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Lesson 2

We will begin to study the question, “How did Lin-Manuel Miranda interpret primary and secondary sources to create Hamilton: An American Musical?” We will read and analyze an excerpt of Alexander Hamilton’s letter to the Royal Danish American Gazette. Then, we will analyze Hamilton’s use of structure and language, and we will make connections between Hamilton’s writing and the way in which he is characterized in the song “Alexander Hamilton.”

Lesson Goals

  • Can I express an accurate understanding of the central ideas of Hamilton’s letter?

  • Can I analyze Alexander Hamilton from a primary source?

  • Can I make connections between the information in Hamilton’s letter and the way in which Hamilton is characterized in the song “Alexander Hamilton"?]

  • 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
  • Unit Reader
    • “From Alexander Hamilton to The Royal Danish American Gazette, 6 September 1772,” Alexander Hamilton, Public Domain, 1772

Optional

  • Digital Access
    • “Hamilton in Real Life — My Shot and Aaron Burr, Sir,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, YouTube, August 26, 2016

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Write

We will brainstorm what we know about primary and secondary sources.

Consider the terms primary source and secondary source.

On a piece of notebook paper, create two tables, with three columns in each.

Write "Primary Source" in the first column on one table and "Secondary Source" in the first column on the second table. Label the second column "Definition" for both tables. Label the third column "Examples" for both tables.

Individually, write what you know about the words in each column.

Listen as your teacher defines primary and secondary sources for you.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will discuss the difference between primary and secondary sources.

As a class, discuss the definitions and examples of primary and secondary sources.

Think about the following questions as you discuss these terms with the class:

  1. What type of source is more reliable? Why?

  2. What are key features of secondary sources?

  3. What does it mean to interpret something?

Activity 3: Read

We will prepare to read a primary source, a letter from Alexander Hamilton.

Reread stanzas 4 and 5 from “Alexander Hamilton,” from “Then a hurricane came” to “What’s your name man?”

Discuss the following questions:

  1. What important events do these stanzas recount about Hamilton’s life?

  2. What do they show about Hamilton?

  3. How do others respond to Hamilton?

Activity 4: Read

We will complete a first read of “From Alexander Hamilton To The Royal Danish American Gazette, 6 September 1772.”

Follow along as your teacher or one of your peers reads the letter aloud. Underline unfamiliar words and note any sections that help you figure out the central idea of the letter.

Activity 5: Read

We will review key vocabulary from this text that represent important concepts or challenging words, paying attention to their use and meaning in the context in which Lee presents them. We will write down important terms in a Vocabulary Journal so that we can refer back to them later in the unit.

Use the Vocabulary List to complete this activity.

Working as a class, review the vocabulary:

  • dissolution

  • prodigious

  • keenness

  • brackish

  • quell

  • precepts

  • scythe

  • allay

Locate the words as they are used in the text, using the provided page number, and consider the following questions for each:

  1. What does the context suggest the word means? 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. You might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool to assist you with determining their meaning.

Activity 6: Read

We will find a central idea and purpose of this letter.

Step 1

Respond to the following questions in your Learning Log:

  1. How does Hamilton’s use of imagery reveal his perspective on the storm?

  2. What is implied by the line “Thou canst not call upon thy God; thy life has been a continual warfare with him”?

  3. In the fourth paragraph, Hamilton self-reflects in the face of this storm. How would you summarize his description of himself?

Discuss your responses as a class.

Step 2

As a class, determine the central idea of this letter. Explain the central idea of the letter in one or two sentences.

As a class, closely read the first two paragraphs, focusing on Hamilton’s purpose.

In a small group, closely read Paragraphs 3, 4, and 5.

Answer the following question:

  1. What is the purpose of Paragraphs 3, 4, and 5?

Discuss your thoughts about the central idea of Paragraphs 3, 4, and 5 with the class.

Activity 7: Write

We will analyze Alexander Hamilton as portrayed in the letter.

In small groups, use your Character Note-Taking Tool for Hamilton to track and analyze Alexander Hamilton by looking at his actions and thoughts. What observations can you make about him based on this letter?

Activity 8: Write

For homework, we will finish our character Note-Taking Tools.

The Extending Understanding Tool supports and guides a process for analyzing relationships among texts or sections of text, making text-based comparisons and developing a claim or posing a new text-specific question. Often, you will use it with a new text you want to relate or compare it to a previously analyzed text. As with the other Reading Closely Tools, it is usually used with a guiding or text-specific question that involves comparing texts or extending understanding from one text to another.

Use an Extending Understanding Tool to make comparisons between texts with regard to Hamilton’s character:

  1. Write down the following guiding question in the space provided at the top: How does the Alexander Hamilton you analyzed in the letter compare to the Alexander Hamilton you analyzed in the songs "Alexander Hamilton" and "My Shot"?

  2. Compare the ideas between texts. The space can be used to compare how different authors convey similar themes, or how different authors develop arguments. Notice the directions state to explain and not just identify. This means you might have to include relevant facts or details to support your comparisons.

  3. The Analyze Relationships row asks you to identify how your thinking about the topic, texts, or claims has changed or expanded as a result of new information you read. This is not just a space to write the new information you gathered; it is a space to identify how or why this new information has shifted, refined, or confirmed your perspective.

  4. The final row invites you to synthesize this new information. When you synthesize something, you put all the pieces together and consider all of your information, then develop a new claim or question. You can write the claim or question in the space provided.

  5. You might repeat this process several times as you gather new information.