The American Dream unit: This unit takes an entire semester to complete.
This is by far my favorite unit because I think the kids get some good discussions and thinking skills from it. This unit is comprised of the following novels, plays, and movies:
The Great Gatsby
Of Mice and Men
Death of a Salesman
Black Elk Speaks
American Dream (a documentary about the 80's Hormel strike in Austin, MN)
Troublesome Creek (a documentary about an Iowa farm family going through transition)
Tribal Cops (a documentary about tribal police on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation)
The objective: to get the kids thinking about our country and what it means to be an American, as well as what it means to be happy, successful, etc. This unit offers the following viewpoints from the material mentioned:
The Great Gatsby: Not only does this book give a good history lesson about The Jazz Age, but it explores the notion of money meaning happiness. Gatsby, of course, wants to turn back the past and reclaim his beloved Daisy, thinking that she would complete him. Can people repeat the past? Why or why not?
Of Mice and Men: Again, a history lesson, this one about migrant farm workers in the 30s. Here are two workers with a dream -- the classic American dream of having a house, some land, and some freedom from others. Life just never seems to work out for some people. The ending of this book always provides some discussion. Did George do the right thing?
Death of a Salesman: Well, now we hit the 40s. We're introduced to Good old Willy Loman, working himself to death to just get ahead in life. More money, again, seems to promise happiness for Willy. Willy's life is full of "if only" this and "if only" that. If only Biff would follow in his footsteps, he'd be happy. If only the bills would stop coming, he could get ahead.
Black Elk Speaks: This book explores the other American view -- the one of the Native Americans. Although this book is a little dry to read, for it is translated from Lakota, it is valuable for the historical perspective. Black Elk gives good details about the Lakota way of life from one who lived through Little Bighorn and saw the death of the native dream. Hindsight being 20/20, it gives the kids a chance to explore the notion of what's right in the name of progress. Was assimilation unavoidable? After reading this book, we view the Tribal Cops video, which shows a depressing view of Black Elk's people today.
American Dream video: This video offers a chance to explore recent history, as well as the business world. The Austin, MN Hormel strike in the 80s was big news. In fact, it made national news because of what the outcome meant for thousands of other meatpacking plant workers. The documentary is extremely well done and gives a candid glimpse into both sides of the conflict. The ending allows the kids to explore a plethora of moral and ethical questions. Who won this fight, and who lost? There are a variety of ways to view it. (Have students take notes during the video so that they can refer to them for discussion and essay writing later.)
Troublesome Creek: Because this video involves an Iowa farm family, my kids seem a little more interested in it because local places are mentioned that they can relate to. Farm families everywhere in Iowa can relate to this video and the questions of whether to keep trying to farm or give it up. The main question in this video centers around the concept of success and failure. What does it mean to be a success or a failure? Could the family in the video be considered a success? Why or why not?
Kate Chopin unit
I usually do a short story unit in each English class, but this is the only unit where I use stories all from one author. Why Kate Chopin? I like her stories for a variety of reasons: they give a glimpse into life in the 1800s, presenting moral dilemmas for women and exploring societal norms. However, I think I like her stories best because the endings are usually rather shocking and sometimes ambiguous. Her stories are not cut-and-dried. The kids read them and get frustrated because the obvious answer is not there, but that leads the way for thoughtful essays and discussions. Some of the stories we read:
Story of an Hour
Dr. Chevalier's Lie
The Kiss
The Recovery
A Respectable Woman
Desiree's Baby
Most, if not all, of these stories can be found on the internet. Unless the stories are in PDF form, I usually copy them into Word and reformat them so that the line spacing is more conservative and it is easier to read.
