UNIT on A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.
During my Student Teaching, I chose to read Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun with high school students in the Drama/Speech class at Deering High School because I wanted to work with them on a text written by a playwright of color with characters that reflected their own backgrounds as people of color and immigrants.
Our Essential Questions:
• Are the themes of A Raisin In The Sun (racism, the American dream, assimilation, family conflict) still relevant today?
• How does the context of the play inform the choices we make in bringing it to life?
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As we read and explored the play through drama lessons in play analysis, character arc, interpreting stage directions, blocking, and stage plot, I routinely prompted the students to make personal and contemporary connections with the text and engaged them in activities that connected the play to their real lives.
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My american dream
(Group poem created from student writing)
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My American dream is…
To be a successful businessman and a computer scientist.
To be a dentist.
To be an actress.
To be an actor.
To make movies.
To become a soccer player.
To become a pilot.
To become a doctor.
To become a surgeon of some kind.
To live a successful upper class life.
My American dream is…
To become rich.
To become famous.
To be rich, make a difference, and meet Chris Brown.
To live comfortably, not worry about money too much.
To not work but travel the world.
To live a happy life.
To discover another way of getting energy for our daily needs, like for houses.
To see how far we can get as a species
What’s in my way?
Injuries.
Conflicts.
Haters.
A cup of haters.
School.
Deering.
Graduating.
Too many things.
What’s in my way?
Student loans.
Student loans.
Student loans.
Worrying about making a living.
Money.
The economy.
Death.
Nothing.
Nothing.
No thing.
Nothing.
I will go after my dream by…
Working towards it.
Pursuing my education.
Attending college.
Going to college.
Going to college.
Going to school.
Going to MCLA.
Majoring in Computer Science and minoring in International Business.
I will go after my dream by…
Working hard, studying hard.
Studying hard and staying focused.
Studying.
Working hard.
Working hard.
Working hard.
Working hard.
Marrying rich.
Working on going viral.
Not listening to negativity.
Taking care of myself and others.
Getting out of Maine.
Living.
If I don’t achieve my dream, I will…
Try again.
Find another one.
Find another way to live.
Find another way.
Try other things.
Try to do something different.
Get a job.
Find some other job.
Cry and be broke.
If I don’t achieve my dream, I will…
Be broke and depressed because it’s not a huge dream.
Feel broken down and like a failure.
Be dead and sad.
I don’t have that kinda mind set.
Anything is possible through God.
Try again.
Keep trying.
Remain who I am.
Pass it on to my kids.
