Curriculum / ELA / 7th Grade / Unit 3: Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun / Lesson 24
ELA
Unit 3
7th Grade
Lesson 24 of 26
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Draft dialogue and stage directions for a short dramatic scene.
Play: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
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Prior to the start of class, print out the quotes in the Hamlet Quote Card resource and glue/tape them to a notecard in order to be prepared for the opening activity. If possible, move the student desks/tables to the side of the room so that there is room for students to walk around. Alternatively, take students to a space outside the classroom where they will have more room to engage in the activity.
Today students will draft lines of dialogue for their dramatic scenes. Thus far in this task students have been asked to closely study Hansberry's structural and craft moves and emulate those moves in their own writing. However, as students move into writing dialogue it is important to communicate that they should not write dialogue in a vernacular dialect that is not their own.
Lorraine Hansberry was a Black woman from Chicago writing in the 1950s about a Black family in Chicago in the 1950s. While Hansberry herself may or may not have used African American Vernacular English, the historical record demonstrates that many (though not all) members of the Black community in 1950s Chicago used AAVE. Students should understand that Hansberry made the choice to write Raisin's dialogue in the vernacular dialect from her position of an insider in that community.
Explain to students that appropriating the dialect of a culture that is not one's own—particularly one that has historically been marginalized—has the potential to do real harm. Instead of trying to emulate Hansberry's dialogue, students should use this assignment as an opportunity to write dialogue from their own cultural and linguistic perspectives. For some students, this may mean writing in contemporary AAVE; for others, it may mean writing bilingually. Others may feel most comfortable writing dialogue in "standard" English. The most important thing is that the dialogue stays true to what students know about the characters and the relationships between them.
Resources:
Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
Submit your 10+ lines of dialogue with stage directions.
Upgrade to Fishtank Plus to view Sample Response.
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
Complete any work on dialogue not finished in class.
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W.7.3 — Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
W.7.3.b — Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.7.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.7.2 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.7.3 — Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
L.7.5.a — Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context.
RL.7.5 — Analyze how a drama's or poem's form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.
RL.7.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
SL.7.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.7.6 — Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
W.7.3.a — Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
W.7.3.c — Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
W.7.3.d — Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
W.7.4 — Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.7.5 — With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
W.7.6 — Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.
W.7.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Next
Engage in peer feedback with a partner and present scenes to the class.
Explain the argument and specific claims the authors make about the Great Migration and how they structure the text to support their claims.
Standards
RI.7.5RI.7.8
Compare and contrast how two authors write about the Great Migration, but present their information in different ways.
RI.7.1RI.7.8RI.7.9
Analyze how the poem "Harlem" and the article "A Better Life: Creating the American Dream" explore similar themes and topics.
RI.7.2RI.7.9RL.7.2
Compare and contrast the film version of A Raisin in the Sun with the original text and explain the impact of specific techniques used by the filmmakers.
RL.7.3RL.7.7
Identify characters' perspectives in A Raisin in the Sun and explain how the playwright develops differences in perspective.
RL.7.6
Unpack a writing prompt, study an exemplar, and gather evidence in preparation for writing a persuasive letter.
W.7.1W.7.1.aW.7.5
Outline and draft a persuasive letter including a counterclaim.
W.7.1W.7.1.aW.7.1.bW.7.1.eW.7.5
Revise for linking words; identify and correct misplaced and dangling modifiers.
L.7.1L.7.1.cW.7.1W.7.1.c
Analyze how the playwright structures the play to develop the plot and create suspense.
RL.7.5RL.7.6
Compare and contrast the film version of A Raisin in the Sun with the original text to explain the impact of specific techniques used by the filmmakers on the meaning and structure of the play.
RL.7.5RL.7.6RL.7.7
Compare and contrast the film version of A Raisin in the Sun with the original text and explain the impact of body language to convey differences in perspective.
Compare and contrast how two authors write about redlining and the effects of housing segregation, but present their information in different ways.
RI.7.8RI.7.9
Compare and contrast the film version of A Raisin in the Sun with the original text to explain the impact of specific techniques used by the filmmaker on the meaning and experience of the play.
Analyze how the playwright structures A Raisin in the Sun to develop character perspectives.
Compare and contrast the film version of A Raisin in the Sun with the original text by identifying techniques used by the filmmakers and their impact on mood and meaning.
RL.7.4RL.7.6RL.7.7
Analyze how the playwright structures A Raisin in the Sun to develop the climax of the play.
RL.7.4RL.7.5RL.7.6
Identify characters' points of view in A Raisin in the Sun and explain how the playwright develops differences and changes in perspective.
Compare and contrast the film version of A Raisin in the Sun with the original text and explain the impact of specific techniques used by the filmmakers to create mood and meaning.
RL.7.6RL.7.7
Analyze how Hansberry and Wilkerson are inspired by personal experiences to write about and present information on the Great Migration.
Take a clear position on a question and share evidence to support that point of view in a Socratic dialogue.
SL.7.1SL.7.1.aSL.7.1.bSL.7.4
Unpack a prompt, study a Mentor Text, and begin to brainstorm ideas for a setting.
W.7.3
Draft setting paragraphs, focusing on vivid descriptive details.
L.7.5W.7.3W.7.3.aW.7.3.d
Outline a short dramatic scene and draft "At Rise" paragraphs.
W.7.3W.7.3.a
W.7.3W.7.3.b
SL.7.4W.7.3W.7.5
Gauge student understanding of unit content and skills with one of Fishtank's unit assessments.
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