The American Dream/American Voices
What is the American Dream?
The American Dream is the shared spirit of optimism and endless possibility, which results in the
belief that anyone can succeed with hard work in America.
Task: To create a beautifully bound book full of art, fiction, articles, photos, interviews,
song lyrics, poems, post cards, recipes, graphs, maps, and facts surrounding an
aspect of The American Dream and analyze your entries.
Purpose:
1.) To explore and analyze some aspect of the American Dream through use of art, nonfiction, and personal analysis.
Part I (6 pages)
Ideas for exploration:
 What do people mean when they refer to the American Dream?
o What do Americans consider success? What makes us happy, or what do we
think makes us happy? When do we know we have “made it?”
o Use your personal formula for the American Dream that you devised earlier in
the quarter and make that the theme for your entire book. How does (example)
“hard-work” + “luck” x “intelligence” = success?
 Does the American Dream still exist and what are the realities of life in America for
different segments of the population?
o Explore a certain demographic such as the very rich, the very poor, immigrants,
etc.
 During various times in the nation’s history, what has the American Dream been?
o Go through the decades or wars we have fought. What was success in the
1950’s and was it different than it is now?
Part II (6 pages)
Illustrate your own personal vision of The American Dream using artifacts including articles,
short stories, songs, photos, etc. This part is about you, your hopes, dreams, and values.
The Assignment:
To create a beautifully bound book that fits the requirements listed in the rubric. If you work
with a partner, you must each have 6 pages devoted to each of your own dreams making the
book 18 pages. In the first part of your book, you will analyze each artifact for meaning and its
connection to the essential question. In the second part of your book, you will analyze 6 new
artifacts for meaning and its connection to your idea of the American Dream.
Your focus is to make something worthy of being put on display on a coffee table in your living
room or in a business office. It will need to be attractive, coherent and insightful.
Rubric for American Dream Project
Each category will be graded on a scale of 1 to 10
____ Title is clever and unique.
____ Project includes twelve to eighteen works, no four from any one genre. Six must be
related to an essential question, six must be related to your own vision of your American
Dream.
____ Artwork is attractive, clever, and advances the idea of the title and the page on which it
appears.
____ Project includes a selection of fiction and non-fiction writings.
____ Two original creations are included and advance the meaning of the page or book.
____ Book is bound in some manner and includes a table of contents.
____ Sources are noted on each page using proper MLA citation.
____ For each entry a thoughtful personal analysis is attached revealing how each selection
answers your essential question. This analysis should be in paragraph form and include
substantial and relevant commentaries.
_____ I have given the entry a title.
_____ I have summarized the artifact for it literal meaning.
_____ I have mentioned specifically the essential question I am linking the
artifact to.
_____ I have explained why it is included in my book.
_____ I have used at least one quote from the artifact in my analysis and then
explained it.
____ Anthology is free from mechanical errors.
____ Anthology presents a clear response to the essential question and clearly relates your
American Dream.
Due Dates:
In-class work dates:
Tuesday, April 30th
Monday, May 5th
Possible: Monday, May 13th
FINAL DUE DATE: Tuesday, May 14th
This project will lose 10 points for every day it is late