Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun

Lesson 4
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ELA

Unit 3

7th Grade

Lesson 4 of 27

Objective


Explain the meaning and impact of word choice and literary devices in Langston Hughes’s "Harlem," and how they work together to develop theme.

Readings and Materials


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Target Task


Writing Prompt

What theme does Hughes develop in this poem about dreams? Support your answer with two pieces of evidence from the text, and explain how they develop this theme.

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Close Read Questions

  • What is the impact of Hughes’s use of questions in this poem?

  • Find two examples of imagery in this poem. What is the impact of these images on the reader?

  • Do the words that Hughes uses in this poem mostly have a positive or negative connotation? Select three examples.

  • Hughes uses the simile "like a raisin in the sun." What two ideas is he comparing in this simile? What idea is he trying to communicate with this simile?

  • Select one additional simile that Hughes uses in this poem and explain what two things he is comparing and what idea he is trying to communicate.

  • What would it mean for a dream to "explode"? Do you think that Hughes thinks the explosion of a dream is a positive or a negative thing?

Discussion Questions

  • Do you think that putting off a dream can literally be dangerous?

Vocabulary


Text-based

defer

v.

to put off until later

Academic

literary device

n.

any writing technique an author uses to develop and convey deeper meaning in a text. 

imagery

n.

a literary device where an author includes vivid sensory details.

simile

n.

the comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as” to indicate what is being compared in order to provide the reader with a deeper understanding of one of those things.

connotation

n.

the social, cultural, and emotional associations words have beyond the dictionary definition (denotation)

theme

n.

the author’s message in the text about the way the world works or what it means to be human.

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.

  • Play: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry  pp. 24 – 35 — end at "women with small minds"

While reading, answer the following questions.

  • Where in the United States does the Younger family live?

  • What is the setting of this scene?

  • What members of the Younger family do we "meet" in this section of the play?

  • How old is each character (approximately)?

  • What are their relationships to one another?

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Common Core Standards


  • RL.7.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • RL.7.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.

Supporting Standards

L.7.5
L.7.6
RI.7.10
RL.7.1
RL.7.5
SL.7.1
W.7.1
W.7.1.a
W.7.1.b
W.7.2.c
W.7.4
W.7.9
W.7.9.a
W.7.10
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