Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun

Lesson 2
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ELA

Unit 3

7th Grade

Lesson 2 of 26

Objective


Compare and contrast how two authors write about the Great Migration, but present their information in different ways.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson  pp. 8 – 11 — end at page break

  • Article: “The Great Migration” by History.com editors 

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

Compare and contrast how Wilkerson and the History.com editors present information about the Great Migration. Cite evidence to support your answer.

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Key Questions

  • Why does Wilkerson start her chapter with an epigraph? (The Warmth of Other Suns)

  • Compare and contrast how both sources convey motivations for leaving the South. Cite evidence from both texts to support your answer. (The Warmth of Other Suns & "The Great Migration")

  • Compare and contrast the details that each author includes about the impacts of the Great Migration. Cite evidence from both texts to support your answer. (The Warmth of Other Suns & "The Great Migration")

  • What is the significance of the line, "it was the first mass act of independence by a people who were in bondage in this country for far longer than they have been free" on page 10?  Cite evidence from the text  to support your answer. (The Warmth of Other Suns)

Exit Ticket

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Vocabulary


Text-based

transform

v.

to make a thorough or dramatic change (Wilkerson, p. 10)

Homework


To ensure that students are prepared for the next lesson, have students complete the following reading for homework. Use guidance from the next lesson to identify any additional language or background support students may need while independently engaging with the text.

  • Article: “A Better Life: Creating the American Dream” by Kate Ellis and Ellen Guettler  — Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Part 4

While reading, answer the following questions.

  • What does the author compare the American dream to in the first paragraph of the introduction? Why do they use this comparison? 

  • How do the authors define the American dream?

  • What do the authors mean by "consumer expectations" in the introduction?

  • According to Cullen, what did Pilgrims, Founding Father and immigrants all have in common?

  • What changed about home ownership in the 1930s?

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Common Core Standards


  • RI.7.1 — Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • RI.7.8 — Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.
  • RI.7.9 — Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.

Supporting Standards

L.7.6
RI.7.4
RI.7.10
SL.7.1
SL.7.6
W.7.1
W.7.1.a
W.7.1.b
W.7.4
W.7.9
W.7.9.b
W.7.10

Next

Analyze how the poem "Harlem" and the article "A Better Life: Creating the American Dream" explore similar themes and topics.

Lesson 3
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