Page 112 - ELA_CA_HighSchool_Sampler_Flipbook

13 Who is to say, then, if there is any right path to the top, or even to say what the top consists of? Obviously the colleges don’t have more than a partial answer—otherwise the young would not be so disaffected with an education that they consider vapid. Obviously business does not have the answer—otherwise the young would not be so scornful of its call to be an organization man.
14 The fact is, nobody has the answer, and the dawning awareness of this fact seems to me one of the best things happening in America today. Success and failure are again becoming individual visions, as they were when the country was younger, not rigid categories. Maybe we are learning again to cherish this right of every person to succeed on his own terms and to fail as often as necessary along the way.
Second Read
• Reread the essay to answer these text-dependent questions.
• Write any additional questions you have about the text in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
5. Key Idea and Details: How does the author’s choice to consider real and fictional examples of “dropouts” impact his argument?
The examples provide persuasive and interesting evidence in support of his claim that “failure isn’t fatal” but instead a chance for someone to “come out stronger as a result.” RI.11–12.3
6. Craft and Structure: How does the author’s mixture of slang, colloquialisms, and pop culture references—dropouts, hippies, “phonies,” “plumb lazy”— with his formal tone and language contribute to the text’s effectiveness?
The use of slang, colloquialisms, and pop culture references shows that he
is well versed in current culture, while the formal tone and language let his audience know that he takes seriously his topic of the benefits of allowing young people to fail in order to succeed. The text is effective because the author uses language carefully to present a balanced and thoughtful view of an issue that divides the generations. RI.11–12.6
Check Your Understanding
How do these pieces complicate, confirm, or challenge what you have learned about the American Dream? Can the American Dream be both failure and success?
Narrative Writing Prompt
Imagine Obama and Zinsser having a conversation about the American Dream. What would that conversation sound like? How would they view and respond to each other’s ideas? Working in a small group, think about what ideas each of them would assert, what qualifications they would offer to the other’s ideas, which of the other’s ideas they would challenge or disagree with, and what responses they could have to defend their own ideas. As a group, write the dialogue they might have. In your dialogue, be sure to:
• write the dialogue as though it were in a play, but without the stage directions.
• develop each author’s ideas based on the texts you have read, and represent those ideas fairly and fully.
• paraphrase or use direct quotations from the texts. If you use direct quotations, make sure they are accurate.
vapid: dull or boring My Notes
ACTIVITY 1.17
continued
ACTIVITY 1.17 continued
13 Based on the observations you made during the first reading, you may want to adjust the reading mode.
14 SECOND READ: During the second reading students will be returning to the text to answer the text-dependent comprehension questions. You may choose to have students reread and work on the questions in a variety of ways:
• independently
• in pairs
• in small groups
• together as a class
15 Have students answer the text-dependent questions. If they have difficulty, scaffold the questions by rephrasing them or breaking them down into smaller parts. See the Scaffolding the Text-Dependent Questions boxes for suggestions.
16 After reading the essay, have students complete a SOAPSTone analysis. Students could do this analysis in the My Notes space or in their Reader/Writer Notebooks.
17 Once the SOAPSTone is completed, instruct students to discuss their responses in discussion groups and write a response to the Check Your Understanding activity.
18 The writing prompt could be completed in small groups, in pairs, or independently. Consider having groups present their dialogues to the class.
19 Draw students’ attention to the Independent Reading Link.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
To defend is to support
the statement that has been made. To challenge is to oppose or refute the statement that has been made. To qualify is to consider to what extent the statement is true or untrue (i.e., to what extent you agree or disagree).
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Read and Respond
From your independent reading, select a subject or author who is struggling to achieve what is believed to be the American Dream. Write how this character’s dream may be made possible by the work of others or how his or her work may help someone else succeed.
Unit 1 • The American Dream 95
9781457304675_TCB_SE_G11_U1_B2.indd 95
10/3/15 12:35 AM
Review the work students completed in the Check Your Understanding and Narrative Writing activities. Answers should show an understanding of both Obama’s and Zinsser’s arguments and a more nuanced view of the American Dream from the beginning of the unit. The dialogue should effectively use evidence from both texts.
If groups have a hard time communicating or incorporating the ideas of every member, have them use the Persuasive / Argument Writing Map graphic organizer to be sure everyone contributes. Each student should fill out some part of the graphic organizer for the group.
ASSESS
ADAPT
Unit 1 • The American Dream 95
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.