Unit 2: Systemic Racism and the American Dream

Week Breakdown

• Monday the 11th

  • Veterans day, no school!

• Tuesday the 12th

  • Write down Lexicon #13: Institutional and systemic racism.

  • Take notes on Mid-20th century America and the Cicero Riots.

  • Read the Cicero Bombing news article, titled "Response of Cicero, Ill., to a Bias Suit Is Clouded Over by the City's Record" by The New York Times.

  • Take notes on the Boston Busing Crisis of the 1970s. 

  • Watch PBS' Documentary on the Boston Busing Crisis (The American Experience Documentary).

  • Read article on how and why Boston is known as "most racist city," from The Boston Globe's Spotlight Team in 2017. 

• Wednesday the 13th

  • Write down Lexicon #14: Redlining.

  • Watch video on housing segregation and why it matters.

  • Take notes on redlining and how it impacts us still today.

  • Examine Boston's redlining map to see which communities were deemed green, blue, yellow, or red.

  • Compare the data from your neighborhood in Boston to another to show how redlining has impacted both communities. (You'll need to click the red button to see the maps!)

• Thursday the 14th

  • Introduce Lorraine Hansberry, take notes on her family's brave protest.

  • Watch both videos on Lorraine Hansberry and her family.

  • Write down Lexicon #15: Intersectionality.

  • Take notes on Kimberlé Crenshaw's Explanation of Intersectionality.

  • Bonus content: bell hooks on interlocking systems of oppression.

  • Write down Lexicon #16: Contemporaries.

  • Take notes on how Langston Hughes and his poem "Harlem" inspired Hansberry.

• Friday the 15th

  • Take notes on Gwendolyn Brooks and her inspiration of Hansberry.

  • Read, annotate, and discuss "kitchenette building" by Gwendolyn Brooks.

  • Start Act 1, scene 1 of A Raisin in the Sun. 

Week Breakdown

• Monday the 25th - Tuesday the 26th

  • Write down Lexicon #17: Characterization.

  • Make a S.T.E.A.L chart in your notebook for future reference. 

  • Finish reading and acting Act 1, Scene 1 of A Raisin in the Sun.

  • In pairs, take notes on each portion of Act 1, Scene 1 (pages 5-6, 7-14, 15-17, 18-22). 

• Wednesday the 27th

  • Half day and pep rally!

• Thursday the 28th

  • Happy Thanksgiving! 

• Friday the 29th

  • No school! Have a great break!

Week Breakdown

• Monday the 9th

  • Read, annotate, and discuss Act 1, Scene 2 up until page 30.

  • Answer question 1-4 from pages 23-30 in the Two Column Notes packet for Act 1, Scene 2.

• Tuesday the 10th

  • Write down Lexicon #18: Normativity, normative in your notebook.

  • Finish reading, annotating, and discussing Act 1, Scene 2.

  • Answer the rest of the questions in our Two Column Notes packet for Act 1, Scene 2. 

  • Perform a sentence expansion on the sentence kernel provided for the ending of Act 1, Scene 2.

• Wednesday the 11th - Friday the 13th

  • Write down both Lexicon #19: Uncle Tom and Lexicon #20: Parallel scene in your notebook.

  • Read, annotate, and discuss Act 2, scene 1. 

  • Answer the questions in the Two Column Notes packet for Act 2, Scene 1.

  • Note, MAP testing will happen both Wednesday and Thursday, so some classes (6th and 7th) will be slightly behind. Don't worry, we'll catch you up!

Week Breakdown

• Monday the 6th - Tuesday the 7th

  • Answer the New Year Reflection question in your notebook.

  • Bonus content: Explore the allusion to Henry Thoreau's Walden, "quiet desperation."

  • Read, annotate, and discuss Act 2, Scene 2.

  • Answer questions in the Two Column Notes packet for Act 2, Scene 2.

• Wednesday the 8th - Thursday the 9th

  • Write down both Lexicon words #21: The Other, othering and Lexicon #22: Gaslighting in your notebook. 

  • Read, annotate, and discuss Act 2, Scene 3.

  • Answer questions in the Two Column Notes packet for Act 2, Scene 3.

• Friday the 10th

  • Write down both Lexicon words #23: Minstrel shows and Lexicon #24: Black face in your notebook. 

  • Read, annotate, and discuss Act 3, Scene 1.

  • Answer questions in the Two Column Notes packet for Act 3, Scene 1.

Week Breakdown

• Monday the 20th

  • No school: Martin Luther King Jr. day.

•  Tuesday the 21st

  • Finish Two Column Notes for Act 3, Scene 1 of A Raisin in the Sun. 

  • Watch Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for review, paying close attention to characterization as it will be the subject of our unit essay.

• Wednesday the 22nd

  • Finish watching A Raisin in the Sun.

  • Review the scene summaries of the play if necessary. 

  • Unpack the prompt and brainstorm potential characters and subjects for your essay.

  • Choose character(s) you will examine for essay.

  • Gather evidence and craft a working thesis. 

• Thursday the 23rd

  • Craft introduction paragraph and at least one body paragraph of your essay.

• Friday the 24th

  • Create second body paragraph and conclusion paragraph.

  • Finish Unit 2 essay in your notebook.

  • Peer edit if time permits.