Introduction
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The play we are about to read is the award-winning play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. However, before we read, it's important to have a good understanding of the issues surrounding the play as well as the time period in which it was written. Set on the South side of Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun is about an African American family who comes into a large sum of money due to unfortunate circumstances. Despite the major improvements the money can do for the family, the family isn't in agreement on what to do with it. Continue on with this Webquest to learn about the play's and author's background. |
Task
Task:
Today you will become a book publisher to create a biography that would highlight key features of Lorraine Hansberry's life and the civil rights era.
In order to fully understand the historical context for the themes in A Raisin In The Sun, each group will compile a PowerPoint presentation to share its findings with the class. Each group is asked questions and it is not simply a "fill-in-the-blank" style worksheet. Instead, it will ask you questions that require you to engage the material on the websites you will be visiting with considerable depth. Because of this, you will need to use your time in class to investigate the information you access on the website thoughtfully throughout. Furthermore, it is the task of every student in class to remain "on-task" during the WebQuest activity.
When you complete the PowerPoint, you will present it to the class. Therefore, you will get a project grade for the PowerPoint and a class grade for the presentation. After much brainstorming, you and your team decide to "divide and conquer" the awesome task of communicating the highlights of Lorraine Hansberry and the civil rights era. To do this, you will accomplish the following:
- Brainstorm and research information pertinent for Lorraine Hansberry, South Side Chicago, Langston Hughes, Jim Crow laws and more.
- Furnish a powerpoint presentation for the respective decade which includes images.
- Prepare a "summary statement" for each section you are assigned and include necessary links and images. Be ready to present the PowerPoint.
- The last slide of your PowerPoint will be your work cited page.
- When you are complete your work, you will come up with 4 test questions with answers, which I will collect separately. Make sure when you are presenting, you review the information for the test questions to your classmates.
You must cite your sources! Including images!
Process
Section 1: The Author — Lorraine Hansberry
Follow the links below to read all about the life of Lorraine Hansberry, the author of Raisin in the Sun. After you have thoroughly read and analyzed the biographies found on these websites, pretend you work for a publisher and write your own one to two paragraph biography of her life to put on the inside jacket cover of the new edition of the play you are about to publish. Be sure to include: when she was born, when she died, a list of her major published works, and the general themes and topics she writes about in her play, A Raisin In The Sun. Identify what might have inspired her to write A Raisin in the Sun. Add illustrations to your powerpoint-get creative!
Section 1 Part 1: WEB-SITES: The Author: Lorraine Hansberry Biography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_Hansberry
http://umich.edu/~eng217/student_projects/araisininthesun/historicalcontext.html
http://www.biography.com/people/lorraine-hansberry-9327823
Section 1 Part 2: List three civil rights events that Lorraine (or the Hansberry family) was involved with:
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/aframerwriters/p/hansberry.htm
1.
2.
3.
Section 1-Part 3-The Original Play / Film
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THEATRICAL-THROWBACK-THURSDAY-A-RAISIN-IN-THE-SUN-Breaks-Ground-On-Broadway-20150312
Read the article about the original Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun. Explain why/how the play broke new ground in theater. (The video clip just gives a brief overview/preview of the original film version).Add illustrations to your powerpoint-get creative!
Section 2: South Side Chicago:
The Setting: South Side Chicago
Section 2 Part 1 Analyze the images
First take a look at the images featured on this page. They capture what life was like for African Americans living in South Side Chicago during the 1940s and 1950s. Take your time to view and analyze these images. What do they tell you about the society of South Side Chicago? What might life have been like for a poor African American family living in South Side Chicago During the 1940s and 1950s?
![[Fighting Job Discrimination, milk company picket]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www2.clearviewschools.org%2FCHS%2FWest%2FARaisinInTheSunWebquest_files%2Fimage014.gif)
Section 2: Part 2: WEB-SITE: Read the Article and write about life for African Americans in South Side Chicago
Next, follow the link below and read the article about life for African Americans in South Side Chicago. Include about 3 or 4 slides about the article, including the setting. Add illustrations to your power point-get creative!
Section 2 Part 3 Covenants-Read the Articles then answer the questions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictive_covenant
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1761.html
1) In your own words, what are restrictive covenants?
2) How have they been used in segregation?
3) What other information did you find interesting?
Section 2: Part 4: Journal entry
Once you are done studying this page, write a journal entry from the point of view of one of the people you view in these images that reveals what you have learned. At least two paragraphs. Begin your entry:
Dear Journal,
Section 3: Part 1:The Poet — Langston Hughes
Section 3 Part 1
Langston Hughes was the leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance, whose poetry showcased the dignity and beauty in ordinary black life. The hours he spent in Harlem clubs affected his work, making him one of the innovators of Jazz Poetry.
Use the link below or press on the video to find your information
- Where was he born?
- Which part of New York did Hughes spend most of his life in?
- What forms of music influenced Hughes’s work?
- Hughes was the first African American author to do what?
- Who did Hughes write for (who was his audience)
- What else did you learn about Langston Hughes?
[video:https://youtu.be/inP76rkYUso]
If the video is not working - try this
Section 3: Part 2: "A Dream Deferred": Poetry Analysis and Original Poem
"A Dream Deferred"
Poetry Analysis and Original Poem
Read the poem "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes, think about the questions below, and then follow the link to get a template to write your own version of the poem.
"A Dream Deferred"
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
and then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
By Langston Hughes
Poetry Analysis Questions:
What does this poem say? What is meant by the phrase "a dream deferred?"
What images does this poem create in your mind?
What emotions does this poem evoke?
Who do you think Hughes is speaking to in this poem? Why?
Why do you think Hughes use words that are repulsive(gross) to the sense of taste and smell?
List two or more literary elements that can be found in the poem and give an example of each:
Literary element:_____________________ Example: _____________________________________________
Literary element: ____________________ Example: _____________________________________________
Section 3 Part 3 Now it's time to create your own poem using:
"A Dream Deferred" Mad Libs This link is not working, so you may have to find another website or just complete the poem on your own.
What happens to a _______ ________?
noun verb
Does it _______ ________
verb adverb
Like a _______ in the _________?
noun noun
Or _______ like a _______—
verb noun
And then _______?
verb
Does it _________ like __________
verb adjective
_________?
noun
Or ________ and ________
verb verb
___________—
adverb
like a ________ _________?
adjective noun
Maybe it _______ ________
adverb verb
like a _______ ________.
adjective noun
Or does it _________?
verb
Original by Langston Hughes
Adapted by __________________________
(Write Your Name Here)
Section 4: Jim Crow Laws
Section 4 Part 1:
Watch these two videos and answer the questions. Add any other information you think is important for the class to know. Add illustrations-get creative!
If the video is not working - try this link- [video:https://youtu.be/ChWXyeUTKg8]
[video:https://youtu.be/P4Wyb7f-iNc]
If this link above doesn't work, type in, "Plessy and the Era of Jim Crow"
- Who/what was Jim Crow?
- Why was he created?
- What are the Jim Crow Laws?
- What impact do you think they had during the time?
- Add any other important information: Add a least two more slides of other information
Section 5: Civil Rights Movement (Timeline)
https://www.history.com/topics/civil-rights-movement/civil-rights-movement-timeline
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html
Explain (in a few sentences or more) what major events took place during these years/dates during the Civil Rights Movement. Add illustrations-get creative!
- 1948
- 1954
- 1955 (Aug)
- 1955 (Dec. 1)
- 1957 (Sept)
- 1960 (feb. 1)
- 1961
- 1963 (Aug. 28)
- 1964 (July 2)
- 1967 (June 12)
- 1968 (April 4)
Section 6: The Black Belt
**There are 3 parts for this section
Part 1: Video (above) https://youtu.be/i4_u_6ucqnw
[video:https://youtu.be/i4_u_6ucqnw]
- What was one major reason blacks left the South to move to cities like Chicago and New York? Explain
- Between 1910-1940, the African American population increased by ______% in Chicago.
- How did African Americans learn about new job opportunities, train schedules, and more? Explain
- What other important information did you discover? Explain at least 2 or 3 more slides about the Black belt
Part 2: Compare the maps
Based on the maps, what do you notice about Chicago's black population between 1960-2009? Explain. Add illustrations/Maps in your powerpoint as well.
Part 3: Read the excerpts about the Black Belt (below). In your own words explain the excerpts and give your opinion of what you think about what you think about them.
The link below is a Google Docs and I have rewritten the images below so you can read them better.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pja40wWbxWKLKp-XHD3rFYOcWYH-b3GwFxEbiXGmrMo/edit
Section 7: The Yoruba Tribe: A Raisin in the Sun
Act II, Scene One opens with a character in the play dressed in her Nigerian robes and attempting to perform a tribal welcome dance. How much do you know about African culture? See what you can find out about the Yoruba tribe at the following website.
http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/yorubamf.html
https://www.africaguide.com/culture/tribes/yoruba.htm
Where does the Yoruba tribe live? _____________________________________________________________
How large is the Yoruba tribe? ________________________________________________________________
What kinds of crops do they raise? _____________________________________________________________
What are the main religions of the Yoruba tribe? __________________________________________________
What are the Yoruba famous for? ______________________________________________________________
Make at least 2 more slides of other information you have found_____________________________________________
Part 2: Issues in Africa
There are many issues that are present in Africa today. Use the search engine of your choice to research a couple of the following problems and write down some statements telling what you have learned about the problem and what and if anything can be done or is being done about it.
Poverty, illiteracy, HIV/AIDS, civil wars, child soldiers, poor agricultural techniques, genocide, lack of food.
Evaluation
| CATEGORY | 95-100 | 94-90 | 89-80 | 70 and below |
| Attractiveness | The exhibit is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. | The exhibit is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness. | The exhibit is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. | The exhibit is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive. |
Required Elements |
The exhibit includes all required elements as well as additional information. |
All required elements are included on the exhibit. |
All but 1 of the required elements are included on the exhibit. |
Several required elements were missing. |
Content - Accuracy |
All facts are accurate. |
1-2 Facts are incorrect. |
3-4 facts are incorrect. |
5 or more facts are incorrect. |
| Labels | All items of importance on the exhibit are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. | Almost all items of importance on the exhibit are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. | Several items of importance on the exhibit are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. | Labels are too small to view OR no important items were labeled. |
Citations |
All sources are correctly cited. |
1-2 sources are not cited correctly. |
3-4 sources are not cited correctly. |
5 or more sources re not cited correctly. |
Conclusion
Upon completion of this project, you will have a good understanding of what the characters of A Raisin in the Sun faced in their era. You will have a good background in the historical context of this play.