Day Two

Do now: Take out Hughes' "Let America Be America Again." Spend 5 minutes reviewing and adding annotations

Objectives:

• identify meaning in a piece of poetry
• brainstorm the options and obstacles surrounding the American Dream

Agenda:

1. do now

2. In table groups: (answer on the poem packet)

• 1. How is the dream described in this poem?  What is its effect on the reader?
• 2. What is Hughes’ tone, and how do you know?
• 3. Why are some people exempt from accessing the dream?
• 4. What does Hughes want America to be?
• 5. What is Hughes saying about the American Dream?
• 6. Do you agree or disagree with Hughes’ interpretation of the American Dream?

3. Race for the American Dream activity- outside

4. If time, brainstorm Summer Reading Letter

5. Summarizer: How do the poems and the activity connect?

HW: Summer Reading Letter due (PRINTED) TUESDAY

Day One

Do now: “Being an American is so much more than just having citizenship. It’s that beat in your heart to  be free, to be your own man, to have control over your own destiny. America has always been an idea. It has nothing to do with papers, documents, or immigration laws. It has a lot to do with ideals and dreams” (Paul Cuadros, A Home on the Field).  

Write a statement, as Caudros has done for himself, of what “being American” means to you.

Objectives:

• review the course overview and expectations
• brainstorm possible answers to "what does being American mean to you?"

Agenda:

1. do now

2. Review course overview and expectations

3. Read and annotate Hughes' poem "Harlem"

4. Introduce summer reading letter assignment

5. Read/annotate Hughes' America poem

6. Summarizer

HW: Create a Google Drive shared folder, move our class shared handouts to your Google Drive, and complete the student information survey