Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: A Raisin in the Sun
FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading
At a Glance
Approximate
Grade Range:
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Genre: Drama
Topic: This excerpt from Hansberry’s classic play introduces an
African-American father yearning for his son to achieve
the “American Dream” of a white, upper-middle-class
existence.
Author: Lorraine Hansberry
Source: A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
Special Note: used on G10 MCAS 2003
In this excerpt from the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine
Hansberry writes about the power of dreams. Hansberry uses a poem
by Langston Hughes as a thematic introduction to her play. Read the
poem and the excerpt from the play below. Use information from both
selections to answer the questions that follow.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
—Langston Hughes
5
Drama
Difficulty Index: Considerate . . . . . . . . . . . . Challenging
Structure:
Purpose:
Richness:
Relationships:
Vocabulary:
Style:
Lexile Measure: 560L
Relationships: The introduction explicitly sets up the
relationship between the poem and the play as that of a
“thematic introduction” about “the power of dreams.”
By cuing readers that the characters’ dreams may be
“deferred” or unattainable the poem and the allusion in
the title help set the tone for the play.
See especially: Questions 9, 10
Vocabulary: Most of the words in both poem and
play are familiar, but understanding of the meaning of
“deferred” is critical.
See especially: Questions 1, 2, 3
10
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
1 TRAVIS Well, good night, Daddy.
(The FATHER has come from behind the couch and leans over,
embracing his son)
2
WALTER Son, I feel like talking to you tonight.
3
TRAVIS About what?
4
WALTER Oh, about a lot of things. About you and what
kind of man you going to be when you grow up. . . .
Son—son, what do you want to be when you grow up?
5
TRAVIS A bus driver.
6
WALTER (Laughing a little) A what? Man, that ain’t nothing to want to be!
7
TRAVIS Why not?
Continued on next page
Structure: The scene is straightforward and linear,
portrayed mainly through dialogue with some stage
directions.
See especially: Question 7
Style: With no description of the setting and minimal
stage directions to supplement the characters’ words,
this scene requires readers to use cues from the
dialogue (including the use of spoken dialect) to build
a mental image of this working-class African-American
family.
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
8
WALTER ’Cause, man—it ain’t big enough—you know what I mean.
9 TRAVIS I don’t know then. I can’t make up my mind.
Sometimes Mama asks me that too. And sometimes when I
tell her I just want to be like you—she says she don’t want
me to be like that and sometimes she says she does. . . .
10
WALTER (Gathering him up in his arms) You know what,
Travis? In seven years you going to be seventeen years old.
And things is going to be very different with us in seven
years, Travis. . . . One day when you are seventeen I’ll come
home—home from my office downtown somewhere—
11
TRAVIS You don’t work in no office, Daddy.
12
WALTER No—but after tonight. After what your daddy
gonna do tonight, there’s going to be offices—a whole lot
of offices. . .
13
TRAVIS What you gonna do tonight, Daddy?
14
WALTER You wouldn’t understand yet, son, but your
daddy’s gonna make a transaction . . . a business transaction that’s going to change our lives. . . . That’s how come
one day when you ’bout seventeen years old I’ll come home
and I’ll be pretty tired, you know what I mean, after a day
of conferences and secretaries getting things wrong the way
they do . . . ’cause an executive’s life is hell, man—(The
more he talks the farther away he gets) And I’ll pull the car
up on the driveway . . . just a plain black Chrysler, I think,
with whitewalls—no—black tires. More elegant. Rich
people don’t have to be flashy . . . though I’ll have to get
something a little sportier for Ruth—maybe a Cadillac
convertible to do her shopping in. . . . And I’ll come up the
steps to the house and the gardener will be clipping away
at the hedges and he’ll say, “Good evening, Mr. Younger.”
And I’ll say, “Hello, Jefferson, how are you this evening?”
And I’ll go inside and Ruth will come downstairs and meet
me at the door and we’ll kiss each other and she’ll take
my arm and we’ll go up to your room to see you sitting
on the floor with the catalogues of all the great schools in
America around you. . . . All the great schools in the world!
And—and I’ll say, all right son—it’s your seventeenth
birthday, what is it you’ve decided? . . . Just tell me where
you want to go to school and you’ll go. Just tell me, what it
is you want to be—and you’ll be it. . . . Whatever you want
to be—Yessir! (He holds his arms open fot TRAVIS) You just
name it, son . . . (TRAVIS leaps into them) and I hand you
the world!
(WALTER’s voice has risen in pitch and hysterical promise and on the
last line he lifts TRAVIS high)
(Blackout)
Relationships: Walter’s relationship with his son
is wrapped up with his own aspirations for a better
life—and a better future for Travis—in the form of the
the classic “American Dream” (lines 6-8, 14). This line
is the only clue to his wife’s mixed feelings about those
aspirations.
See especially: Questions 5, 6, 8
Structure: After the accessible dialogue preceding this
long speech, some struggling readers may be daunted by
this long block of text. Watch for students whose answers
or text annotations signal a lack of understanding of
Walter’s aspirations.
Richess: The elaborate detail of Walter’s version of
the “American Dream” adds poignancy if the reader is
attuned to how unattainable this economic and social
transformation would be for an African-American bus
driver in 1950s America.
See especially: Questions 8, 9
Ideas for Connected Writing Activities
• Write a letter from Walter to Travis explaining why it is
important to dream “big.”
• Describe what a person would be like if they had a
“dream deferred.” Use the similies from Hughes’ poem
as a guide and support your descriptions with concrete
actions, words, feelings, and behaviors.
Humanities Connections
• Research the history of African-Americans during
Reconstruction. How might this history connect to the
idea of a “dream deferred”?
• Research the life and times of Lorraine Hansberry.
Explain the impact of race and gender on her writing
and her life.
• Research the status of both Black and white Americans
in the 1940s. What were the similarities in their social
conditions and daily lives? What were the differences?
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
Spotlight On:
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was born in Missouri in 1902. He moved to Illinois when he was 13 years old and it is there that he first began to write
poetry. He would later attend Columbia University in New York City, because, according to Hughes, “it was close to Harlem.” Hughes eventually
finished his education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and published his first book shortly after.
Nearly all of his work reflected the life, struggles, and celebrations of the Black American community. Hughes went on to become one of the
most influential writers of the 20th century.
His best known works include jazz poems, like the one featured here, and depict Black life in America from the 1920’s to the 1960’s. In
addition to poetry, Hughes wrote plays, novels, short stories, and even musicals.
In one poem, called “A Theme for English B,” Hughes writes: “Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me./Nor do I often want
to be a part of you./But we are, that’s true!/As I learn from you,/ I guess you learn from me—/although you’re older—and white—/and
somewhat more free.” Many writers, like Hansberry, have drawn their inspiration from the relevant writing of Langston Hughes. Today, in
Harlem, East 127th street, the street where Hughes lived and died, is named “Langston Hughes Place.”
Spotlight On:
Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1930. When she was seven, she and her family broke the law by moving into an all-white
neighborhood. They had to go to court to defend their right to live in the area.
After attending college and moving to New York City, Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun to speak out for the Civil Rights movement and the
African American struggle for respect and recognition in American society.
Lorraine Hansberry was the first black person to win the New York Drama Critic’s Circle award for best play of the year. Since its release, A
Raisin in the Sun has been performed countless times. Though she died at the age of 34, Hansberry leaves a lasting legacy as someone who
refused to be silenced by the limitations placed on her race and gender.
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: A Raisin in the Sun
FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading
Drama
The annotated answer key below highlights common reasons why students might choose each answer, and the sidebar gives
more insight into the question types, to help you understand patterns of student responses. Always make time to follow up with
students in conferences or small groups to probe their thinking, teach in response to patterns, and help them apply effective reading
and thinking strategies to their everyday reading.
Note: You may find it helpful to refer to the “Types and Levels of Thinking Assessed on FAST-R” sheet from your teacher
resource folder as you examine your students’ responses. The icon in the right-hand column, below, corresponds to that sheet’s
more detailed explanations of the kinds of thinking each type of question asks of readers.
1. Reread line 1 of the poem. Which of the following is a synonym for the word deferred?
 A. postponed
B. accomplished (OOB)
C. strengthened (OOP2)
D. inspired (OOP1)
FE2: Recognize the
explicit meaning from
varied wording in the
text
2. The images in lines 4 through 6 of the poem refer to things that are
A. antique.­(OOB)
 B. spoiled.
C. valuable. (OOB)
D. trivial. (OOB)
FE2: Recognize the
explicit meaning from
varied wording in the
text
3. Which simile in the poem supports the idea that “a dream deferred” becomes burdensome?
A. the simile in lines 3-4 (OOP1)
B. the simile in lines 5-6 (OOP1)
C. the simile in lines 7-8 (OOP1)
 D. the simile in lines 9-10
MI3: Determine
implicit meaning
by understanding
the organization of
information in the text
4. According to the excerpt from the play, how old is Travis?
A. 7 years old (OOP1, line 10)
 B. 10 years old (line 10)
C. 17 years old (OOP2, line 10)
D. 21 years old (OOB)
FE1: Identify evidence
explicitly stated in the
text
5. According to Travis in lines 11–13 of the play, what is Mama’s attitude toward Walter?
 A. She respects Walter but wants a better life for Travis.
B. She believes Walter should not expect too much from life. (OOP1, line 9)
C. She is angry that Walter wants to push Travis too much. (OOB)
D. She wishes Walter would make up his mind about what he wants. (OOP2, line
14)
MI1: Determine
implicit meaning from
ideas in context
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
Grades 8-9 • Drama • “A Raisin in the Sun”
6. Why does Travis say he wants to be a bus driver when he grows up?
A. He loves to drive. (OOB)
 B. He wants to be just like his father. (line 9)
C. He wants to make his mother proud. (OOP2 line 9)
D. He does not want to go to college. (OOP2 line 14)
MI1: Determine
implicit meaning from
words in context
7. Read the stage directions in the box below
FE2: Recognize the
explicit meaning from
varied wording in the
text
WALTER’s voice has risen in pitch and hysterical promise
What does this stage direction tell the reader about Walter?
 A. The more he talks about the future, the more excited he becomes.
B. Walter is upset with his son’s lack of ambition. (OOP1)
C. Talking about the future leaves Walter confused about the past. (OOB)
D. Walter is questioning his son about his career goals. (OOP2)
8. Which word BEST describes the father in the play?
A. defensive (OOB)
B. content (OOP1—could be inferred from his laughing, embracing son, etc., but
not supported by his words)
 C. ambitious
D. unemotional (OOP2 line 14, final stage directions)
MI1: Determine
implicit meaning from
words in context
9. Which of the following BEST describes Walter’s “dream” in line 14?
A. He wants to be famous. (OOB)
B. He wants to own a Cadillac. (OOP2 line 14)
C. He wants to be an executive. (OOP1 line 14)
 D. He wants to live “the American Dream.”
MI2: Determine a
single implicit meaning
from the total of a
particular paragraph
10. “A Raisin in the Sun” contains a direct reference to an image from a Langston
Hughes poem. This is an example of
A. plagiarism. (OOP2)
 B. allusion.
C. dramatic irony. (OOP1)
D. simile. (OOB)
MI5: Determine
meaning by using an
understanding of literary concepts
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
FAST-R
+
Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading
Name
“A Raisin in the Sun” • Drama
Date
Teacher/Class
In this excerpt from the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry writes about the power of dreams. Hansberry
uses a poem by Langston Hughes as a thematic introduction to her play. Read the poem and the excerpt from the play
below. Use information from both selections to answer the questions that follow.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
5 And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
10 Like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
—Langston Hughes
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
1 TRAVIS Well, good night, Daddy.
(The FATHER has come from behind the couch and leans over,
embracing his son)
2 WALTER Son, I feel like talking to you tonight.
3 TRAVIS About what?
4 WALTER Oh, about a lot of things. About you and what kind of man
you going to be when you grow up. . . . Son—son, what do
you want to be when you grow up?
5 TRAVIS A bus driver.
6 WALTER (Laughing a little) A what? Man, that ain’t nothing to want
to be!
7 TRAVIS Why not?
8 WALTER ’Cause, man—it ain’t big enough—you know what I mean.
9 TRAVIS I don’t know then. I can’t make up my mind. Sometimes
Mama asks me that too. And sometimes when I tell her I
just want to be like you—she says she don’t want me to be
like that and sometimes she says she does. . . .
Spotlight On:
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was born in
Missouri in 1902. He moved to Illinois
when he was 13 years old and it is
there that he first began to write
poetry. He would later attend Columbia
University in New York City, because,
according to Hughes, “it was close to
Harlem.” Hughes eventually finished
his education at Lincoln University in
Pennsylvania and published his first
book shortly after.
Nearly all of his work reflected the
life, struggles, and celebrations of the
Black American community. Hughes
went on to become one of the most
influential writers of the 20th century.
His best known works include jazz
poems, like the one featured here,
and depict Black life in America from
the 1920’s to the 1960’s. In addition
to poetry, Hughes wrote plays, novels,
short stories, and even musicals.
In one poem, called “A Theme
for English B,” Hughes writes:
“Sometimes perhaps you don’t want
to be a part of me./Nor do I often
want to be a part of you./But we are,
that’s true!/As I learn from you,/ I
guess you learn from me—/although
you’re older—and white—/and
somewhat more free.” Many writers,
like Hansberry, have drawn their
inspiration from the relevant writing of
Langston Hughes. Today, in Harlem,
East 127th street, the street where
Hughes lived and died, is named
“Langston Hughes Place.”
Continued on next page
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
10 WALTER (Gathering him up in his arms) You know what,
Travis? In seven years you going to be seventeen
years old. And things is going to be very different with us in seven years, Travis. . . . One day
when you are seventeen I’ll come home—home
from my office downtown somewhere—
11 TRAVIS You don’t work in no office, Daddy.
12 WALTER No—but after tonight. After what your daddy
gonna do tonight, there’s going to be offices—a
whole lot of offices. . . .
13 TRAVIS What you gonna do tonight, Daddy?
14 WALTER You wouldn’t understand yet, son, but your
Spotlight On:
Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry was born in
Chicago, Illinois in 1930. When she
was seven, she and her family broke
the law by moving into an all-white
neighborhood. They had to go to court
to defend their right to live in the area.
After attending college and moving
to New York City, Hansberry wrote A
Raisin in the Sun to speak out for the
Civil Rights Movement and the African
American struggle for respect and
recognition in American society.
Lorraine Hansberry was the first
black person to win the New York Drama
Critic’s Circle award for best play of
the year. Since it’s release, A Raisin in
the Sun has been performed countless
times. Though she died at the age of
34, Hansberry leaves a lasting legacy as
someone who refused to be silenced by
the limitations placed on her race and
gender.
daddy’s gonna make a transaction . . . a business
transaction that’s going to change our lives. . . .
That’s how come one day when you ’bout seventeen years old I’ll come home and I’ll be pretty tired, you know what I mean, after a day of
conferences and secretaries getting things wrong
the way they do . . . ’cause an executive’s life is
hell, man—(The more he talks the farther away
he gets) And I’ll pull the car up on the driveway
. . . just a plain black Chrysler, I think, with whitewalls—no—black tires. More elegant.
Rich people don’t have to be flashy . . . though I’ll have to get something a little sportier
for Ruth—maybe a Cadillac convertible to do her shopping in. . . . And I’ll come up
the steps to the house and the gardener will be clipping away at the hedges and he’ll say,
“Good evening, Mr. Younger.” And I’ll say, “Hello, Jefferson, how are you this evening?”
And I’ll go inside and Ruth will come downstairs and meet me at the door and we’ll kiss
each other and she’ll take my arm and we’ll go up to your room to see you sitting on the
floor with the catalogues of all the great schools in America around you. . . . All the great
schools in the world! And—and I’ll say, all right son—it’s your seventeenth birthday, what
is it you’ve decided? . . . Just tell me where you want to go to school and you’ll go. Just tell
me, what it is you want to be—and you’ll be it. . . . Whatever you want to be—Yessir! (He
holds his arms open fot TRAVIS) You just name it, son . . . (TRAVIS leaps into them) and I
hand you the world!
(WALTER’s voice has risen in pitch and hysterical promise and on the last line he lifts TRAVIS
high)
(Blackout)
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
FAST-R
+
Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading
Name
“A Raisin in the Sun” • Drama
Date
Teacher/Class
Directions: Answer the following multiple-choice questions by filling in the circle for the best answer on
your answer sheet.
1. Reread line 1 of the poem. Which of the following is a synonym for the word deferred?
A. postponed
B. accomplished
C. strengthened
D. inspired
2. The images in lines 4 through 6 of the poem refer to things that are
A. antique.
B. spoiled.
C. valuable.
D. trivial.
3. Which simile in the poem supports the idea that “a dream deferred” becomes burdensome?
A. the simile in lines 3-4
B. the simile in lines 5-6
C. the simile in lines 7-8
D. the simile in lines 9-10
4. According to the excerpt from the play, how old is Travis?
A. 7 years old
B. 10 years old
C. 17 years old
D. 21 years old
5. According to Travis in line 9 of the play, what is Mama’s attitude toward Walter?
A. She respects Walter but wants a better life for Travis.
B. She believes Walter should not expect too much from life.
C. She is angry that Walter wants to push Travis too much.
D. She wishes Walter would make up his mind about what he wants.
Continued on next page
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
Name
School
Date
Teacher/Class
6. Why does Travis say he wants to be a bus driver when he grows up?
A. He loves to drive.
B. He wants to be just like his father.
C. He wants to make his mother proud.
D. He does not want to go to college.
7. Read the stage directions in the box below.
WALTER’s voice has risen in pitch and hysterical promise
What does this stage direction tell the reader about Walter?
A. The more he talks about the future, the more excited he becomes.
B. Walter is upset with his son’s lack of ambition.
C. Talking about the future leaves Walter confused about the past.
D. Walter is questioning his son about his career goals.
8. Which word BEST describes the father in the play?
A. defensive
B. content
C. ambitious
D. unemotional
9. Which of the following BEST describes Walter’s “dream” in line 14?
A. He wants to be famous.
B. He wants to own a Cadillac.
C. He wants to be an executive.
D. He wants to live “the American Dream.”
10. “A Raisin in the Sun” contains a direct reference to an image from a Langston Hughes poem. This is
an example of
A. plagiarism.
B. allusion.
C. dramatic irony.
D. simile.
FAST-R: Formative Assessments in Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by Lorraine Hansberry is from A Raisin in the Sun (1959). Copyright © 1987 by Robert Nemiroff. Some
questions were drawn or adapted from the G10 MCAS Spring 2003 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.
Teachers: Please duplicate and use this answer sheet only for students for whom you did not receive a pre-printed answer sheet!
FAST-R Answer Sheet
Name
School Date
Grade
Class
Teacher Name
Passage Title
Completely fill the circle
for the correct answer.
1.
A
B
C
D
2.
A
B
C
D
3.
A
B
C
D
4.
A
B
C
D
5.
A
B
C
D
6. A
B
C
D
7.
A
B
C
D
8.
A
B
C
D
9.
A
B
C
D
10.
A
B
C
D
Write your answer to the open response prompt in the lined space below
if your teacher directs you to do so.
OFFICE USE ONLY
RESEARCH:
Y
N
OPEN RESPONSE: 1 2 3
4