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Lesson 1

We will review the Central Question and Framing Questions and will begin to explore the following question: How did Lin-Manuel Miranda interpret primary and secondary sources to portray Hamilton’s relationships? We will listen to and closely read three songs from the musical, focusing on Miranda’s interpretation of Washington and Hamilton’s relationship. We will then begin to read and analyze excerpts from Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow, and a letter from George Washingto to Alexander Hamilton. We will make connections between the sources and Miranda’s interpretation of the relationship between Hamilton and Washington.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I gather and organ ize relevant and sufficient evidence of the relationship between Hamilton and Washington in the musical?

  • Can I make connections among details, elements, and effects to explain Miranda’s interpretation of the relationship between Hamilton and Washington?

  • Can I make connections between the information in the sources and Miranda’s interpretation of the relationship between Hamilton and Washington in “Meet Me Inside” (Act 1), “History Has Its Eyes on You” (Act 2), “One Last Time” (Act 3), and other songs?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, Grand Central, 2016
  • Unit Reader
    • Excerpt from Introduction to Washington and Hamilton’s Relationship (pp. 88–89) from Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow, Penguin Press, 2004

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read

We will review the Central Question and framing questions.

Review the Central Question of the unit:

How do storytellers use primary sources?

Review the Framing Questions for this unit, particularly Questions 1-4:

  1. How did Lin-Manuel Miranda interpret primary and secondary sources to create Hamilton: An American Musical?

  2. Who is Alexander Hamilton?

  3. How did Lin-Manuel Miranda interpret primary and secondary sources to create the character of Alexander Hamilton?

  4. How did Lin-Manuel Miranda interpret primary and secondary sources to portray Hamilton’s relationships?

  5. How does Lin-Manuel Miranda’s interpretation of Alexander Hamilton compare with the Hamilton revealed in the primary and secondary sources?

  6. Is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s interpretation of Hamilton’s character accurate?

  7. How important is it to be historically accurate when creating art that is based on a real person or event?

  8. How will I use primary and secondary sources to create an original work?

  9. How does the use of primary sources affect modern storytelling?

Review the previous entries in your Learning Log and reflect on what you learned so far and add new observations and inquiries, using the following guiding questions:

  1. Notice: What seems interesting or important?

  2. Think: What does it make me think about? What connections can I make?

  3. Wonder: What am I curious about?

Discuss with a partner how your understanding has evolved, your ideas about what this section entails, and how this section will support your success on the Culminating Task.

Share your responses with the class.

Activity 2: View

We will rewatch the songs “Meet Me Inside,” “History Has Its Eyes On You” and “One Last Time” from the filmed stage production of Hamilton.

Rewatch the scenes for the songs "Meet Me Inside," "History Has Its Eyes on You" and "One Last Time" from the filmed stage production of Hamilton.

While rewatching, add any additional observations, thoughts, and questions to your Act 1 and Act 2Notice and Wonder Note-Taking Tools.

Activity 3: Read

We will closely read the song “Meet Me Inside,” focusing on the following guiding question: how does Hamilton interpret and portray Washington and Hamilton’s relationship in the musical?

As a class, we will closely read "Meet Me Inside," focusing on the following guiding question:

  1. How does Hamilton interpret and portray Washington and Hamilton’s relationship in the musical?

We will use the Washington-Hamilton Note-Taking Tool to guide our thinking and note-taking.

Activity 4: Read

We will closely read the songs “History Has Its Eyes On You” and “One Last Time.”

With a partner, closely read "History Has Its Eyes on You" and "One Last Time," focusing on the following guiding question:

  1. How does Miranda interpret and portray Washington and Hamilton’s relationship in the musical?

Use the Washington-Hamilton Note-Taking Tool to guide your thinking.

Discuss with your partner other songs in the musical that might help you answer the guiding question. Add any other evidence you find in the Evidence from the Text column.

After closely reading the songs and adding evidence, think about how the details are connected, and express your understanding in the form of an observation or claim in the second column.

Share your thoughts and ideas with the class in a discussion.

Activity 5: Read

We will read from a secondary source, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, to look at some of the source material Miranda used when writing his musical.

Read the excerpt Introduction to Washington and Hamilton’s Relationship (pp. 88-89) from Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

While reading, underline sentences that help you understand Hamilton and Washington’s relationship. Circle unfamiliar words.

After reading, respond to the following question:

  1. Based on Chernow’s description of Washington and Hamilton’s relationship, why did they work well together?