Lesson Plan Template Candidate Name: Heather Ingram
Strategy: Metaphorical Expression
Unit Name
Can you achieve your dream?
Realism (1865-1914), Naturalism (1885-1945), Modernism (1914-1945)
Lesson Name Time Needed (Hours/Days)
The American Dream in Metaphor 2 Hours
Grade Subject Course
11th English Language Arts American Literature
GA Standards of Excellence & TAG Standards
Please include both GSE & TAG Standards
GSE Standards:
ELAGSE9-10RL2: Determine a theme and/or central idea of text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by
specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
T.A.G Standards:
Creative Thinking & Creative Problem Solving Skills (CPS) Elements
7. The student uses analogies, metaphors, and/or models to explain complex concepts.
Higher Order Thinking Skills
2. The student responds to questions with supporting information that reflects in-depth knowledge
of a topic.
Essential Question(s)
What should students know when lesson is completed?
What is the American Dream?
Is the American Dream accessible to all people living in America (both citizens and non-citizens)?
What factors (internal and external) contribute to the accessibility?
How has The American Dream transformed through different eras?
How does Theme develop throughout a literary text?
How are Literary Devices (e.g. Figurative Language, Dialect, Imagery, Allusion) used to develop
Theme throughout a literary text?
Teacher Lesson Preparation
Viewing film clips
Posting film clips and poem links to our class OneNote
Que and Project Metaphorical Expression Powerpoint
Activating Strategy (for example: Hook/Mini-Lesson/Warm-Up/Connection to Prior Learning)
Throughout the American Literature course, students have explored the American Identity, American
Values/Mores, and are now considering The American Dream. Necessarily and quite fluidly, students
will approach this unit with substantial prior knowledge.
Hook/Warm Up:
1. Students will watch the following film clips that examine the idea of The American
Dream
BBC World America: The American Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCnvZMr9NLA
Michelle Obama: "The American Dream"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxD-BzfbX-o
The American Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmpwFP1nzoo
2. Students will answer the 3-part Journal Question: What is the American Dream, is it
achievable by all, and has your family achieved the American Dream? (10 minutes, silent,
independent writing)
3. Students will participate in a Class Conversation addressing the Journal Question; instructor
will note significant words on the board (to be used in the Compressed Conflict portion of
todays lesson)
Mini Lesson:
Review select Literary Devices (Allusion, Imagery, Dialect, Figurative Language (including Simile,
Metaphor, Hyperbole, and Personification) via the following poemsI Hear America Singing by
Walt Whitman, Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes, America by Claude McKay
Instructional Sequence and Activities including use of technology
Student Work Period:
1. Students are introduced to the Metaphorical Expression strategy via the Metaphorical
Expression Powerpoint (last 3 slides), before working on the following activities
a. Direct Analogy (5 minutes)
Compare America to a child
Compare The American Dream to a river (or other body of water)
b. Personal Analogy (10 minutes)
You are America. Compose a piece of prose, a poem, or a narrative exploring what it
means to be America (e.g. physical traits, positive/negative characteristics, goals,
past/present/future)
c. Compressed Conflict Analogy (15 minutes)
Students will independently brainstorm associative words for the following
termsAmerica(n), Child(ren), Dream, River
As a collective, we will brainstorm each term in turn (allowing students to hear
and borrow associative words from their peers)
Instructor will place shared associative words on the board
Using terms that seemingly conflict, students will compose a minimum of 5
Compressed Conflict Analogies
Closure:
Oral Exit CardEach student will share their favorite Compressed Conflict Analogy
Assessment Strategies
Both the Personal and Compressed Conflict Analogies serve as assessments for comprehension and
analysis of Figurative Language (e.g. Metaphor). This lesson, however, will serve as a formative
assignment for the summative Literary Analysis that concludes this unit. As that juncture, I will
assess for Identification (Literary Devices), Organization (Overall Essay Structure, Thesis, Topic
Sentences), and Analysis (How do Literary Devices develop and advance the Theme throughout a
Literary Text?)
Differentiation
Scaffolds/ Interventions/Extensions/Enrichment
Scaffolding is built into this unit via the 3 Analogies
Interventions will be handled through one-to-one Instructor-Student mini-conferences (either Student- or
Instructor-initiated); this strategy will become most relevant as we journey through the writing process (Literary
Analysis Summative Assessment)
Students are encouraged to explore The American Dream through online sources outside of class in preparation
for our summative Literary Analysis. Toward that end, the following links are provided
PBS Frontlines Two American Families
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds5mLfbXENY
What does the American Dream mean to you?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/what-does-the-american-dream-mean-to-you/
6 Immigrant Stories That Will Make You Believe in the American Dream Again
http://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2016/10/04/6-immigrant-stories-that-will-make-you-believe-in-the-
american-dream-again/#26f1bd3c10c4
Immigrants Face Harsh Challenges in Search of American Dream
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/opinion/immigrants-face-harsh-challenges-in-search-of-american-
dream/article_057be5f4-842a-11e5-b519-c7efd507791d.html
Materials/Links/Text References/Resources
Metaphorical Expression Powerpoint (last 3 slides)
Film Clips
BBC World America: The American Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCnvZMr9NLA
Michelle Obama: "The American Dream"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxD-BzfbX-o
The American Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmpwFP1nzoo
Poems
I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/46480
Let America Be America Again
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/let-america-be-america-again
America by Claude McKay
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/44691
