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Lesson 3

We will continue to explore the question, “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” We will listen to four songs from Act 1 of Hamilton: An American Musical and will use a variety of strategies to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I summarize what is happening in Act 1 of Hamilton: An American Musical?

  • Can I identify different characters and how they relate to the plot?

  • Can I use a variety of strategies (e.g., context clues, word study, and vocabulary resources) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, phrases, and figurative expressions?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, Grand Central, 2016
  • Multimedia
    • Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Lin-Manuel Miranda, Atlantic, October 16, 2015

Optional

  • Multimedia
    • Hamilton, Thomas Kail, Walt Disney Studios, 2020

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Listen – Read

We read the lyrics and listen to the song, “The Schuyler Sisters.”

Listen to and read the lyrics of the song "The Schuyler Sisters."

Add responses to your Act 1 Notice and Wonder Note-Taking Tool to track your observations, thoughts, and questions in the "The Schuyler Sisters" section. As you do this, think about the following questions:

  1. What new characters are you introduced to in this song?

  2. What new information have you gained about Alexander Hamilton?

With a partner, share your observations, thoughts, and questions.

Activity 2: Listen – Read

We read the lyrics and listen to “A Winter’s Ball” and “Helpless.”

Listen to and read the lyrics of "A Winter’s Ball" and "Helpless."

Add responses to your Act 1 Notice and Wonder Note-Taking Tool to track your observations, thoughts, and questions in the "A Winter’s Ball" and "Helpless" sections. As you do this, think about the following question:

  1. What do you notice about Burr’s descriptions of Hamilton?

With a partner, share your observations, thoughts, and questions.

Activity 3: Listen – Read

We listen to and read the lyrics of the song “Satisfied.”

Listen to and read the lyrics of the song "Satisfied."

Add responses to your Act 1 Notice and Wonder Note-Taking Tool to track your observations, thoughts, and questions in the "Satisfied" section.

With a partner, share your observations, thoughts, and questions.

With the class, discuss the following questions:

  1. After listening to this song, what have you learned about Alexander Hamilton?

  2. What information have you gathered that will help you answer that question?

Activity 4: Read – View

We will view and discuss the songs “The Schuyler Sisters,” “A Winter’s Ball,” “Helpless,” and “Satisfied” from the filmed stage production of Hamilton.

View the songs “The Schuyler Sisters,” “A Winter’s Ball,” “Helpless,” and “Satisfied” from the filmed stage production of Hamilton. Refer to the lyrics in Hamilton: The Revolution book as needed.

While watching, add responses to your Act 1Notice and Wonder Note-Taking Tool in the appropriate sections to track your observations, thoughts, and questions for each song and its scene. Think about the following questions:

  1. What new characters are you introduced to in these songs?

  2. What new events are you introduced to in these songs?

  3. What do you notice about Burr’s descriptions of Hamilton in “A Winter’s Ball”?

  4. What new information have you gained about Alexander Hamilton?

  5. What else do you learn about the characters from their movement, facial expressions, gestures, and interactions with other characters in these scenes?

  6. How does the use of the turntable stage impact your understanding of the events and characters in the musical?

In a whole-class discussion, share your observations first, your thoughts second, and your questions last.

Activity 5: Discuss

We will look more carefully at the guiding question, “Who Is Alexander Hamilton?” using the Attending to Details Tool and then share our ideas during discussion.

Working in your small group, use the Attending to Details Tool to analyze relationships among the details in "The Schuyler Sisters," "A Winter's Ball," "Helpless," and “Satisfied.”

Look more in detail at the guiding question, “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” using the Attending to Details Tool to synthesize the information you have gained so far.

Share your responses during a class discussion.

Activity 6: Read

We will review important concepts or challenging words from Act 1, paying attention to their use and meaning in the context in which Miranda presents them. We will write down important terms in our Vocabulary Journals so that we can refer back to them later in the unit.

Step 1

For this activity, you will use a Vocabulary Journal, which you will maintain for the entire unit and the unit’s Vocabulary List. You might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool for words you can decipher from the text; for others, you might use morphology to decipher the meaning, or a reference resource to check if your meaning is accurate. For some words, your teacher might present you with definitions.

Write down the words and definitions in your Vocabulary Journal. For each word, identify the vocabulary strategy (e.g., context, morphology, reference resource) you used to determine its meaning.

Step 2

Working as a class, review the Vocabulary List from Act 1 of the text.

Complete the first three words as a class. Find where they are used in the text and consider the following questions for each:

  1. What does the context suggest Miranda means when using the word? What is its connotation, and how does that compare with a dictionary definition?

  2. Why is this word and its meaning important in this part of the text?

  3. How might I use this word in my own thinking, speaking, and writing?

Write down these key words, with your notes about their meaning and importance, in your Vocabulary Journal.

Go through the rest of the words in small groups. Find where they are used in the text and consider the three questions above for each.

Activity 7: Write

We will summarize what has happened in Hamilton: An American Musical so far.

For homework, use the Summarizing Text Tool to summarize what has happened in the musical after listening to these four songs.