Lesson 1

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Home is...,” Various, Odell Education, 2020
  • “Home, Sweet Home,” John Howard Payne, Public Domain, 1823
  • “Why Owning a Home Is the American Dream,” Anthony Depalma, The New York Times Company, 1988

• • “The Rise of Suburban Areas during 1950s,” AP US History Resources, YouTube
  • “This Is Home,” Off/Page Project, YouTube, 2014

Optional

• • “Cary Grant and Myrna Loy Design Their Dream Home,” H.C. Potter, RKO Radio Pictures, 1948
  • “There’s No Place Like Home — The Wizard of Oz (8/8),” Victor Fleming, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939

Materials

Tools

• The American Dream of Homeownership: Culminating Task Checklist

• Culminating Task Progress Tracker

• The American Dream of Homeownership: Unit Text List

Reference Guides

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide
• Annotating and Note-Taking Reference Guide
• Literacy Toolbox Reference Guide

Question Sets

• The American Dream of Homeownership: Section 1 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• The American Dream of Homeownership: Culminating Task Checklist

• Culminating Task Progress Tracker

• The American Dream of Homeownership: Section 1 Question Set

Activity 1: Discuss – Write

We will begin to study the unit’s topic of homeownership in the United States by considering questions about the meaning of the word home and the dream of homeownership.

Step 1

As a class, briefly discuss the unit’s topic and why it might be of interest to you. Consider the following question:

1. Why has homeownership been considered part of the American Dream?

Work with a discussion partner to think about and discuss the following questions:

2. What does the word home mean to various writers and thinkers? Read and discuss the collection of quotations in the Unit Reader in the section titled "Home is..." What thoughts about the meaning of the word home do they suggest?

Step 2

Locate the Culminating Task Checklist and read the prompt and the four subtopic questions. Then think about the following question:

3. Is owning a home a viable dream?

• If yes, explain why you think people should strive to achieve this dream.

• If no, explain why homeownership is not something many people can or should strive for.

Record your individual response in your Learning Log.

With your partner, compare your responses using the following questions:

1. How are your responses similar and different? Why?

2. What do your responses suggest about why many people dream of owning a home and why some do not?

Share your observations in a class discussion.

Step 3

Now find the Culminating Task Progress Tracker and reflect on the following:

1. What do you think you need to know to succeed on the Culminating Task?

2. What do you need to know how to do to succeed on the Culminating Task?

Write your responses on the checklist and share them with your partner or as a class.

Activity 2: Read

We will review the Unit Text List to familiarize ourselves with the texts we will analyze and discuss throughout the unit.

Step 1

Access and review the Unit Text List. Note the information that is included about each text. These texts are also listed in the activities in which they appear, under the Materials tab. You will notice that each text has an icon by it. These indicate where the text is located, which corresponds to the Location column in the Unit Text List.

Text locations:

• Tradebook: These texts are full-length novels or nonfiction books you will most likely have copies of.

• Digital Access: You can find these texts online. Use the information provided in the Unit Text List or on the Texts tab for the activity to conduct a web search for the resource. Digital Access resources include online articles, videos, podcasts, and other web sources.

• PDF Texts: These are formatted PDFs of texts that are available for download on the Materials tab.

• CD/DVD: These materials are available on CD or DVD and might also be available through online content providers.

Step 2

Review the Independent Reading Text Options. Here, you will find suggested options for independent reading related to the unit.

Activity 3: Read – Listen – View – Discuss

We will think about how the dream of owning a home has been represented in American culture by listening to songs about home, sweet home.

Listen to and think about the lyrics to "Home, Sweet Home," a song from 1823 written by John Howard Payne. Consider the following questions, which can also be found on the Section 1 Question Set:

1. In the second stanza, the speaker of the song refers to himself as an exile from home. From what perspective is he thinking about "home, sweet home"?

2. What images does the speaker present to suggest why "there’s no place like home"?

3. Does this song ring true to you as an expression of how people feel about their homes? Why or why not? Share your responses and thoughts about the song with your classmates and teacher.

You will now view a video of a more contemporary song about the idea of home, "This Is Home." Consider the following questions, which can also be found on the Section 1 Question Set:

1. How does the message in this more contemporary song compare with the message in "Home, Sweet Home"?

2. Does this song ring true to you as an expression of how people feel about their homes? Why or why not?

3. How might the depiction of the home in American music be connected to the American dream of homeownership? Share your responses and thoughts with your classmates and teacher.

Activity 4: View – Discuss

By watching a historical video and considering guiding questions, we will learn more about how the dream of homeownership manifested itself in America following World War II.

While you watch a historical video called "The Rise of Suburban Areas During 1950s," consider following questions, which can also be found on the Section 1 Question Set:

1. From the end of World War II into the 1950s, what factors produced a need for over five million low-cost homes in America?

2. What builder was initially responsible for fulfilling the elusive dream of homeownership for young Americans, and in what ways did he change the thinking about how and where homes were built?

3. How did Levittown, Long Island, represent a dramatic change in how homes were produced and marketed?

4. For young couples in the 1950s, what were some of the best things about buying and owning a new home in the suburbs? What were some of the characteristics that new suburban home buyers had in common?

5. According to author Pete Hamill, what did the two sides of suburban developments like Levittown represent for Americans?

Write down your answers in your Learning Log.

With a partner, compare your responses and your initial thoughts about the video.

Activity 5: Discuss

As a class, we will discuss what we have learned about how the dream of homeownership manifested itself in America following World War II.

As a whole class, discuss the videos and what you have learned about how the dream of homeownership manifested itself in America following World War II.

Activity 6: Read – View – Present

We will research, share, and compare representations of the home as they appear in popular culture.

Individually or in groups, think about examples of how the idea of the home has been represented in popular culture through TV, movies, advertising, songs, poems, stories, books, etc.

Research an interesting example of how the idea of the home has been depicted. Your example could come from a national or international source from any era.

As you prepare to present your example to other students in the class, consider the following questions:

1. Where does your example come from? Whose idea of the home does it represent?

2. What do you think your example says about the depiction of the home in popular culture?

3. How does your pop culture example relate to the dream of owning a home in American culture? How does it relate to the other cultural artifacts you are examining in this lesson?

Present, compare, and discuss your examples from popular culture with other students in the class.

Activity 7: Read – Write

For homework, we will use guiding questions to read and annotate the first section of a 1988 newspaper article titled “Why Owning A Home Is The American Dream.”

For homework, access the 1988 newspaper article titled "Why Owning a Home Is the American Dream" in the Unit Reader. Read and annotate Paragraphs 1-7 of the text in response to the following questions, which can also be found on the Section 1 Question Set:

1. How do the patterns of homeownership in the United States compare with those of other industrialized nations? Why might this be?

2. According to the author, what are the motivations for owning a home? In 1988, what was the "essential motivation"?

3. What is the author suggesting when he says, "A family's physical shelter could be its financial shelter as well"?