16.+Handouts+and+materials+for+American+Dreams+Lessons

**LESSON ONE**
Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes
 * Poem handout:**

Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-- Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

//Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?// //And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?//

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-- And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-- Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home-- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay-- Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again-- The land that never has been yet-- And yet must be--the land where //every// man is free. The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-- Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!

O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-- America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain-- All, all the stretch of these great green states-- And make America again!


 * Color marking instructions handout: **
 * Note - This is an introduction to color marking. This is not a complete color marking analysis. We are simply introducing the concept in order to look at obvious patterns in the text.

Literature does not happen by accident. In all cases, the author or poet is expressing something of his or her own sensibility through the writing, and he or she is deliberately uses specific words, images, image patterns, motifs, etc. to communicate something to the reader. We, as readers, can interpret the author or poet's intentions by carefully examining his or her use of words and making inferences as to their meaning. First, we should be familiar with the following terms:


 * **Diction:** the writer's choice of words
 * **Image:** a word or group of words tha appeals to at least one of the five senses; an **image**, then, deals with a reader's response. Of our five senses, the visual is the strongest.
 * **Image pattern:** the repetition of three images (does not have to be an uninterrupted succession).
 * **Motif:** a repeated pattern of any type within a work. Note that an **image pattern** is a **motif**, but a **motif** is not an **image pattern**.
 * Remember:** Make your color marking specific, focusing on individual words or groups of words rather than sentences of groups of sentences.

Color marking process:
 * 1) Mark each type of image, image pattern, or motif that stands out in the passage (using a different color for each)
 * 2) Based on the color marking, ask questions such as: Is one color predominant? Why? Is there a logical progression of patterns? Is the progression illogical? Why? How do the images, image patterns, and motifs reinforce and/or illustrate the content of the passage? In other words, what is the relationship to the images, image patterns, and motifs used to describe it? Is there a specific tone or mood created by the color-marked material?
 * 3) Based on your color marking, conclude what you think the author or poet's central purpose and theme are in the passage.

**Visual presentation handout**: Your group will choose an idea or meaning that is being communicated in the poem //Let America Be America Again//. You will introduce this chosen topic to the class with a visual presentation. //Instructions for visual presentation:// The idea is to be creative in presenting your idea from the poem! Some possible presentation ideas include: a picture or comic strip; a short skit the depicts the society being described; an interpretive dance/skit to the recitation of the poem. Your group's presentation MUST: The presentation will be graded according to these three components (10 points each) You will be giving me your group discussion notes before you present your topic. Your notes will also count for 5 points. The total assignment will be worth 35 points.
 * 1) Be visual
 * 2) Portray some sort of conflict between an individual and society (Think of what we’ve been studying this whole unit! How might this be different from other texts we’ve read?)
 * 3) Have a purpose that is explained and supported with text from the poem (This purpose must be explained by at least one group member during your presentation)

**LESSON TWO**
“Think of a dream or goal that you’ve had in your life. What happened to that dream or goal? Did you reach it? Was it difficult to accomplish? If you did not reach it, what prevented you from being successful?”
 * Journal prompt: **


 * Discussion questions: **
 * Why do people from other countries immigrate to America?
 * When we talk about "The American Dream", what do we mean? What are some of the obstacles to achieving the American Dream?
 * Which groups of people have had trouble attaining "The American Dream"?
 * Given the obstacles that some Americans have to overcome, what makes the American Dream appealing?
 * What did the voice/narrator in Hughes’ poem //Let America Be America Again// think about the “American Dream?"
 * How are these two poems similar? What lines can you compare between the two?
 * What do these poems say about the “American Dream?”

**Video clip of //A Dream Deferred//** Danny Glover or Hughes documentary

Write a prediction of the play (about one paragraph) in your class notebook after thinking over the following questions. The assignment is worth 15 points, and will be graded on your ability to use textual support and connect the poems we have studied.
 * Play prediction questions handout:**

Based on what you know about the Langston Hughes poems (//Let America Be America Again// and //A Dream Deferred//) and the fact that Lorraine Hansberry chose //A Dream Deferred// for her preface, what themes might be in the play and what is the purpose of the play (i.e., what do you think the play is about)? Why do you think Hansberry chose this title? What possible conflicts between man and society do you expect to see in the plot?

Make sure to include text from the poem(s) to support your prediction!