Defining "American" (relinquishing a 'magic carpet')

Title: "Relinquishing the 'Magic Carpet'"

Author: M. Hill

Week: 7

Unit/Lesson Plan #: Identity-Diversity Bridge/5

Unit theme:

Identity

Textbook references:

 "Magic Carpet" by Mitali Perkins

Learning objectives:

To explore the definition of "American" as portrayed in pop culture and mainstream media

Key Questions, Concepts, or Themes:

Stage 1:

Warm-up: In your ELA journal, list your favorite television shows, movies, books, or advertisements

Stage 2:

In class, we've been talking about the idea of "American Identity" as it relates to the author's perceptions in "Magic Carpet." We identified that the authors ideas of what it means to be "American" came largely from her interaction with media - initially through reading books, but probably also through images in television, advertising, etc. Today, we are going to continue to look at how "American" is defined. To start us off, we are going to go back to the time of the author's childhood in "Magic Carpet," and look at how the media portrayed the ideal "American" life - Play clips from 1950s-1970s television advertisements: http://www.roadode.com/eat_3.shtml ... Have students make 2 columns in their ELA journal. As students watch, they should jot down observations of what they see in these images in the left-hand column (Campbells 1959, Campbells Pork & Beans, Cheerios, Chef Boyardee, etc.). After watching the clips, students will be asked to write down observations of what they saw (what images of "America" were present?)

Stage 3: Students will be asked to write a journal entry, pretending that they have just arrived in the United States for the first time, and turned on the television to see these commercials. What images to these commercials give of the United States? What sort of American identity seems to be portrayed? How would this fit with the author's cultural identity in "Magic Carpet"? (reread first half, up until author "relinquishes her magic carpet")

Then, share your ideas about this "America" with a neighbor... talk about how this is similar to, or different from, America today. Refer to the list of television shows, etc. that you wrote down during the warm-up. How might these present views that are similar to or different from those presented in the clips... If time allows, begin a class-wide Venn diagram looking at ideas of "America" (then/now sort of thing)

Homework: (attach/link digital resources):

Word study review passed out; online course forums open for discussion!

Assessments: (attach/link copies)

__ Group assessment

_x_ Observation of process/student work

__ Self-assessment by student

__ Teacher generated assignment

_x_ Written project (journal entry)

__ Test/Quiz

__ Other: ____________________________________