Teaching the Theme: The American Dream

The American Dream is something we sing about, hear about, read about, and of course . . . dream about. But the American Dream means different things to different people. As students explore the writings of great American authors, politicians, civil rights leaders, and other influential people, they can learn how to interpret what the American Dream means for themselves.

A study of the American Dream can start at the beginning. Students can learn about the founding fathers of the country, and the important documents, such as the Declaration of Independence. By examining and discussing what did, and did not, get put into this seminal document, students can get an idea of the types of beliefs that shaped American society.

As our culture and expectations change over time, so too does the American Dream. As students analyze lyrics like, "Sweet land of liberty" from the song "My Country 'Tis of Thee" they can reflect and write about the sense of hope and prosperity that these kinds of descriptions provoke. There is also another interpretation of the American Dream found in songs. The lyrics from Bruce Springsteen's "The River" illustrates the American Dream gone wrong, giving students the chance to see how a negative perspective can be expressed.

The next series of lessons give teachers the opportunity to meet subject matter standards as students learn about a variety of topics, including the Civil Rights Movement, famous American authors and play, and goal-setting strategies that can assist each student in realizing his or her own personal American Dream. What follows are lessons that can help students understand what the idea of the American Dream means.

American Dream Lesson Plans:

The American Dream Via Satirical, Sarcastic and Ironic Social Commentary

This lesson primarily serves the eleventh grade American literature standards, however, using it for other upper level grades could be equally beneficial. Students distinguish between satire, sarcasm and irony through newspaper cartoons and other art forms, and ultimately answer the essential question: "How have sarcasm, satire and fine art been used throughout American Literature?" A satirical art piece that pokes fun of the "American Dream" through social commentary is used as one example for this lesson. Students culminate the lesson by writing an essay that interprets the artwork and distinguishes the ironic, satirical or sarcastic elements. This lesson obviously requires a level of student maturity and discretion by the teacher, as some cartoons and artwork may be too risqué or offensive for the classroom. Use your best judgment.

American Literature and the American Dream

Lyrical lines of plays, songs and art are reviewed in this lesson as students answer a series of questions, write a reflective essay, and read excerpts from "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams. Students are also invited to create their own scenes after pondering essential questions that ask them to analyze the American Dream and what it means to "search" for oneself. The links to websites are offered along with the suggested activities to aid students with Internet research.

American Dreams

Through analyzing song lyrics and movie clips about different versions of the American Dream, studying the American Dream from different vantage points (immigrants, carpenters, Native Americans), and realizing that the concept changes over time and with perspective, students develop their own metaphor for what the American Dream means to them. They also participate in a goal setting activity in which they list the categories of "physical", "social", "intellectual", "creative", "emotional", "financial", "environmental",  and  "spiritual" and how these areas relate to their own interpretation of the American Dream. Additionally, they list the same categories for six months from now, with the opportunity to revisit them at that time to see how far they've come.

A Raisin in the Sun and the American Dream

Students are invited to become engaged in a preliminary discussion about what the American Dream means during this lesson. As this lesson is aligned with both American literature and the Civil Rights Movement, it can meet the requirements for both English/language arts and social studies/history standards. Figurative language charts and elements of the story charts are included in this lesson as students make connections between the historical climate of the 1950's, Civil Rights, and how African American authors, artists and poets created work that reflected their times, their culture, and their struggle in the midst of achieving success.