“What happens to a dream deferred?”
Multigenre Performance Assessment
A Raisin in the Sun
For the past week or so, we’ve studied Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun in class.
We explored and discussed how various elements—setting, society, characters,
circumstances, etc.—affect the Younger family’s dreams. In class, you will work on a
multigenre group presentation that links your understanding of the play’s concepts to
other mediums/current issues. Your end project must answer the question, “What happens
to a dream deferred?”
DIRECTIONS: Your project must relate historical and contemporary aspects—
literature, music, art, film, photography, speeches, historical/”newsworthy & noteworthy”
events, drama, cartoons, etc.—to the characters, themes, motifs, symbols, etc. in A Raisin
in the Sun.
You MUST do EACH OF THE FOLLOWING! You should have at least ONE piece of
writing, at least ONE visual and at least ONE audio. ALL of your genres MUST link to a
unifying concept as well as answering the question, “What happens to a dream deferred?”
1. HISTORICAL CONNECTION: Select a historical figure that experienced a
“dream deferred.” Research the individual and provide an example of his/her
work/contributions/ideas in the form of literature, music, art, film, photography,
speeches, etc. You must have a VISUAL/AUDIO as well as the research! You will
share your visual/audio in your presentation and orally recount how the selected
individual’s dream deferred connects back to a character/aspect/concept in A
Raisin in the Sun.
2. SYMBOLISM: Using the list below, construct ONE of the following items
illustrating your understanding of the symbols in A Raisin in the Sun and how they
illustrate “What happens to a dream deferred?” Defend your creation in your
presentation.
3. CHARACTERIZATION: Using the list below, construct ONE of the following
items illustrating your understanding of each character’s depiction and how it
illustrates his/her “deferred” dream in the play. Defend your creation with a
written explanation.
4. CROSS-CURRICULAR CONNECTION: Choose ONE of the following options
below and relate it back to the concept of “dream deferred”/thematics in the
play. . .
a. Research fair-housing and equal-employment in society. Construct one of
the creative options from the list below to illustrate how this affected the
Younger family.
b. Choose an African country and research how it gained independence from
European rulers. Discuss how this concept fits into what the Youngers’
experience in the play.
c. Research inflation rates for each year since 1959, the year A Raisin in the
Sun was first produced. Obviously, $10,000 was worth much more then than
it is now! Use your info to calculate how much $10,000 would be worth
today. A suggested display is a graph, but you could come up with another
creative way to depict this utilizing the list below.
d. The Civil Rights movement is important to the Younger family’s story.
Research the Civil Rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s and construct a
creative visual to display this info using the list below.
GENRES LIST:
Letters
Haiku
2-voice poems
Reviews
Dialogues
Recipes
Advertisements
Obituaries
Resume
Budget
Photographs
Drawings
Announcements
Profile
Journal entries
Biographical character sketches
Short story
Receipt of payment
Bill (items and amount owed, due date)
Description (written snapshot)
Fairytales
Journal entries
Music video
Annotated bibliography
Editorials
Epigraph
Sermon
Newspaper article
Greeting cards
Diary
Instructions
Screenplays
Legends
Maps
How-to’s
Process analysis
Hyperbole
Comparison/Contrast
Guidelines
Satire
Stream of consciousness
Appeals
Riddles
Graphs and charts
Quotations
Documentary
Songs: rap, ballads
Folk, rock, hymns etc.
Old Wives’ Tales
Colloquialisms
Speeches
Critiques
Postcards
Anecdotes
Interviews
Persuasion
Books
Calendars
Want ads
Extended Metaphors
Jokes
Proposals
Explications
Personification
Debates/Arguments
Exaggeration/Tall Tales
Reviews
Preface
Epitaph
Memos
Cause and Effect
Multiple points of view
Games (video, CD ROM, board, card)
Pamphlet/Bulletin
Plays
Scrapbook
Short story
Magazine article
Editorial
Book review
Business letter
Wedding Invitation
Memos
Book Cover
Directions
Dedications
Collage
Timelines
Newsletters
Cartoons
Summary
Invisible writing/codes
Mandelas
Slogans
Epitaph
Extended Metaphor
Scrapbook
Posters
Sonnet
Odes
Monologues
Poem
Narrative
Brochure
Letter to the editor
Survey
Advice column
Feature story
Recipe
Map
Poster (wanted, playbill, concert, movie)
Television or Radio Announcement
Trivia
Idea Web
Project Rubric: “What happens to a dream deferred?”
ORGANIZATION/FOCUS
1
2
Does not establish an
organizational structure
or maintain a coherent
focus throughout.
3
4
Establishes an appropriate
organizational structure
but does not maintain a
coherent focus throughout.
5
X4
Total
Establishes an appropriate
organizational structure
and maintains a coherent
focus throughout.
STYLE
1
2
Does not engage the
reader or signal a
satisfying closure.
3
4
Engages the reader but
does not signal a
satisfying closure.
5
X4
Total
Engages the reader and
signals a satisfying
closure.
SUPPORT
1
2
Limited or no evidence of
appropriate support
(i.e. rhetorical device analysis,
descriptions, etc.)
3
4
Evidence of some
appropriate support but
needs further development.
5
X4
Total
Evidence of superior support (i.e.
analysis of rhetorical strategies,
aesthetic purposes, descriptions, etc.)
PRESENTATION: Analysis
1
2
Limited or no evidence
of appropriate analysis
of media strategies.
3
4
Evidence of some
appropriate evaluation
and analysis of strategies
but needs further
development
5
X4
Total
Clearly recognizes
and evaluates strategies
used in the media to
persuade as well as the
strategies aesthetic effects,
visual techniques,
dialect/language, etc..
PRESENTATION: Delivery/Analysis
1
Presentation does not
engage the audience
and analyze the ad .
2
3
Engaging presentation but
does not use effective
language, solid analysis,
and/or complete evaluation
of reading/visual component.
4
5
X4
Total
Clearly delivers
presentation using
effective language,
analysis and
evaluation of
reading/visual component.
Comments:
Total Points _________