Pictures of the American Dream

Lisanne Shaffer

level: Introductory

65 minutes

The American Dream

Message from the creator Begin lesson

Lesson Tool Kit

MATERIALS NEEDED

Open space for movement activity

Projections or Chart Paper with the quote used for this lesson

Video clip of the American Dream segment in Between the World and Me (Angela Bassett)

Video clip of Barack Obama speaking of the American Dream

EDUCATOR FEEDBACK

Amber Buck, Kansas

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to articulate their interpretation of The American Dream through discussion and movement.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How does experience, including oppression, affect our individual and/or collective understanding of the American dream?

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Facilitators should anticipate that this lesson could be emotionally triggering for some students.

Facilitators may want to check the temperature of the room by asking questions throughout the lesson to gauge students’ level of emotional safety.

For example, survey students discreetly throughout the lesson using either technology (jamboard) or having students write a number from 1-10 on paper at their desks and walk by to read them all. Instruct students saying, “On a scale of 1-10, how would you describe your emotional comfort level now? ‘1’ being completely comfortable and 10 being extremely uncomfortable.”

This lesson is an introduction to the theme of The American Dream. It will help your students develop their own understanding of the concept and defining the dream for themselves.

While we have built each lesson and workshop sequentially, feel free to tailor your exploration of them to suit your needs. You may choose to follow a lesson as provided from beginning to end or select sections of various lessons and combine them for a different approach.