Stage 1 - Desired Results

Standards

Students will be able to independently use their learning to…

RL.11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

RL.11-12.3: Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

RL.11-12.4: Determine the figurative or connotative meaning(s) of words and phrases as they are used in a text; analyze the impact of specific words or rhetorical patterns (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place, how shifts in rhetorical patterns signal new perspectives).

RL.11-12.2: Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

W.11-12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

L 11-12.2: Demonstrate the conventions of standard English conventions/mechanics when writing

Meaning

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS        

• In what ways does the American Dream mean different things for different Americans?
• What is the perspective of a given nature, culture, or region in regard to the American Dream and what factors create those perceptions?
• What are the causes and consequences of prejudice and injustice, and how does an individual’s response to them reveal his/her true character?

UNDERSTANDINGS        

Students will understand …

• indirect characterization through dialogue
• the effectiveness of flashback/flashforward in revealing characters’ pasts and the foundations for their beliefs
• how gender and race affect perceptions of society
• how to correctly use commonly misused words and expressions

Resources

• Fences by August Wilson
• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Tragedy and the Common Man by Arthur Miller (non-fiction essay)
• Supplemental short fiction selections from web

• Current non-fiction articles about perspectives of the American Dream, demographics of sports players
• Supplemental poetry such as “I Too” and “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes
• Film adaptations

Stage 2 - Learning Plan

Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction

Activate prior knowledge: Define and give examples of the American Dream in both modern society and previously studied literature, salesman role-play; baseball terminology

Introduce background: Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Negro National baseball league, the negative effects of consumerism in the 1940s

Identify & apply knowledge of indirect characterization, flashback and/or flashforward in text / writing assignments

Answer comprehension questions by chapter / section

Close-read key and/or difficult sections of text: what events are real or fabricated by characters; conversations with Ben; baseball metaphor

Discuss how character personality and background influences success/failure of dream

Mini lesson on confused words and phrases focusing on farther/further, fewer/less, principal/principle

Stage 3 - Summative Evidence

Evaluative Criteria

Assessment Evidence

Show understanding of key events, characters, theme and other literary techniques (flashback, foreshadowing, symbolism) within the play

PERFORMANCE TASK(S):        

Unit test or essay

Online forum or seminar discussion

Demonstrate command of misused words and phrases.

Open-response

Apply knowledge of flashback/flashforward and indirect characterization

Show understanding of how character circumstance and traits contribute to the success/failure of American Dream

OTHER EVIDENCE:

Option for summative paper        

Midterm / Final exam questions