UAC Lesson Plan Template
TITLE: I Am Joaquin Primary Source Analysis
Topic: English
Grade Level: 9-12
Time frame: Two 90-minute block periods
ABSTRACT: This Lesson will address the struggles that Mexican-Americans have had when
trying to assimilate into American culture. The poem I am Joaquin written by Rodolfo “Corky”
Gonzales gives reasons why Mexican-Americans have struggled. This lesson is a supplement to
the Character Based Literacy program from Santa Clara. The book it accompanies is East Side
Dreams by Art Rodriguez.
Big Idea: Mexican-Americans and the struggle to assimilate
Focus question: What hardships or barriers have made it difficult for MexicanAmericans to assimilate into American culture?
Rationale for lesson: Art Rodriguez is a young Mexican-American in 1966 who
commits a serious crime and is sent to the California Youth Authority. He learns to survive in
prison and eventually becomes a productive adult. Art Rodriguez struggled to assimilate due to
his abusive father at home and the Mexican neighborhood that he grew up in. Rodolfo “Corky”
Gonzales was a young Mexican-American who was a political activist involved in the Chicano
Civil Rights Movement during the same time period.
STANDARDS:
Content Standards: 11.10 5 Discuss the diffusion of the civil rights movement of
African Americans from the churches of the rural South and the urban North, including
the resistance to racial desegregation in Little Rock and Birmingham, and how the
advances influenced the agendas, strategies, and effectiveness of the quests of American
Indians, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans for civil rights and equal
opportunities.
Historical Thinking Standards:
Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence
to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and
origin of the information.
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UAC Lesson Plan Template
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary
or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the
key details and ideas.
MATERIALS:
Primary sources: ACCESS CBL Supplement
Other sources: Power Point Presentation
LESSON:
Into the lesson plan
Background: Students will view a power point presentation on Rodolfo “Corky”
Gonzales to gain knowledge on the author who wrote the poem I am Joaquin. The teacher will
provide a printed copy of the slides so the students can use as a reference.
Engagement: The teacher will explain that the main theme of the poem is the
struggle to assimilate into American culture. Many of the students have parents who were
born in Mexico or they themselves were born in Mexico so this activity directly relates to
them and/or their families.
Vocabulary: The students will define the following words: whirl, neurosis,
sterilization, suppressed, paradox, sow, manipulation, and Anglo
Through the content:
Content: Students will do a close reading of the poem I am Joaquin. They will
use reading markers to annotate. The reading markers are included on the CBL assignment.
After, the teacher can directly instruct how to annotate using a document camera. The students
should share their thoughts with a partner or share aloud individually before they start to answer
the analysis questions.
Analysis: The students will answer the analysis questions and use information
from the Power Point presentation, the vocabulary words, knowledge of the book East Side
Dreams and the primary source.
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UAC Lesson Plan Template
Learning Tools & Skill building: Close Reading, annotating, written responses
using sentence frames
Questions:
Beyond
Assessment: The teacher will assess the students’ written responses and the
teacher will assess their “think aloud” during class.
Connections:
Relates to the time period for the story East Side Dreams
Relates to the students’ cultural backgrounds and experiences
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