Pre-reading Activities for a Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry'due south masterpiece A Raisin in the Sun engages students every bit much as whatsoever text I have ever taught. Nevertheless, it pays dividends to introduce the play thoughtfully and thoroughly. Hither are my favorite A Raisin in the Sunday pre-reading activities, questions, and worksheets.
Mail Overview: A Raisin in the Sun Pre-reading
-
- Introduction PowerPoint
- Anticipation Guide
- The American Dream
- "I Have a Dream" Deferred
- Historical Context / Chief Sources
- Symbolism Exercise (short story edition)
- Key Excerpts Preview (and making predictions)
- Performance Preview
- Forms of Racism
- Dialogue and Dialect
Introduction PowerPoint
An introductory slideshow efficiently covers a keen deal of background data, simply making one takes precious time. Luckily, I made one for y'all.
A Raisin in the Sun Introduction PowerPoint supports students past providing context, previewing the drama, and introducing learning goals. Use the content warning slide to address your expectations for discussions of sensitive topics.
Pre-reading Worksheet: Anticipation Guide
PRE-READING ANTICIPATION GUIDE PDF
Rather than having students answer A Raisin in the Sun pre-reading questions, I adopt using an anticipation guide. The students reply strongly to the assertive tone of the statements. Students tin can complete the handout on their own, but I prefer to use the worksheet to guide group discussions.
The A Raisin in the Sunday anticipation guide prepares students to engage with the key bug and themes of the drama. Students consider and express their views on the "American dream," ancestral heritage, assimilation, money, personal values, prejudice, self-respect, and the importance of hope.
Pre-reading Lesson: The American Dream
Into:
Y'all may have heard the expression the "American Dream." What practice y'all think that ways? What are the connotations (feelings or associations) of this term? Does it mean different things to different people? What does it mean to you personally?
Engaging clips:
-
- "The American Dream" (one:fifty) by Michelle Obama
- "Living the American Dream, 1950s Suburban Life" (2:49) from thekinolibrary
- "Immigrant Perspectives: The American Dream" (3:00) from GeekWire
- "Living the American Dream" (8:43) from NFL Films
- "Park Avenue: Coin, Power & the American Dream" (0:36) Independent Lens
- "Why the American Dream is a Myth" (4:44) from Adam Ruins Everything
- "American Dream" (three:46) music video from MKTO
- "Is the American Dream Still Alive" (7:29) from CBS Sunday Morning
- "The American Dream in 2016" (4:41) from the New Yorker
Through:
Read in groups to jigsaw articles focused on this idea of the "American Dream." Use the informational notes folio and be ready to share your group'due south interpretation with the grade. (Annotation: You could also have the whole class read the same commodity.)
"American Dream" readings:
-
- "What the homo behind the 'American Dream' really meant" (6 pages) by Ted Widmer
- "Is There an American Dream for Black Children?" (6 pages) by Sean McElwee
- "Restoring the American Dream" (5 pages) U.South. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty
- "The Transformation of the American Dream" (4 pages) by Robert Shiller
- "Even Americans Can't Afford the American Dream" (4 pages) by Andrew Soergel
- "The agony over an American dream" (5 pages) by Hugo Bachega
Across:
What is your definition of the "American Dream?"
Does the "American Dream" mean anything to you personally?
What is the legacy (long term result) of this concept? Is it a beautiful reality? A pleasant fantasy? A destructive prevarication?
"I Accept a Dream…" Deferred (comparing works)
Race prejudice is non exclusive to the United States, but America's history of racism is unlike that of any other country. This terrible legacy means that the concept of the "American Dream" holds special significance for many African Americans.
We will compare two famous texts on the dreams of African Americans — a spoken language and a poem. Analyze the themes (messages) and how they are adult.
Choral reading: "I Have a Dream…" past Dr. Martin Luther Rex Jr.
The paragraphs of "I Have a Dream…" are numbered so that you can assign each student i or more than parts in the choral reading. Inquire them to jot downward their assigned numbers.
"I Have a Dream…" (projection version)
"I Have a Dream…" (handout size)
Reflect on theme, accent, tone, and primal elements (e.yard., audio devices).
Shared reading: "Harlem" by Langston Hughes
Reverberate on theme, accent, tone, and fundamental elements (east.thousand., sound devices).
Historical Context / Primary Source Gallery
In social club for students to examine the issues and themes of A Raisin in the Sun fully, they must take a working knowledge of the play'southward background and historical context. This can be addressed through…
-
- The anticipation guide (which gives a broad overview)
- A short research job (shown above)
- A gallery walk where students exhibit relevant master sources
Related Post: A Raisin in the Sun Unit Programme
Check out the comprehensive unit of measurement plan for ideas to accept y'all through teaching A Raisin in the Lord's day from showtime to finish.
Resource Download: A Raisin in the Sun Unit of measurement and Materials
Get all the lesson plans, slideshows, activeness handouts, project pages, and assessments in one package.
Symbolism Practice (brusk story edition)
Since Hansberry relies on symbols like the institute, the check, hair styles, etc. in developing her themes, it makes sense to exercise symbolism analysis prior to starting the play.
For this A Raisin in the Sun pre-reading lesson, the worksheet shown guides students through the analysis of a principal symbol and whatsoever related elements (character, point of view, conflict, and theme).
Reading suggestions:
-
- "Marigolds" by Eugenia W. Collier (5 pages)—easy
- "The Cask of Amontillado" past Edgar Allen Poe (4 pages)—like shooting fish in a barrel
- "A White Heron" past Sarah Orne Jewett (7 pages)—moderate
- "The Minister's Black Veil" past Nathaniel Hawthorne (12 pages)—challenging
Key Excerpts Preview (predictions)
Have students consider key excerpts without context earlier readingA Raisin in the Lord's day. They might make inferences near character, anticipate plot events, identify theme subjects, or recognize elements of the author's fashion. The accuracy of any predictions is immaterial; the process of forming predictions is central to active reading.
WALTER (Straightening up from her and looking off) That's it. In that location yous are. Man say to his adult female: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs. (Sadly, but gaining in ability) Human say: I got to take hold of this here world, baby! And a woman will say: Swallow your eggs and get to work. (Passionately now) Homo say: I got to change my life, I'k choking to death, babe! And his adult female say … Your eggs is getting cold!
__________________________________________
BENEATHA No—I wanted to cure. It used to exist so important to me. I wanted to cure. It used to thing. I used to intendance. I mean well-nigh people and how their bodies hurt …
ASAGAI And you lot've stopped caring?
BENEATHA Yes—I think so.
ASAGAI Why?
BENEATHA (Bitterly) Because information technology doesn't seem deep enough, close plenty to what ails mankind! Information technology was a kid's way of seeing things—or an idealist's.
Performance Preview
If y'all share the offset scene to hook students into the drama, I recommend the American Playhouse version. If yous continue viewing this product equally you progress though the play, you volition see that information technology is more consummate than the 1961 film. (But Walter Lee's late-night oral communication to Travis is missing.)
Regarding the 1961 picture, the complete unit includes a comparison interpretations projection in the form of a viewing guide and a flick review assignment.
Forms of Racism
Through the examples in the drama, Hansberry explores how racism takes many forms. Race prejudice tin be explicit and explosive or subtle and insidious. Prepare students to consider the forms of racism in the play by drawing on prior cognition.
forms of racism
Pace 1: Specific EXAMPLES of Racism:
What does racism wait, sound, or feel like? Include how race prejudice presents in everyday life.
Footstep two: How can nosotros Grouping examples and identify forms of Racism?
For example, the fact that a hypothetical company rarely hires people of colour might become under the category of systemic racism. (Systemic racism: policies and practices that exist throughout a social club, institution, or organisation that result in a connected damage or disadvantage based on race.)
Pre-reading Lesson: Dialogue and Dialect
Into:
Cipher ruins a play or moving-picture show quicker than terrible dialogue. What makes dialogue engaging and effective in drama? What can make dialogue objectionable or even ridiculous?
Fun clip: "Star Wars Prequels: Bad Line Compilation" (4 minutes) from Noah Adams
Through:
In A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry writes dialogue that develops the characters, meets her goals for the scene, and feels authentic. How does she accomplish this?
Ane chemical element that adds realism and creates a sense of fourth dimension and place is dialect. Dialect is "a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group." This includes vocabulary, syntax, usage, and pronunciation. Hansberry composes realistic oral communication for African Americans in Chicago in the 1950s based on her own feel.
What are some dialects of English? What are the differences? Can you give some specific differences? (E.1000., English language people say "biscuits" rather than "cookies" and "crisps" rather than "chips.")
Group Task:
Write a simple skit that demonstrates effective dialogue AND a specific dialect. Your script must…
Follow an extremely basic conflict and plot. For example, 2 kids argue over the concluding slice of block.
Utilise dialogue that is expositional and effective. Expositional means revealing what the audience needs to know about the characters and/or situation. Try to present information subtly through tone, subtext, or irony (similar sarcasm).
Demonstrate a specific dialect. Choose a dialect that y'all know well (perhaps your own). Note: Language differences may strike us as humorous, but this is not an excuse to mock anyone's culture.
Deeper Dives: Dialogue and Dialect
- "Mapping How Americans Talk" (four minutes) from The Atlantic
- "fifty People Show United states of america Their States' Accents" (6 minutes) from Conde Nast Traveler
- "George Lucas: King of Wooden Dialogue" (9 minutes) from So Uncivilized
- "What Realistic Film Dialogue Sounds Like" (nine minutes; LANGUAGE WARNING)
- "Everyone Has an Accent" (5 pages) essay from Teaching Tolerance
- "Julie Washington'due south Quest to Go Schools to Respect African-American English" (vi pages)
- "A Voice Coach Explains How to Teach Yourself a Dialect" (3 pages) from Backstage
Beyond:
Unlike accents and dialects often seem humorous to the listener. Why is this so? What effect does the use of dialect in the play accept on the reader or viewer?
Why practise you lot think dialects of the same linguistic communication exist? Why do people in England, The United states, Australia, and so on, speak differently?
Cheers for checking out A Raisin in the Sun Pre-reading Activities!
I promise that this post helps you introduceA Raisin in the Sun and start your unit effectively. Some of these lessons are taken from later in the unit, just I felt that they might as well serve every bit A Raisin in the Sun pre-reading activities. To get a meliorate idea of the complete unit, check A Raisin in the Sun Unit Plan.
mewton-woodbeforavy.blogspot.com
Source: https://teachnovels.com/a-raisin-in-the-sun-pre-reading-activities-questions-introducing-lesson/
0 Response to "Pre-reading Activities for a Raisin in the Sun"
Post a Comment