UCLA Center for East Asian Studies Educational Resources

America:  Dreams and Realties
Lesson Plan

Day 1

1.  As a warm-up, students will respond to the question, "When you first arrived in the U.S., what impressions did you have of American life?  Give specific examples to support your ideas."  It may be helpful for students to divide their paper into two columns.  The left column is for their impressions while the right column is for the examples that correspond with their impressions. (15 min.)

2.  After writing down individual ideas, students will form assigned groups of four and discuss their responses.  Each group will divide a large section of butcher paper into two columns.  The group's combined answers for impressions are on the left with matching examples on the right.  The two column approach makes each group's list easier to read when they share them with the whole class.  After each group presents their list, lead the class in discussing any similarities and differences among the ideas. (35 min.)

3.  Explain that for homework, students will receive a copy of excerpts from Tocqueville's America.  Includes Intro, City of Commerce, The Rigors of Travel, and Edge of the Frontier sections.  They will read the excerpts and make a list of Tocqueville's impressions of America on a graphic organizer (Handout 1).

Day 2

1.  Check student's homework while they complete a warm-up which is to answer the questions, "What is Tocqueville's overall impression of America?  Support your answer with examples from the handout." (10 min.)

2.  Place a transparency of the graphic organizer on the overhead.  Discuss the homework by using students' answers to complete the graphic organizer. (10 min.)

3.  Using the same group of four from the previous day's activity, assign excerpts from Land Without Ghosts ( New York Streets from Zhang Deyi's Strange Customs; How Americans Cherish Time, Inside American Homes, and the Education of Children from Xu Zhengkeng's Things about America and Americans).  Each member of a group of four will take one excerpt and he or she will be responsible for reading the excerpt and sharing it with the rest of the group.  During the presentation of each excerpt, group members will take notes on a graphic organizer (Handout 2)  similar to the one for the Tocqueville assignment.  After each member has presented, the groups will come together for a class discussion of the excerpts. (30 min.)

4.  For homework, students will complete a Venn diagram (see Handout 3) comparing and contrasting Tocqueville's views and those from the Land Without Ghost.

Day 3

1.  Check homework while students respond to the following question, "  Pretend that you are currently living in another country and that you have never been in the United States.  The only information you have about the U.S. is from what you read in Tocqueville's America and Land Without Ghosts.  Based on these two readings alone, what impressions would you have about American life?  Give examples from the readings to support your answer." (10 min.)

2.  Go over the homework by using a Venn diagram on the overhead.  Use students' answers to complete the similarities and differences between Tocqueville's ideas and those from Land Without Ghosts. (20 min.)

3.  Discuss warm-up question.  Ask the following questions for further discussion:

a.  What impressions do you think the French might have had about America based on Tocqueville's written accounts?  What effect would his views have had on people's desire to come to America?

b.  What impressions do you think the French might have had about America based on Zhang Deyi and Xu Zhengkeng's written accounts?  What effect would his views have had on people's desire to come to America?

Introduce the idea of the American Dream by discussing the reasons for why immigrants come to the U.S.  Relate the concept of the American Dream to students' experiences by discussing the circumstances that brought them to the U.S.

Day 4

1.  As a warm-up, students will read Ye Qianyu's satirical cartoon entitles Shipboard Dreams and answer the following questions:

a.  What aspects of the American Dream does the cartoon illustrate?

b.  What reality does the cartoon portray?

c.  Relate the cartoon to your own experience.

2.  Discuss the warm-up and introduce the concept of satire. (25 min.)

3.  In the same groups of four, students will receive a copy of one of Ye Qianyu's cartoons.  Each group will study their cartoon and answer questions a-c (from the warm-up) using the cartoon.  In addition, each group will discuss how the cartoon is an example of satire.  Lastly, each group will prepare to share their cartoon and their ideas with the rest of the class tomorrow (remainder of class time.)

Day 5

1.  For the warm up, students will refer to the group lists that they compiled on butcher paper on Day 1.  They will answer the question, "How have your ideas about the U.S. changed since your arrival?  What "realities" have you discovered about the U.S." (10 min.)

2.  Each group will present their cartoon and analysis.  The class will discuss satire and how Ye Qianyu incorporates satire into his cartoons.  In addition, students will discuss their responses to the warm-up. (35 min.)

3.  For the remainder of class time, students will brainstorm ideas for  creating their own satirical cartoon.  For homework, students will create a first draft of their cartoon.  Students will go through the process of revising and editing their first draft and eventually, publish their final draft by compiling the entire class' cartoons to make a class book.

Debriefing

All writing and discussion questions are integrated into the unit.

Evaluation

The three homework handouts and the project of creating their own satirical cartoon will serve as tools for assessing students' performance.