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Lesson 2

We will read and analyze excerpts from Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow and a letter from George Washington to Alexander Hamilton. We will make connections between these sources and Miranda’s interpretation of the relationship between Hamilton and Washington.

Lesson Goals

  • 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,” “History Has Its Eyes on You,” “One Last Time,” and other songs?

  • Can I express an accurate understanding of the central ideas of informational texts?

  • Can I gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence of the relationship between Hamilton and Washington in the primary and secondary sources?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, Grand Central, 2016
  • Unit Reader
    • Excerpt from Illustrating Washington’s Temper, Referencing A. Hamilton Letter 18 February 1781 (pp. 151–153) from Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow, Penguin Press, 2004
    • Excerpt from Introduction to Washington and Hamilton’s Relationship (pp. 88–89) from Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow, Penguin Press, 2004

Materials

Tools

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Write

We will begin using the Comparison Organizational Frame to compare the relationship between Hamilton and Washington in the musical to secondary and primary sources.

As a class, use the Comparison Organizational Frame to begin comparing Hamilton and Washington’s relationship in the musical to the excerpt from Introduction to Washington and Hamilton’s Relationship (pp. 88-89) from Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

You will continue using this tool over the next few lessons. You will begin by summarizing what you know about Hamilton and Washington’s relationship.

Prompt: 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," "History Has Its Eyes on You," "One Last Time," and other songs?

What Are You Comparing:

  • Side A: Hamilton and Washington’s relationship in Hamilton: An American Musical

  • Side B: Hamilton and Washington’s relationship in primary and secondary sources

  • Use the columns to list different points of comparison you identify.

Summarize What You Know:

  • Side A: Summarize your understanding of Hamilton and Washington’s relationship in Hamilton: An American Musical for each point of comparison.

  • Side B: Summarize your understanding of Hamilton and Washington’s relationship in primary and secondary sources for each point of comparison.

Activity 2: Read

We will prepare to read an excerpt from Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Before you read the excerpt, discuss with a small group some of Washington’s characteristics.

Using a T-chart, write "George Washington in Hamilton: An American Musical" on one side and "George Washington in Primary and Secondary Sources" on the other. Begin listing Washington’s character traits for each.

After your small-group work, come together as a class and create a class T-chart of Washington’s characteristics.

Activity 3: Read

We will read an excerpt from Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Read the excerpt from Illustrating Washington’s Temper, Referencing A. Hamilton Letter 18 February 1781 (pp. 151-153) from Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, which expands on one of Washington’s character traits we discussed: his temper.

While reading, annotate the text: underline sentences that help you understand Hamilton and Washington’s relationship, and circle unfamiliar words. 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.

Activity 4: Write

We will continue using the Comparison Organizational Frame to compare the relationship between Hamilton and Washington in the musical to primary and secondary sources.

In small groups, use the Comparison Organizational Frame you started in a previous activity to compare Hamilton and Washington’s relationship in the musical to the excerpt from Illustrating Washington’s Temper, Referencing A. Hamilton Letter 18 February 1781 (pp. 151-153) from Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Continue adding to Sides A and B by summarizing what you know about the relationship seen in the musical and second excerpt.

Activity 5: Discuss

We will discuss what we have on our Comparison Organizational Frame so far and add characteristics to our Washington T-chart.

As a class, share what you have included on your Comparison Organizational Frame so far. What similarities and differences are you seeing?

Then, discuss some of Washington’s characteristics you uncovered in the readings.

During the discussion, add to the class T-chart of Washington’s characteristics.