Dream or nightmare? Class members craft a synthesis essay with textual to determine to what extent the United States has fulfilled the ideas embodied in the America Dream.

The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...

America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches by...

American dream or American nightmare? The Great Gatsby comes under scrutiny in a Crash Course on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story of the Jazz Age, its glitter and its ash heaps. The narrator’s focus in Part I of the two-part series, are...

Is Gatsby great? In the second of two videos devoted to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the narrator presents his argument for why Jay Gatsby should indeed be considered great. By backing his stance with evidence from the text,...

New ReviewEveryone sees art differently. An informative resource focuses on the image analysis of an allegorical statue. Scholars study the photo of the statue and complete a worksheet based on their findings. To finish, academics participate in...

The 1920s were loud, raucous, and a time of great disparity. The American Dream was the green light at the end of a long and for some an arduous road.  F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby captures both dream-like and nightmarish...

A reading of Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem" launches the first lesson plan in a study of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. After reading the poem and examining the title and book cover of the play, individuals craft an essay in...

For many farmers displaced by the Great Depression and the droughts of the 1930s, California represented the American Dream: a place to find work, to establish a new life, and to provide for their families. The reality they found, as...

John Steinbeck's award-winning The Grapes of Wrath brought to life the challenges faced by the migrants uprooted by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Lauded by some for his work, others, especially California growers, were...

The Valley of Ashes, the billboard advertising Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, and Wilson's garage are haunting symbols that F. Scott Fitzgerald uses to bring into focus the dark side of the American Dream. A resource from the PBS American Masters...

What's so great about Gatsby? A teaching guide asks readers to consider whether Gatsby's quest represents the embodiment of the American Dream or a reflection of the American nightmare, a green light, or a valley of ashes.

Introduce readers to the great Jay Gatsby with a short video from the American Masters series. Narrators analyze how Fitzgerald's choice of narrator and point of view create the dreamlike qualities and near-mythic status of Jay Gatsby.

Three Latino Americans are the focus of an interactive that spotlights their accomplishments. Scholars get to know Lin-Manuel Miranda, Judy Reyes, and José Hernández through short informative text and videos. Participants read, take...

A brief video examines a demonstration that crossed the nation. After a congressman pushed to criminalize undocumented immigrants, Latino Americans banded together to fight for immigration reform. 

Uncover the exciting world of the Roaring Twenties with The Great Gatsby study guide. Individuals become critics as they write a review of the production. Scholars also read historical information and analyze the differences between the...

Go get the American Dream lifestyle! The 19th lesson in a 22-part series exploring American history shows learners the post-WWII economic boom. Using primary sources, photographs, and cartoons, groups discuss their findings and present...

Pretty much everyone has heard the phrase life is unfair. A theory by John Rawls, a famous political theorist, as to why this occurs in government and society presents itself. Pupils watch his theory through primary resource photographs...

Joris Debeij's film, Making It in America, takes a look at Alma Velasco, a Salvadoran immigrant who was granted political asylum in the United States. The lesson gives a face to immigrants and their struggles to embrace the American Dream.

An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the anti-Semitism...

Is the American Dream alive and well or has it dried up and died? As part of a study of The Great Gatsby, class members search for articles on the state of the American Dream, analyze the arguments presented in those articles, and then...