MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches...
Curated OER
Who Can Achieve the "American Dream"
Exploring the idea of working to achieve the American Dream, the class reads an excerpt from How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez. Following, the class analyzes the excerpt and discusses the theme of the reading using...
Curated OER
The American Dream
Students discuss the American dream and explain what the American Dream consists of. In this American Dream lesson, students listen to music about America for the reasons people love America. Students create a list of wants and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Raisin in the Sun: Whose "American Dream"?
How does Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun factor into a discussion of the American dream? High schoolers define the American dream and recognize the historical setting of the play. Additionally, they identify...
Curated OER
The Voice of Dreams
Students explore, analyze and study novel reflections on the American dream that the United States has held the promise of unlimited possibilities. They describe the concept of the American dream, listen to and record real stories of...
Curated OER
American Literature - The American Dream: Past, Present, and Future
Students are introduced to the ideas of the American Dream at the turn of the century. They present their ideas on the American Dream at the turn of the century through a person characterized in Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology.
Curated OER
Searching For The American Dream
Ninth graders explore the meaning of the American dream and how it has been explained in various forms. After reading various immigrant accounts, 9th graders use poetry and writing to explain how different cultures view the American...
PBS
Latino Americans Share Their Experiences
Three Latino Americans are the focus of an interactive that spotlights their accomplishments. Scholars get to know Lin-Manuel Miranda, Judy Reyes, and José Hernández through short informative text and videos. Participants read, take...
Curated OER
Defining the American Dream
Students define the American Dream and apply their knowledge of American history to evaluate the main idea of H.W. Brands' book, "The Age of Gold."
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating About Immigration The DREAM Act
Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration...
Curated OER
The American Dream
Students define the American dream. For this primary research lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding the ideal of the American dream. Students create presentation to...
Global Oneness Project
The Power to Persevere
Joris Debeij's film, Making It in America, takes a look at Alma Velasco, a Salvadoran immigrant who was granted political asylum in the United States. The lesson gives a face to immigrants and their struggles to embrace the...
Curated OER
What is "The American Dream"?
Students read the story Marriage is a Private Affair and analyze the 'American Dream.' In this American Dream activity, students free write about the American Dream. Students read the story and discuss the themes. Students write a letter...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “In This Place (An American Lyric)” by Amanda Gorman
Amanda Gorman, the United States's first National Youth Poet Laureate, is featured in a resource from the Academy of American Poets. Class members first read Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech and note what King wanted...
Curated OER
The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
Curated OER
Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Students explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. Students create 3-D representations of the American dream and write...
Curated OER
Digital Dreams
Students write a speech. In this dreams lesson, students define the word dreams and list their own dreams. Students read and discuss Langston Hughes work, read and discuss excerpts from speeches by JFK and Martin Luther King,...
Smithsonian Institution
A Dream Deferred: DACA
"Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses" has even more meaning for some children. The resource explores the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Scholars analyze primary sources and participate in...
Curated OER
Keeping the Dream Alive
Students explore the life and works of black American playwrights to gain insight into how their works reflect and influence the black American experience.
Curated OER
Opportunity and Discrimination, A Dream of Gold
Students focus on what it means to be a citizen of the United States and why the Chinese Exclusion Act is important when considering the concept of racism.
Curated OER
Novel Ideas: History of the American Novel
Explore the history of the American novel in the contexts of literature and US history. How does a novel or piece of writing from a particular time showcase the mood during that historical period? After conducting research and discussing...
Curated OER
So, So Surreal Self-Portraits
Students take virtual trip back in time to 1924 when a Dada manifesto sparked the Surrealist movement in Europe and the United States. They explore about the history of Surrealism and visit online galleries of notable artists of the past...
Curated OER
The Immigrant Experience in the United States
Students examine the experiences of an immigrant coming to the United States. Using the internet, they research information related to the Cuban/American baseball experience. They present their findings to the class and answer any...
Curated OER
This Is My Life
Students create a time line of their lives from the perspective of 50 years in the future.