 (Recall Details)
Objective: Students will be able to retell main details from the reading passage.
Aim: Why is it important to prioritize details while reading?
Do Now: Journal- Think of a story you have read and describe one detail in the story that stands out for you . Explain why.
Agenda:
1. Teaching Point: (Acquisition) Literary Concept: Characterization pages 17-35 Scene 1, Act I
A. When Beneatha first appears, we are told that she is different from the rest of her family. What are some of the specific ways Hansberry shows us that she is different?
Consider
- what she says
- what she does
- how other characters repond to her
B. Mama’s character –
Consider
-Her hopes and dreams for her family |
2. Meaning -Making:
- Continue reading Act I of the play and complete the “Dream Table” in Day 6 and the following in pairs.
- . One of the main ways a playwright reveals a character’s traits and personality in a play is through dialogue. Read each character’s speech from the play and then tell what it reveals about him or her.
Act One, Scene 1
WALTER This morning, I was lookin’ in the mirror and thinking about … I’m thirty-five years old, I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room-and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live …
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
ii. Ruth (to WALTER) So you would rather be Mr. Arnold than be his chauffeur. So-I would rather be living in Buckingham Palace.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
- Respond: What do you think is the biggest problem in Walter and Ruth’s marriage, based on what you have read so far? Explain your answers using details from the play.
3. Exit Slip (Transfer): This play was first produced in 1959. To what extent do you think the issues and problems portrayed in the play are still relevant today?
Homework: Write a Letter to Walter Lee explaining whether you agree with him that “Money is life” and why.
Day 8 Theme
Objectives: Students will be able to identify themes in A Raisin in the Sun. Students will be able to analyze themes and make connections to deeper meanings. Students will be able to use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim: How do playwrights talk about really controversial topics?
Do Now : How do you deal with differences in beliefs or opinions in your family?
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
- How can we identify theme as we read?
- When we discuss theme, what do we need to do to support our conclusions?
- How can we know if our conclusions about theme are right or wrong?
- As a class, we will read pages 26-35
The theme of a literary work is an insight about life or human nature that the writer presents to the reader. In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry shares some of her ideas about love, identity, dreams, values and prejudice. Use the chart below to understand the themes she presents. Before you read, write down a real-life example of the theme. After you read, present an example from the play.
Real Life Examples Before Reading |
Examples From Play After Reading |
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Dreams can either save or destroy a person.
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Values and ideals are worth fighting for.
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We do not simply live for ourselves, but for those who came before and will come after us.
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Only through self-respect and self-esteem can people live with themselves. | ||
Materialism and money, in themselves, are worthless. | ||
Families can survive any catastrophe if the members love one another share a common goal. | ||
Dreams are necessary and important, even if we don’t completely realize them | ||
It is never too late to start over. |
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
- In your groups or in pairs, identify two or three themes in the section of reading.
- Create a T chart. List the theme at the top, quotes on the left and responses on the right.
Transfer: Exit Slip How does materialism affect a person’s attitude toward life?
Homework – Create sentences using the vocabulary words from Act 1, Assimilation through Graft.
Day 9 Discussing Culture
Objectives: Students will be able to identify cultural differences and similarities in A Raisin in the Sun. Students will be able to analyze characters’ culture using Venn Diagrams. Students will be able to use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim: How complicated can a family’s culture be?
Do Now : Read the following quote, and write two to three sentences. Does everyone in your family live the same way? How is culture different in your family?
“Culture is a term used by social scientists for a people’s whole way of life. In everyday conversation the word ‘culture’ may refer to activities in such fields as art, literature, and music. But to social scientists, a people’s culture consists of all the ideas, objects, and ways of doing things created by the group. Culture includes arts, beliefs, customs, inventions, language, technology and traditions.”
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
- What have you learned about culture in social studies class?
- When we read how do we recognize culture?
- Attitudes
- Interests in arts, literature or music
- Activities
- Education
- Beliefs or Customs
- When we discuss culture, what do we need to do to support our conclusions?
- How can we know if our conclusions about culture are right or wrong?
- Did you know? (Act I Scene 2)
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- Are You Assimilated?
When Joseph Asagai, An African, accused Beneatha of trying to assimilate into white society, he was expressing the feelings of millions of African Americans, who strongly believe that assimilation is a negation of the individual’s African identity and heritage. “Conking,” straightening naturally curly hair with lye and other chemicals, was a common practice for many African Americans. Also common was the use of skin crèmes designed to correct discoloration, but which had the effect of creating lighter skin tone.
- Are You Assimilated?
With the civil rights movement of the 1950s and the black power movement of the late 1960s, more and more young Afro-Americans, as they called themselves then, refused to adopt white styles and wore African hair styles and fashions as a proud badge of their heritage.
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- Is There a Doctor in the House?
To become a doctor, Beneatha will have to go through years of training. First, she must complete four years of undergraduate study, concentrating on such subjects as biology and chemistry. Then she will have to go through four years of medical school. After graduating from medical school, she will have to serve at least a year as a hospital intern, working under the supervision of experienced doctors. Finally, to become a surgeon or other specialist, she would have to train a year or more as a hospital resident. Becoming a doctor requires intelligence, hard work, determination- and a lot of money!
- Is There a Doctor in the House?
- As a class, we will read pages 36-46.
- Take notes.
- Look for signs of culture.
- After reading, we will create a list of all the signs of culture we found through the reading.
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
- In your groups or in pairs, identify create a blank Venn Diagram.
- Over the left side, write Mama.
- Over the right side, write Beneatha.
- Looking through your notes and at the list the class created, compare Mama’s culture with Beneatha’s. Where are there similarities? Where are there differences?
Transfer: Exit Slip We do not simply live for ourselves, but for those who came before us and will come after us. How does this quote reflect culture?
Homework – Create sentences using the vocabulary words from Act 1, Graphically through Vindicate.
Day 10 Dialogue
Objectives: Students will be able to understand how dialogue aids in characterization in A Raisin in the Sun. Students will be able to analyze characters using their dialogues. Students will be able to use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim: How does the way we speak characterize us?
Do Now : Mr. Asagai calls Beneatha ‘Alaiyo:’ “One for Whom Bread—Food—Is not Enough.” What do you think he means by this quote? How do you think this quote applies to Beneatha’s character?
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
- Dialogue is the conversation between characters in a play. It is the only way, other than stage directions, that we learn about characters and their relationships. Read each bit of dialogue from the play. Then tell what it reveals about the two characters talking and their relationship towards one another.
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- Act One, Scene 1
WALTER You a horrible-looking chick at this hour.
BENEATHA Good Morning, everybody.
WALTER How is school coming?
BENEATHA Lovely. Lovely. And you know, biology is the greatest. I dissected something that looked just like you yesterday.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
- Act One, Scene 1
2. As a class, we will read pages 46-56.
-
- Take notes.
- Look for specific lines that reveal information about the characters.
3. How has the dialogue in the past ten pages led to the characterization of Beneatha, Walter, Mama and Ruth?
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
In your small group, analyze the dialogue from this section of reading. What do we learn about the characters? What is important to Walter and what is important to Mama? What is the conflict between these two characters?
- Act One, Scene 2
MAMA: Son-how come you talk so much ‘bout money?
WALTER: Because it is life, Mama!
MAMA: Oh-So now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life-now it’s money. I guess the world really do change …
WALTER: No-it was always money, Mama. We just didn’t know about it.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________ - Act Two, Scene 2
RUTH She said if you don’t come in tomorrow-that they are getting a new man …
WALTER Ain’t that sad-ain’t that crying sad.
RUTH She said that Mr. Arnold has had to take a cab for three days … Walter, you ain’t been to work for three days! Where you been, Walter Lee Younger? You’re going to lose your job.
WALTER That’s right …
RUTH Oh, Walter, and with your mother working like a dog every day-
WALTER That’s sad too-Everything is sad.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Transfer: Exit Slip- How is poverty affecting the Youngers?
Homework – Write a paragraph: Based on what you have read so far, do you think that A Raisin in the Sun will end in tragedy?
Day 11 Conflict
Objectives: Students will be able to
- understand how the conflict in A Raisin in the Sun moves the plot
- identify lines which express conflict.
- use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim: How can conflicts affect personal relationships in families?
Do Now : How has religion been a major cause of conflict in the world? Give one example. How has religion become a conflict in Mama and Beneatha’s relationship?
Agenda:
1. Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
What Is $10,000 Worth Today?
In 1959, the year A Raisin in the Sun was first produced, $10,000 was worth much more than it is worth today. Have students look up inflation rates for each year since 1959 and use that information to calculate how much $10,000 would be worth today. Suggest that students display their results on a graph.
A. (Informal Assessment)Pick three questions from below and respond. You need to copy the questions you have selected to respond.
-
- What is your response to the loss of the insurance money? What do you expect to happen to the family now?
- Do you think Mama’s decision to buy the house in Clybourne Park is a wise one? Why or why not?
- Why do you think mama decides to entrust the insurance money to Walter? Did it accomplish what she wanted?
- How do you think Walter has changed since the beginning of the play?
- Why do you think Beneatha is so interested in Africa? In what ways does this interest come out?
- How are the dreams of Linder and the white residents of Clybourne Park both similar to and different from the dreams of the Younger family? Where do the two dreams clash?
- Literary Concept: Character What is your opinion of George’s character? Evaluate his good and bad qualities.
- Asagai and George represent different positions on the question of assimilation. Asagai believers that people should study their roots and honor them, while George believes that people should try to blend it with the majority. What is your position?
B. We’ve seen how characters in this play-Beneatha, George, Walter, Mama, the Youngers, and Mr.Lindner-encounter conflicts with each other and within themselves. In Act Two of A Raisin in the Sun, a number of conflicts develop and are resolved. Describe each conflict and how it is resolved in this act.
2. As a class, we will read pages 57-66.
- Take notes.
- Look for specific lines that reveal information about the conflict in this play.
3. Group work: (Meaning-Making)
Individually or with your small group, complete the following chart with the information we have so far:
Conflict | Resolution | |
Beneatha vs. George Murchinson | George’s efforts to change Beneatha | |
Walter vs. Mama | ||
The Youngers vs. Lindner and the Neighborhood Association | ||
Mama vs. herself |
4. Transfer: Exit Slip How do Walter Lee Younger, Joseph Asagai and George Murchison represent different visions of manhood?
Homework – Draw or paint a picture of the sole setting of the play- the Younger living room. Use the stage directions at the beginning of Act One to make their model or picture as accurate as possible.
“The younger living room would be a comfortable and well-ordered room if it were not for a number of indestructible contradictions to this state of being. Its furnishings are typical and undistinguished, and their primary feature is that they have clearly had to accommodate the living of too many people for too many years—and they are tired. Still, we can see that at some time, a time probably no longer remembered by the family (except perhaps for Mama), the furnishings of this room were actually selected with care and love and even hope—and brought to this apartment and arranged with taste and pride.
“That was a long time ago. Now the once loved pattern of the couch upholstery has to fight to show itself from under acres of crocheted doilies and couch covers which have themselves finally come to be more important than the upholstery. And here a table or a chair has been moved to disguise the worn places in the carpet; but the carpet has fought back by showing its weariness, with depressing uniformity, elsewhere on its surface.
“Weariness has, in fact, won in this room. Everything has been polished, washed, sat on, used, scrubbed too often. All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of the room.
“Moreover, a section of this room, for it is not really a room unto itself, though the landlord’s lease would make it seem so, slopes backward to provide a small kitchen area, where the family prepares the meals that are eaten in the living room proper, which must also serve as dining room.”
Day 12 Literary Concept-Mood
Objectives: Students will be able to
- understand how the mood in A Raisin in the Sun is set.
- identify lines which express mood.
- use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim: How does an author create mood for a story?
Do Now: Answer the following questions in your notebook:
- Draw a family tree.
- Who are George Murchison and Asagai?
- What does Walter Lee want to use Mama’s money for?
- What is Ruth thinking about doing?
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
Background Information of Act II, Scene 1
Scene 1
The Great Empires of Western Africa
- The Ashanti are the largest and most influential ethnic group in Ghana. The Ashanti Empire, in the early 19th century, included much of Ghana, the eastern Ivory Coast, and western Togo.
- The Songhai Empire lasted nearly 800 years. It stretched from present day Nigeria to the Atlantic Coast. The Moroccans defeated the Songhai in 1591, bringing the long reign to an end.
- The Benin kingdom flourished from the 15th century to the mid-17th century. Its center of power was the forest region of today’s Nigeria. Its source of prosperity was trade with the Portuguese and others.
- The Bantu migrated from Cameroon into much of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa by 1500. They established many Central African kingdoms that were later weakened by European colonial powers.
Literary Concept:
- Mood is the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader. Descriptive words, setting, dialogue and character’s actions contribute to the mood. Read excerpts from the stage directions and describe the mood created in the scene.
- As a class, we will read pages 66-78.
- Take notes.
- Look for specific lines that reveal information about the mood and conflict in this play.
- What lines did we find that expressed mood in this passage?
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
What mood does the following quote display?
Act One, Scene 1
Now the once loved pattern of the couch upholstery has to fight to show itself from under acres of crocheted doilies and couch covers which they have finally come to be more important than the upholstery. And here a table or a chair has been moved to disguise the worn places in the carpet; but the carpet has fought back by showing its weariness, with depressing uniformity, elsewhere on its surface.
Act Two, Scene 3(Stage Directions page 83)
“Before the curtain rises, RUTH’s voice, a strident, dramatic church alto, cuts through the silence. It is, in the darkness, a triumphant surge, a penetrating statement of expectation: “oh lord, I don’t feel no ways tired! Children, oh, glory hallelujah!”
“As the curtain rises we see that RUTH is alone in the living room, finishing up the family’s packing. It is moving day. She is nailing crates and tying cartons. BENEATHA enters, carrying a guitar case, and watches her exuberant.”
Transfer: Exit Slip
- How do Walter Lee Younger, Joseph Asagai and George Murchison represent different visions of manhood?
- Do you think the problem of discrimination against African Americans who move into white neighborhoods had improved, worsened, or stayed the same? Why?
Homework – Answer the following questions to the best of your ability?
- Who does Beneatha like more, Asagai or George? Why?
- What is Mama’s dream for the money?
- What does Beneatha consider assimilationist? What does she embrace instead?
If you didn’t answer the question in your exit slip, please respond-
4. Do you think the problem of discrimination against African Americans who move into white neighborhoods had improved, worsened, or stayed the same? Why?
Day 13 Literary Concept Dialect
Objectives: Students will be able to
- understand how dialect is used in A Raisin in the Sun.
- identify lines which emphasize dialect.
- use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim:
- How can we tell where people are from? What’s the author’s purpose of using dialect in writing?
- How are the dreams of Lindner and the white residents of Clybourne Park both similar and different from the dreams of the Younger family? Where do the two dreams clash?
Do Now :
- How are Beneatha, Ruth and Mama different? Which character do you think your values are closest to and why?
- How do you think the Younger family will fare in their new home? Write an extended scene to the play that shows how they are treated when the move in and how they respond.
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
- Dialect is the particular variety of a language spoken in one geo-graphical area by a distinct group. Dialect includes the pronunciations, vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical constructions used by the people of a region. When Mama says, “much baking powder as she done borrowed from me all these years, she could of done gone into the baking business!” Hansberry uses her dialect to reveal Mama’s wry humor, her frustration, her educational level, and her social background. As you read, look for examples in the play’s dialogue where dialect helps to reveal character.
- As a class, we will read pages 78-90.
- Take notes.
- Look for specific lines that reveal information about a character’s dialect/background.
- What dialects did we find in this reading?
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
- Find a line that represents the dialects of each character below and explain what this line says about the characters personality, education level and social background:
-
- Beneatha
- George Murchison
- Asagai
- Walter
- Review of Dialogue- What does the dialogue reveals about the two characters talking and their relationship towards one another?)
- Act Two, Scene 2
- RUTH She said if you don’t come in tomorrow-that they are getting a new man …
WALTER Ain’t that sad-ain’t that crying sad.
RUTH She said that Mr. Arnold has had to take a cab for three days … Walter, you ain’t been to work for three days! Where you been, Walter Lee Younger? You’re going to lose your job.
WALTER That’s right …
RUTH Oh, Walter, and with your mother working like a dog every day-
WALTER That’s sad too-Everything is sad.
______________________________________________________________________________
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- RUTH She said if you don’t come in tomorrow-that they are getting a new man …
- Act Two, Scene 3
- BOBO Man … I didn’t go to no Springfield, yesterday.
WALTER Why not?
BOBO ‘Cause I didn’t have no reasons to …
WALTER Man, what are you talking about!
BOB I’m talking about the fact that when I got to the train station yesterday morning-eight o’clock like we planned … Man, Willy didn’t never show up.
WALTER Why … where was he … where is he?
BOBO That’s what I’m trying to tell you … I don’t know … I waited six hours … I called his house … and I waited … six hours … I waited in that train station six hours … That was all the extra money I had in the world … Man, Willy is gone.
- BOBO Man … I didn’t go to no Springfield, yesterday.
- Act Two, Scene 2
Transfer: Exit Slip – How would you feel if someone wanted to give you a lot of money to NOT live near them?
Homework – Answer the following questions to the best of your ability?
- What is wrong with Clybourne Park?
- Why did Mama give Walter the money?
- What do you think Walter will do with the money? If you’ve read past that point, why do you think Walter spent the money the way he did?
Day 14 Author’s Purpose
Objectives: Students will be able to
- understand how the author used language in A Raisin in the Sun to communicate meaning.
- discuss how the character’s dialogue expresses the author’s meaning.
- use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim: How do authors’ express meaning?
Do Now : Are you optimistic about the family’s future? Explain.
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)- How did Hansberry use her real life story and social occurrances of her time in Act III?
- Literary Concept: Mood How does the mood of the play change when Walter meets with Lindner again? Why?
- Act III Scene 1 “That’s My Man, Kenyatta!”
Walter’s admiration for Jomo Kenyatta (1890?-1978) is an understandable one. Jomo means “flaming spear,” which is what Walter calls himself in this scene. The first president of the east African nation of Kenya, Kenyatta was a major spokesman for African nationalism and helping lead the fight against British colonialism in his country. Under his leadership, Kenya which won its independence in 1963, progressed both politically and economically. Perhaps Kenyatta’s greatest legacy for the African continent was his attempt to unite a diverse population of Africans, Asians, and Europeans to work together for the common good of their country. - Act III Scene 2 Literary Concept: Allusion-Who Was Prometheus?
George may have been joking when he called Walter “Prometheus,” but the name was not wholly unflattering. In Greek Mythology, Prometheus was an early god, one of the Titans. When Zeus, king of the gods, schemed to destroy humanity by denying them fire, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. For his “crime,” Prometheus was chained to a rock and his liver daily eaten by an eagle. Each night the liver grew back. He was finally freed from his ordeal by the hero Hercules, who killed the eagle and broke his chains. - Act III Scene 3 Carl Hansberry, Hero
Lorraine Hansberry’s family, like the Youngers, had attempted to live in an all-white neighborhood when she was a child. Carl Hansberry, her crusading father, moved the family into a white neighborhood to challenge Chicago’s discriminatory housing laws. One night, a mob of angry white residents gathered on the family’s front lawn, and someone hurled a brick through the living room window. It barely missed striking nine-year-old Lorraine.
A suit filed by Carl Hansberry against the city was rejected by the state court, but the United States Supreme Court later ruled in his favor. Chicago’s politicians, however, managed to the skirt the law, and Chicago remained a largely segregated city. Disillusioned and bitter, Carl Hansberry bought a house in Mexico and was planning to relocate his family there when he died of a stroke in 1945.
- Capital City
The reason that Bobo and Willie plan to go to Springfield “to spread money around” so they can get their liquor license is that Springfield is the capital city of Illinois. The city houses the state government and the officials and politicians wwho run it. Approximately 190 miles from Chicago, Springfield was home to Abraham Lincoln from 1837 to 1861. Imagine what “Honest Abe” would say to the idea that it’s a common practice to bribe state officials to get what you want.
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
- As a class, we will read pages 91-105 of A Raisin in the Sun (Act II-Act III)
- Take notes.
- Look for specific lines that reveal information about the author’s intention.
- (Review) What kind of mood is revealed in the stage direction of Act III?
-
- Act Three
At curtain, there is a sullen light of gloom in the living room, gray light not unlike that which began the first scene of Act One. At left we can see WALTER within his room, alone with himself. He is stretched out on the bed, his shirt out and open, his arms under his head. He does not smoke, he does not cry out; he merely lies there, looking up at the ceiling, much as if he were alone in the world. In the living room BENEATHA sits at the table, still surrounded by the now almost ominous packing crates. She sits looking off. We feel that this is a mood struck perhaps an hour before, and it lingers now, full of the empty sound of profound disappointment. We see on a line from her brother’s bedroom the sameness of their attitudes.
- Act Three
- Go back to your notes from Day 11, the chart on conflict. Complete the chart with the conflict and the resolution.
Conflict | Resolution | |
Beneatha vs. George Murchinson | George’s efforts to change Beneatha | |
Walter vs. Mama | ||
The Youngers vs. Lindner and the Neighborhood Association | ||
Mama vs. herself |
- Group discussion: Write down two or three reasons why the author resolved every conflict the way she did. How do the solutions affect the meaning of the play?
Transfer: Exit Slip – How do you think the Younger family will fare in their new home? Write an extended scene to the play that shows how they are treated when the move in and how they respond.
Homework – Answer the following questions to the best of your ability based on the scene we read today-
- What happened to Mama’s $10,000?
- How do you think Walter feels at the beginning of Act 3?
- What do you think of Walter’s character? Evaluate his good and bad points.
- Do you agree with Mama that Walter has “come into his manhood”? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Walter changes his mind in regard to Lindner’s offer? Do you think this change is realistic? Why or why not?
Day 15 Theme
Objectives: Students will be able to
- understand what themes are developed in A Raisin in the Sun.
- discuss how the character’s dialogue expresses the themes.
- use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim: What are the themes of A Raisin in the Sun?
Do Now #51: What do you think were Walter’s reasons for giving the money to Willy? Write an internal monologue, showing his thoughts as he decides to invest in the liquor store.
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
- Theme – What do you remember about theme from the short story unit?
- What themes can you find in A Raisin in the Sun? How are they revealed?
Real Life Examples Before Reading |
Examples From Play After Reading |
Events or Characters that Reveal the Theme from the Play | |
1. Dreams can either save or destroy a person. |
a. __________
b. _________
c. __________
3. Share the background information and identify the purpose of the playwright’s of writing the play-
-
- Lorraine Hansberry- Political Activist
Hansberry remained an active spokesperson for African-American equality and other worthy causes throughout her adult life.
- Lorraine Hansberry- Political Activist
Upon her arrival in New York City in the early 1950s, she participated in political rallies and demonstrations. She met her future husband, Robert Nemiroff, on a picket line at New York University.
After fame came with the success of A Raisin in the Sun, she appeared frequently on television and radio programs, expounding her views on civil rights and world peace.
In 1964, she wrote the text for a book of photographs about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a civil rights organization. The book was called The Movement: Documentary of a Struggle for Equality.
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- On the road with a raisin in the sum-a letter to mom
Hotel Taft New Haven, Conn. January 19, 1959
- On the road with a raisin in the sum-a letter to mom
Dear Mother,
Well-here we are. I am sitting alone in a nice hotel room in New Haven, Conn. Downstairs, next door in the Shubert Theater; technicians are putting the finishing touches on a living room that is supposed to be a Chicago living room….
The actors are very good and the director is a very talented man-so if it is a poor show I won’t be able to blame a soul but your youngest daughter. Mama, it is a play that tells the truth about people, Negroes and life and I think it will help a lot of people to understand how we are just as complicated as they are-and just as mixed up-but above all, that we have among our miserable and downtrodden ranks-people who are the very essences of human dignity. That is what, after all the laughter and tears, the play is supposed to say. I hope it will make you very proud. See you soon. Love to all.
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- African-American Playwrights take the stage
No African-American writer had crossed over to mainstream success in the Broadway Theater before Lorraine Hansberry, but many of them had love the theater and written for it. Here are some examples:
- African-American Playwrights take the stage
Langston Hughes, best known today for his poetry, wrote numerous plays and even had his own theater company at one time.
Poet Countee Cullen’s last work was the book (written play or libretto) of the Broadway musical St. Louis Women.
James Baldwin, a good friend of Hansberry’s, wrote several plays in the 1960s, including the powerful indictment of racism, Blue for Mister Charlie.
Today, the African-American experience continues to be celebrated on stage in the stirring plays of August Wilson. Many of his works have been initially directed by Lloyd Richards, the man who brought A Raisin in the Sun to Broadway.
4. As a class, we will read pages 103-116.
- Take notes.
- Look for specific lines that reveal information about the author’s intention
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
- Review: Go back to your notes from Day 11, the chart on conflict. Complete the chart with the conflict and the resolution.
- Group discussion: Write down two or three reasons why the author resolved every conflict the way she did? What themes do these resolutions convey?
- Literary Concept-The theme of a literary work is an insight about life or human nature that the writer presents to the reader. In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry shares some of her ideas about love, identity, dreams, values and prejudice. Use the chart below to understand the themes she presents. Before you read, write down a real-life example of the theme. After you read, present an example from the play.
Real Life Examples Before Reading |
Examples From Play After Reading |
Events or Characters that Reveal the Theme from the Play | |
1. Dreams can either save or destroy a person.
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2. Values and ideals are worth fighting for.
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3. We do not simply live for ourselves, but for those who came before and will come after us.
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4. It is never too late to start over.
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5. Only through self-respect and self-esteem can people live with themselves. |
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6.Materialism and money, in themselves, are worthless. |
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7. Families can survive any catastrophe if the members love one another share a common goal. |
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8. Dreams are necessary and important, even if we don’t completely realize them. |
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Transfer: Exit Slip – Do you think Beneatha and Asagai have a future together?
Homework – Answer the following questions to the best of your ability based on p 103-116
- Do you think Beneatha and Asagai have a future together?
- How does the mood of the play change when Walter meets with Lindner again? Why?
- Do you think the problem of discrimination against African Americans who move into white neighborhoods had improved, worsened, or stayed the same? Why?
- How are the dreams of Lindner and the white residents of Clybourne Park both similar and different from the dreams of the Younger family? Where do the two dreams clash?
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Day 16 Theme
Objectives: Students will be able to
- understand what themes are developed in A Raisin in the Sun.
- discuss how the character’s dialogue expresses the themes.
- use textual evidence to support their discussions.
Aim: What are the themes of A Raisin in the Sun?
Do Now : Who is your favorite character and why?
Agenda:
Teaching Point: (Acquisition)
- What themes can you find in A Raisin in the Sun?
- __________
- __________
- __________
- __________
- As a class, we will read pages 111-121.
- Take notes.
- Look for specific lines that reveal information about the author’s intention.
Group work: (Meaning-Making)
- Gift giving is an important part of many cultures and many families. What gifts would you give the following characters?
- Walter?
- Ruth?
- Travis?
- Beneatha?
- Asagai?
- Mama?
- Travis?
- George Murchison?
Transfer: Exit Slip – How did Walter’s actions help to further his dreams and undermine them?
HW-Multimodal Activities
Pick only ONE assignment to complete-
Broadcast News
Imagine you are producing an investigative report for a TV news magazine on the Younger family after they moved into all-white Clybourne Park. Write a skit with your fellow classmates playing members of the Younger family, their new neighbors, and the investigative reporter who interviews them all. Include stage directions and dialogues.
The African Way
Africa is a powerful force in the play through the character of Joseph Asagai. Create a map of Nigeria. You may want to focus your maps in a variety of ways-emphasizing the country’s population, terrain, imports and exports, or other factors.
Speaking Out
Write a monologue for your favorite character in the play and include the thoughts and feelings of that person. Set the monologue at a critical moment of the play, such as when the family learns that Walter has lost their money or when Walter tells Mr. Lindner to leave the first time. A monologue is a speech given by only one character. You will deliver the monologues to the class and prepare to discuss them.
Folk Dance
Learn an African folk dance, such as the one Beneatha does in the play, and perform it. Pick out a music to accompany your dance.
Day 17 Strategic Reading Act Three –Making Inferences (pages 122-124)
Objectives: Students will be able to read between the lines.
Aim: Why do you think Walter changes his mind in regard to Lindner’s offer? Do you think this change is realistic? Why or why not?
Do Now: What signifies “manhood” or maturity? Do you agree with Mama that Walter has “come into his manhood”? Why or why not?
Agenda-
1. Acquisition- Skill: Inferencing ; Concept: Loss vs. Gains
a. How does the mood of the play change when Walter meets with Lindner again? Why?
b. By the end of the play, each main character has lost something but has gained in other ways. Fill in the lines below with the losses and gains after Walter has rejected Linder’s offer.
- Walter has lost__________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________, but he has gained
____________________________________________________________________________
- Beneatha has lost________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________, but he has gained
__________________________________________________________________________ - Mama has lost__________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________, but he has gained
_______________________________________________________________________________ - Ruth has lost___________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________, but he has gained
______________________________________________________________________________
Meaning Making
Why do you think Walter changes his mind in regard to Lindner’s offer? Do you think this change is realistic? Why or why not?
Transfer- Do you think the problem of discrimination against African Americans who move into white neighborhoods had improved, worsened, or stayed the same? Why?
HW-Respond: Would you live in a neighborhood that is resided by a different race? Why or why not? Do you believe the world has changed for the better? Explain your answer.
Day 18 Culminating Writing Assignments
Objective: Students will be to use their understanding of the play and its characters to provide a reasonable alternative ending of the play.
Aim: If Walter had accepted the offer by Mr. Lindner, how would have the play ended?
Do Now: If a friend betrayed you once, would you trust him/her again? Explain the situation in which you may show your trust again.
Agenda-
Acquisition: character analysis of Walter Lee Younger
- Make a T-Chart to show Walter’s character and the corresponding actions or speeches shown in the play.
- Did Walter change toward the end of the play? How? Explain
- Why didn’t he take the offer from Mr. Lindner? What does it say about his character?
- Is Walter a tragic character? Why or why not?
- If you were Mama, would you trust him again? Explain.
Meaning Making– With a partner, discuss the following situation-
Imagine that Walter decided to take the money offered by Linder and sell back the house Mama bought. How would this change the ending of the play? Write a new final scene based on this idea
Tansfer: (Exit Slip)- In your notebook, state whether you like Walter ot not. Provide three reasons for your response.
Homework Assignment-Complete the imaginery new ending.
Day 19 Assessement#2 Multiple Choice Questions
Day 20 Exploratory Writing -Pick one of the assignments to do.
Objective: Students will use their understanding of the play to explore furthur the characters through writing.
Aim: What would happen now to the Youngers after having moved to an all white neighborhood? WHat impact would this new environment have on the family?
Agenda-
Aquisition: Discuss the meaning of each writing assignment below.
- Suppose that after the play ends, Beneatha marries Joseph Asagai and return with him to his beloved Nigeria. Think about what she might experience there-as a woman and a doctor. Write a series of diary entries Beneatha might compose regarding her life in Africa.
- Think about what could happen to the members of the Younger Family after living in their new home for a year. Write a description of each character’s goals and dreams at the end of this time.
Meaning Making-
1. Students pick one writing prompt and start writing.
2. Share in class their written responses.
Homework : Complete and refine the written response.
Day 21 – Research
Objective: Students will find out more about the social background of A Raisin in the Sun through reserasch.
Aim: How important was the social background of A Raisin in the Sun to the meaning of the play itself?
Agenda–
Do Now: Respond to the importance of social background of a literary work. Give an example.
Aquisition: Research Skills
- How to do research?
- What information do we collect to help us write an expository essay?
Meaning Making-
1. Do research on the following subject
The civil rights movement forms an important background to the story of the Younger family, who are searching for an identity and dealing with prejudice. Research the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s and write an expository essay about one aspect of it-either about a major event, like the Montgomery bus boycott, or about a person like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2. Share in small groups of your research on the topic.
Transfer– Exit Slip: How does the research help you gain new understanding of the play, A Raisin in the Sun?
HW Research another African-American woman writer, such as Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, or Alice Walker. Write a comparison between the life and work of Lorraine Hansberry and that writer. Note similarities and differences in their work and how it reflects their feelings about such issues as civil rights and the African-American family.
Day 22 Literary Analysis
Objectives: Students will be able to write a theme analysis.
Aim: What themes are implied in the play? How does Hansberry use characters and conflict to reveal them to her readers?
Do Now: Draw one theme from the play and describe how you came to this conclusion.
Agenda-
1.Acquisition-
*What’s a theme? How does an author reveal it to the reader?
*Share your theme with the class.
2. Meaning-Making- In your group,
*Choose one of the following themes and describe how it is described in the play.:
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- The family is the most important relationship in most people’s lives.
- Dreams are as necessary to people as food and shelter.
- It is better to fight with dignity than surrender in shame.
- Then choose at least two of the main characters-Walter, Ruth, Beneatha, or Mama-and write a critical essay explaining how their experiences relate to the theme.
Transfer- How do the themes in the play help you understand that A Raisin in the Sun is still relevant today?
HW: Complete the Summative Performance Assessment Task-
Write a Persuasive Essay: A Raisin in the Sun Should Be Revived on Broadway!