American Studies
Topic: The American Dream
Grade Level: 11
The American Dream Student Page

Social Science: United States History and Geography

11.11 Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society.

11.1  Students analyze the significant events in the founding of the nation and its attempts to realize the philosophy of government described in the Declaration of Independence.

English: Listening and Speaking 

1.1 Recognize strategies used by the media to inform, persuade, entertain, and transmit culture (e.g., advertisements; perpetuation of stereotypes; use of visual representations, special effects, language)

2.4 Deliver multimedia presentations:

a. Combine text, images, and sound by incorporating information from a wide range of media, including films, newspapers, magazines, CD-ROMs, online information, television, videos, and electronic media generated images.
b. Select an appropriate medium for each element of the presentation.
c. Use selected media skillfully, editing appropriately and monitoring for quality.
d. Test the audience's response and revise the presentation accordingly.

1. build a Power Point presentation of their American Dream and present it to the class 
2. define the stereotypical American Dream. 
3. identify their own American Dream. 
4. interview people about their American Dream(s) and present their results as oral history/public. 
5. match songs and images to the student's own American Dream as well as other peoples' perspectives. 
6. compare and contrast the American Dreams of different people. 
7. analyze selected songs, images, and writing for elements of the American Dream.

Procedures:

1. Listen to the song "America" by Neil Diamond. Distribute copies of the lyrics. 
2. Discuss the song "America" focusing upon the stereotypical American Dream. What is it? What did the first immigrants want? What does the American Dream promise? The "dream" is mentioned several times within this song. Students should be guided to see the references to the American Dream within this song. Point out the lines such as "Free, only want to be free," and "My country ‘tis of thee Sweet land of liberty." This would be an appropriate time to review with students some of the historical reasons for immigrants to flock to America. 

1. Divide students into groups of 3-5. Ask each group to build a Power Point Presentation of their own American Dream. Allow one class period for student groups to develop their ideas about the American  Dream. 
2. Power Point skills will be taught in the Imaging class as students are constructing their presentation.
3. In class period number two, students will begin to develop a story board for their Power Point presentation. Each story board will have 

1. Title For Presentation
2. Headline for each slide
3. sketch of image(s)/elements being used
4. short written description of why each element in the presentation is being used

4. (History) Watch a portion of the movie An American Tale where the mice break into song on the boat ride over to America. This is in the first part of the film. The chorus includes the lines "There are not cats in America and the streets are paved with cheese. There are not cats in American so set your mind at ease." 
5. Then listen to the next two songs --"The Great American Dream" by David Massengill and "The American Dream" from Miss Saigon. Provide lyrics for the students. 
6. Discuss the American Dream as portrayed in each of these songs. Focus the discussion upon how the American Dream seems to change with background, situation, historical setting, and perspective. Some of the following points should be stressed: 

 
• An American Tale shows the Russian immigrants’ perspective and the stereotypical American Dream during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. This song is positive and hopeful.
• "The Great American Dream" shows four differing American Dreams--the foreigner’s,. the prostitute’s, the carpenter’s, and the Indian's. The last stanza focuses upon Every man. This song takes on a cynical tone in pointing out some of the differing situations and interpretations of the American Dream. 
• The song from Miss Saigon shows yet another side of the American Dream gone wrong in many ways. There is a direct comparison here to the 2nd stanza of David Massengill’s song.
7. (English) Assign students to go out and interview two different people about their American Dream. Suggest interviewing parents, grandparents, college students, people who have immigrated to the United States, and graduates five years out of high school. The purpose of this assignment is for students to discover differing perspectives. Brainstorm possible questions to ask in class. From their recommendations, provide a list of guiding questions for them to use. 
8. (History) Listen to two songs by Bruce Springsteen "Glory Days" and "The River." Provide lyrics for the students. 
9. Discussion should focus upon the American Dream gone wrong. Which dreams are realistic and which are unrealistic? What happens when a dream is not realized? What determines whether or not a dream is fulfilled? How does a person cope with dreams that are not achieved? Students should first analyze the ideas in each of the songs, and then refer to their own experiences to answer these questions. 
10. (English) Ask students to take part in a goal setting activity. In their journals have them date eight individual pages with the present date. Each page will have a separate heading: physical, social, intellectual, creative, emotional, financial, environment, spiritual. Students will write where they are at the present time in each of these areas. They should describe their present situations as realistically and in as much detail as possible. They may write in paragraph form, phrases, or in lists. Allow at least 5 minutes for each category in class. 
11. Then students are to date eight additional pages with the date six months ahead. Each page will have the same eight headings. Students will write where they want to be six months in the future in each of the eight areas. Allow at least 5 minutes for each category in class. 
12. After the students have interviewed two other people about their American Dreams, have the students write a definition paper. The paper should include the following: 
• A definition of the individual student’s own American Dream 
• A summary of the two interviews explaining each person's American Dream
13. Assign the students to select a song or songs to complete at least one of the following: 
• Select a song to match your individual American Dream 
• Select a song to match one or both of the people you interviewed and their American Dream(s)

Assessment
Each group will be evaluated on how they achieved the lesson's objectives. This will be done through observation of how the students conduct their research and and construct their Power Point presentation.
Pre-test
Post-test

Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame
http://memory.loc.gov/

Route 66
http://www.yale.edu/amstud/r66/map.html
http://dizzy.library.arizona.edu/users/mount/route66.html
http://www.route66clicks.com/

Alternate American Dreams
http://www.newdream.org/
http://www.restoringamericandream.com/

"America" recorded by Neil Diamond (12 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, Columbia, 1982), lyrics and music by Neil Diamond.

"Great American Dream" recorded by David Massengill (The Return, Plump Records), lyrics and music by David Massengill

"The American Dream" performed by Original London Cast (Miss Saigon, Geffen Records, 1990), lyrics and music by Schonberg--Maltby, Jr.--Boublil.

"Glory Days" recorded by Bruce Springsteen (Born in the USA, Columbia, 1984), lyrics and music by Bruce Springsteen.

"The River" recorded by Bruce Springsteen (The River, Columbia, 1980), lyrics and music by Bruce Springsteen.

 Enrichment/Additional Resources:

An American Tale, Steven Spielberg, Robert Wise, Producer, Universal Pictures, 1986.

A more challenging and creative activity could be included in this unit. Students would be required to write, create, produce, and record TV or radio commercial advertising their personal American Dreams. They would be required to sell their dreams to the class. This activity would incorporate many focus areas: a clear definition of their American Dream, selection of appropriate music and songs, visuals which may include the metaphorm from an earlier activity, as well as organizational skills and the use of media.

Additional songs that could be used in the unit include:

• "America" recorded by Simon and Garfunkel (Bookends, Columbia, 1968), lyrics and music by Paul Simon. 
• "American Tune" recorded by Simon and Garfunkel (Concert in Central Park, Warner Bros., 1982), lyrics and music by Paul Simon. 
• "The Boxer" recorded by Simon and Garfunkel (Bridge Over Troubled Water, Columbia, 1970), lyrics and music by Paul Simon. 
• "American Dream" recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (American Dream, Atlantic, 1988), lyrics and music by Neil Young. 
• "Rusty Old American Dream" recorded by David Wilcox (How Did You Find Me Here?, A&M), lyrics and music by David Wilcox. 
• "Young Americans" recorded by David Bowie (Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993, Rykodisc, 1993), lyrics and music by David Bowie. 
• "America" recorded by the original cast (West Side Story movie soundtrack, Sony, 1962), lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and music by Leonard Bernstein.

Ron Zimmeman (rzimmerman@anderson.k12.ca.us)
Last Revised: 5/14/2001