Section 1: Overview

Who Is Alexander Hamilton?

Who tells your story? What does it mean to be young, scrappy, and hungry—and determined to form a new nation? We will listen to songs from Hamilton: An American Musical, which will lead us to address the more specific question: Who is Alexander Hamilton? We will use the lyrics from the musical’s songs to gather information and create an objective summary of the musical. We will also begin to explore the Central Question: How do storytellers use primary sources?

• Lesson 1:

  We will preview the Culminating Task and explore the Central Question: How do storytellers use primary sources?

• Lesson 2:

  We will continue to explore the question, “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” We will listen to five songs from Act 1 of Hamilton: An American Musical and will determine their moods.

• 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 4:

  We will continue to explore the question, “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” We will listen to the final 11 songs from Act 1 of Hamilton and will track our thinking about the characters as well as where we are confused or need additional background knowledge.

• Lesson 5:

  We will prepare for the Section Diagnostic by reviewing our summaries from Act 1 in order to identify the main events that occurred in Act 1. We will then infer the theme.

• Lesson 6:

  We will continue to explore the question, “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” We will listen to four songs from Act 2 of Hamilton: An American Musical and will track our thinking about the characters as well as where we are confused or need additional background knowledge.

• Lesson 7:

  We will continue to explore the question, “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” We will listen to seven songs from Act 2 of Hamilton: An American Musical. We will track our thinking about the characters, as well as where we are confused or need additional background knowledge. We will also analyze a choice Hamilton makes.

• Lesson 8:

  We will continue to explore the question, “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” We will listen to three songs from Act 2 of Hamilton: An American Musical and will work in groups to create a timeline of Hamilton’s life based on the events in the musical so far.

• Lesson 9:

  We will continue to explore the question, “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” We will listen to four songs from Act 2 of Hamilton: An American Musical and will reflect on the end of the musical, what we have learned, and questions we still have.

• Lesson 10:

  We will deepen our understanding of how to write an objective summary.

• Lesson 11:

  We will use a variety of strategies to decipher unknown words from Act 2. We will identify the main events of the songs we have studied. Then, we will infer themes found in Hamilton: An American Musical and begin planning for the Section Diagnostic.

• Lesson 12:

  We will write an objective summary and identify a theme of Acts 1 and 2 of Hamilton: An American Musical.

• Lesson 13:

  We will review feedback on the Section Diagnostic. We will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.

• Lesson 14:

  We will commence an Independent Reading Program in which we choose texts to read independently as we progress through the unit. We will learn how to choose texts, what activities we may complete, about the final task, and about any materials we will use as we read our independent reading texts. We will begin by reading our texts, using tools to help us take notes and analyze important textual elements.