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Chasing the Dream: Researching the Meaning of the American Dream - ReadWriteThink

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LESSON PLAN

Chasing the Dream: Researching the Meaning of the American Dream

Grades

9 12

Lesson Plan Type

Standard Lesson

Estimated Time

Five 50minute sessions

Lesson Author

Susanne
Rubenstein
Princeton,
Massachusetts

Publisher

PREVIEW
OVERVIEW
In Paradox and Dream, a 1966 essay on the American Dream, John Steinbeck writes, For Americans too the
wide and general dream has a name. It is called the American Way of Life. No one can define it or point to any
one person or group who lives it, but it is very real nevertheless. Yet a recent cover of Time Magazine reads
The History of the American Dream Is It Real? Here, students explore the meaning of the American Dream by
conducting interviews, sharing and assessing data, and writing papers based on their research to draw their own
conclusions.
FEATURED RESOURCES
The American Dream Project: This assignment sheet, which is directed to students, explains the threepart
nature of this project and paper.
Steinbeck John. American and American and Selected Nonfiction. Susan Shillinglaw and Jackson J.
Benson, eds. New York: Penguin Books, 2012: In this 1966 essay, Steinbeck presents a picture of Americans
as paradoxical and asks if the American Dream is even possible. An edited version of this essay can be found at
http://politicalsystems.homestead.com/ParadoxAndDream.html
Sidel, Ruth. On Her Own: Growing Up in the Shadow of the American Dream. New York: Viking, 1990:
Sidel explores the impact of the American Dream on young women in the 1980s and 1990s.
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
In her book Genre Theory: Teaching, Writing, and Being, Deborah Dean describes writing miniethnographies,
saying, Ethnography is a way to look at a culture; Wendy Bishop describes it as a representation of the lived
experience of a convened culture (3). Reiff, citing Beverly Moss, explains that the main purpose of the
ethnographic genre is to gain a comprehensive view of the social interactions, behaviors, and beliefs of a
community or a social group(Meditating 42). This lesson allows students to explore this idea of shared
beliefs within a culture and to then use genuine research (oneonone interviews) to produce a paper that
examines the shared belief in the American Dream. As Dean states, conducting research for ethnography
requires students to use genres for authentic purposes, which provides them with clear connections between
genres and contexts and helps them see genres as actions more than forms.
Further Reading
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Dean, Deborah. Genre Theory: Teaching, Writing, and Being. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2008.

STANDARDS
NCTE/IRA NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
1.

Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and
of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and
demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and
nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

3.

Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They
draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word
meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features
(e.g., soundletter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4.

Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to
communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5.

Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements
appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6.

Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation),
media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

7.

Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems.
They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts,
artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

9.

Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across
cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning,
enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

RESOURCES & PREPARATION

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY
Paradox and Dream in America and Americans by John Steinbeck
The New American Dreamers (particularly pp. 1525) in On Her Own Growing Up in the Shadow of the
American Dream by Ruth Sidel
"Keeping the Dream Alive The American Dream: A Biography by Jon Meacham
Note: Because of the concern with the American economy today, oftentimes articles discussing the American
Dream appear in newspapers and magazines. Teachers should be alert for these articles, particularly those
that are especially timely in terms of when the class is undertaking this project. Sample articles include:
The American Dream: Is it slipping away? (September 27, 2010): This article examines the results of an
ABC News Poll on the validity of the idea of the American Dream today.
Waking Up From American Dreams (February 12, 2010): This short article explores contemporary cultural
connections to the American Dream and the effect of class on the Dream.
In a Sour Economy, What Happens to the American Dream? (May 7, 2009): This article explores how the
definition of the America Dream changes in the time of a recession.
A sample student paper and a sample student interview (audio) are included for teacher reference.
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STUDENT INTERACTIVES
Grades K 12 | Student Interactive | Organizing & Summarizing
Venn Diagram
This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three
overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

PRINTOUTS
The American Dream Project assignment sheet for students
Discussion starters sample questions for The New American Dreamers
Sample Interview Questions
Sample Student Paper
WEBSITES
The Center for Steinbeck Studies
This website, The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies, is a university archive focusing on
Steinbecks life and work and offering a variety of materials for teacher interesting in teaching Steinbecks
work.
The American Dream: A Biography
This article discusses how the idea of the American Dream has changed society and traces the history of the
American Dream.
PREPARATION
1. Familiarize yourself with the concept of the American Dream and its history. An excellent resource is
Keeping the Dream Alive by Jon Meacham (Time, July 2, 2012 Vol. 180 No.1).
2. Prepare student copies or plan access to the two readings listed above by Steinbeck and Sidel and prepare
discussion starters. (Sample starters for the Sidel reading are included.)
3. Make class copies of the assignment sheet The American Dream Project.
4. Determine the appropriate number of groups to divide the class into. (Note: there should be a minimum of 4
students per group, but 57 is optimal. If class size is too small to allow for six groups, one for each decade
1950 present, it is best to omit the most recent decade where interviewees often offer less material.)

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
STUDENT OBJECTIVES
Students will:
develop an understanding of the meaning of the concept the American Dream through readings, discussion, and
authentic research.
practice interviewing skills, including formulation of questions, listening and response skills, and notetaking.
learn to work cooperatively with other students to pool data and draw conclusions.
demonstrate the ability to present thoughtful and welldocumented conclusions in a formal paper.
SESSION ONE
1. Ask students to define the American Dream. Brainstorm as a class, listing on the board all ideas, words,
and phrases that students offer. (Examples: financial security; a home, a job, two kids and a dog; happiness;
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freedom to do and be what you want; being better off than your parents; a house with a white picket fence;
being able to pursue your dreams, the chance to succeed, etc.)
2. Encourage students to explore the concept of the American Dream by discussing such questions as:
Is the idea of the American Dream unique to Americans, or is it a Human Dream?
Do you believe the American Dream has changed over time? If so, how?
Do all US citizens have equal opportunities to achieve the American Dream? What do you based your
opinion on?
Is the belief in the American Dream necessary to society? Why/why not?
How do you personally define the American Dream?
3. Read aloud in class Steinbecks Paradox and Dream from America and Americans.
4. Immediately after the reading, ask students to freewrite briefly about their reactions to the piece, focusing
in particular on what Steinbeck says about the American Dream.
5. Ask students to share their freewrites. Use their responses to refine the definition and meaning of the
American Dream on the board. (Note: The term The America Dream was first coined by James Truslow
Adams in his book The Epic of America in 1931.) Although there is no one definition of the American Dream,
students often come to the conclusion that it is the freedom and opportunity to achieve ones goals through
hard work.
6. Ask students to read Ruth Sidels The New American Dreamers before the next session.
SESSION TWO
1. If students were able to read the Sidel piece for homework, begin class with a discussion of The New
American Dreamers (see attached discussion starters). If students were not able to read the piece for
homework, share it with them in class.
2. Ask students to freewrite, expressing their reactions to this piece and commenting in particular on how young
women in contemporary times define the American Dream.
Sample comments from students:
Professional success is important to women today.
The old dream of a husband and a family isnt important to all women anymore.
If I ever do get married, I want my relationship to be 5050. I dont want to be the only one responsible
for taking care of the house and kids.
Money and independence are really important to women now.
Women can do and have whatever they want, just like men."
Sample key lines from "The New American Dreamers":
she is convinced that if she plans carefully, works hard and makes the right decisions, she will have
success in her chosen field; have the material goods she desires; in time marry if she wishes; and, in all
probability, have children. She plans, as the expression goes, to have it all. (p.15)
No matter what class they come from, their fantasies are of upward mobility, a comfortable life filled
with personal choice and material possessions. (p. 18)
A key message that the New American Dreamers are both receiving and sending is one of optimismthe
sense that they can do whatever they want with their lives. (p. 24)
To many of them, an affluent lifestyle is central to their dreams; they often describe their goals in
terms of cars, homes, travel to Europe. (p. 27)
3. Invite students to share their freewrites. Use their responses to continue to refine the definition and
meaning of the American Dream. Ask students to compare Sidels conclusions with Steinbecks comments on
the American Dream
4. Discuss the format and voice of the Sidel piece. Ask students to point out how she uses specific data from
interviewees to draw her conclusions. Have students note how she implements direct quotations from the
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interviews to illustrate specific points.

5. Introduce students to the idea that they will be conducting their own interviews on the meaning of the
American Dream. Explain to them that they will be choosing interview subjects who represent particular
decades from the 1950s to the present.
6. Pass out The American Dream Project assignment sheet and read it aloud with students. Note in particular
the three stages of the paper: interview summary, conclusions on a decade, and personal reflection.
7. Discuss the idea of coming of age (i.e. the time when a person becomes independent of his/her parents) to
make sure that students understand the concept.
8. For homework, ask students to make a brief list of people they know who came of age in each particular
decade (1950s to the present). These should be people they would be able to interview, preferably in
person though possibly in a phone conversation. Students may not be able to come up with a person(s) for
each decade; however, this list will help to expedite student choices in the next class session.
SESSION THREE
1. Choose decade groups, using the lists of potential interviewees which students created for homework. This
works best if students have input into choosing which decade they will interview a person from. Remind
students that they do not have to know their interviewee well, and that in fact, in most interview situations,
the interviewer does not know the interviewee. Be sure to have an equal number of people in each decade
group so that they all have roughly the same amount of material to work with.
2. Brainstorm a short list of possible interview questions (see attached sample list), and discuss strengths and
weakness of potential questions. (Note: Remind students that, when interviewing, they should not follow
the list precisely but instead allow the interview to take on a life of its own. This is a reason for creating a
fairly short list of questions so that students have to take the initiative to come up with questions suitable for
their particular subject.)
3. If necessary, suggest that students refer back to The New American Dreamers to see questions Sidel asked
interviewees and how questions built upon one another.
4. Review with students general guidelines for conducting an interview (i.e. courtesy, concerns about
confidentiality/anonymity, use of tape recorders, etc.). If necessary, allow students to practice mock
interviews with one another. Addtionally, you may choose to share the sample student interview (audio) with
the class so that students have a better understanding.
5. Remind students of the specific date when the twopage interview must be completed and brought to class
(see assignment sheet). Emphasize the importance of having the paper in class on that day since students
will be sharing their data.
SESSION FOUR
1. Ask students to sit in small groups according to decade (i.e. the 1950s group includes those students who
interviewed someone who came of age in the 1950s).
2. Ask each student to read the interview portion of the paper aloud to the group while other group members
take notes on what they hear. After each group member has read his/her interview, students may decide
that they need to hear parts of the papers again. Allow sufficient time for this reading and for students to
ask questions of one another.
3. When all interviews have been presented, tell students to discuss the data and begin to draw conclusions
about the meaning of the American Dream for that particular decade. Encourage lively and thoughtful
discussion, and remind students to not settle for easy conclusions but to think deeply about the data.
Students may find the Venn Diagram tool helpful to use to see similarities and differences in their subjects
responses.
4. Explain to students that not everyone in the group will necessarily draw the same conclusions, and that that
is a function of interpretation of data. Depending on the size of the groups, note that students may focus
their conclusions on different subgroups (i.e. gender, class, region, etc.) within their larger group.
5. While students are working in groups, circulate the classroom to help guide student discussion and to assure
that the interview pieces are written in the correct style and format.
6. If, at the conclusion of class, students feel they need more data, allow time for them to reconnect with their
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interviewees and then share that additional material with their group during another class session.
7. Remind students of the due date for the entire paper (all three sections) as noted on the assignment sheet.
SESSION FIVE
(Note: This is the session during which the students will hand in their completed papers, so this session might be
a week or so after Session Four.)
1. Ask students to again meet in their small groups according to decade and share their final conclusions as
presented in their papers.
2. Give each group a piece of chart/poster paper on which to list the key points they agree on that would define
the meaning of the American Dream for their particular decade.
3. Hang the posters and ask each group to present their findings to the entire class. Encourage them to support
their findings with data from their interviews.
4. Conduct a class discussion on how the American Dream has or has not changed throughout the decades from
1950 to the present. Ask students to consider the Time Magazine questions: Is It Real?
5. Encourage students to share their own definition of the American Dream as expressed in the final page of
their papers. Ask them to compare and contrast their responses.
6. At the conclusion of the class discussion, collect all student papers (all three parts).

EXTENSIONS
If time and technology allows, students may be interested in viewing the powerful 1988 documentary American
Dream at Groton which focuses on the challenges eighteenyearold Jo Vega faces as a scholarship student at
Groton Academy, a Massachusetts prep school. Vega was born in Spanish Harlem and struggles in her pursuit of
the American Dream in a very different social milieu.
Students interested in music might want to explore music that focuses on the American Dream. An excellent
selection of songs can be found on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website.
In an abbreviated form, this lesson might be used in connection with literature that explores the American
Dream such as The Great Gatsby, A Raisin in the Sun, and Death of a Salesman.
STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS
The complete, threepart paper can be graded as any other research type paper. The requirements for each
section are outlined in the assignment sheet and can be graded accordingly. (A teacher might choose to
weight the three sections as follows: Interview 40%, Conclusions drawn from data 40%, Personal
statement on the American Dream 20%.) Emphasis should be placed on use of solid and specific data that
support the writers conclusions.
Students might also write a short reflection discussing their reaction to the design of the project in terms of
conducting interviews, collaborating in small groups, and using authentic research to draw conclusions.

RELATED RESOURCES
LESSON PLANS
Grades 9 12 | Lesson Plan | Unit
Connecting Past and Present: A Local Research Project
In this unit, students become active archivists, gathering photos, artifacts, and stories for a museum exhibit that
highlights one decade in their schools history.
Grades 6 8 | Lesson Plan | Unit
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Introducing Each Other: Interviews, Memoirs, Photos, and Internet Research

Students use their communication and writing skills as they interview a partner, write an article about them, and
create a multimodal presentation to introduce their partner to the class.

STUDENT INTERACTIVES
Grades K 12 | Student Interactive | Organizing & Summarizing
Venn Diagram
This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles,
enabling them to organize their information logically.

CALENDAR ACTIVITIES
Grades 9 12 | Calendar Activity | September 24
F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, was born in 1896.
After reading The Great Gatsby, students work in pairs, select a chapter from the novel, and rewrite it from the
point of view of a different character.
Grades 9 12 | Calendar Activity | February 27
In 1902, John Steinbeck was born.
Students brainstorm a list of the ills of society, research a topic of their choosing, and then prepare an annotated
bibliography of texts that address the topic.

PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY
Professional Library | Book
Genre Theory: Teaching, Writing, and Being
Dean synthesizes theory and research about genres and provides secondarylevel teachers with practical
classroom applications.
Grades 9 12 | Professional Library | Book
The Great Gatsby in the Classroom: Searching for the American Dream
Veteran high school English teacher David Dowling demonstrates how teachers can help students connect The
Great Gatsby to the value systems of the twentyfirst century, offering active reading and thinking strategies
designed to enhance higherlevel thinking and personal responses to fiction.

COMMENTS

2015 IRA/NCTE. All rights reserved.

Legal | International Reading Association | National Council of Teachers of English

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