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Lorraine Hansberry was the first African American
playwright to achieve critical and popular success on
Broadway. She became famous for her first
completed play, A Raisin in the Sun (1959), a drama
about the attempt of a black family to escape from
the 1950s Chicago ghetto. This play provides a study
of the search for identity by African American men
and women, both within the family and within a
racially prejudiced American society.
Before the Civil Rights movement and legal
desegregation, neighborhoods like Chicago’s
Southside were segregated by laws like Racial
Restrictive Covenants. Although such laws no longer
exist, do our neighborhoods now reflect the diversity
of our states and our nation?
Adapter from Adler, Thomas P. "Hansberry, Lorraine." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2013. Web. 18 July 2013.
Image Courtesy of Library of Congress
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Read and view the resources below in order to build background
knowledge about the historical, cultural and biographical
context for A Raisin in the Sun.
Use the Cornell Notes Organizer to record important information
Hansberry v Lee
Segregation City
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Lorraine Hansberry
Hansberry’s Victory
Racial Restrictive Covenants Map
Next
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Take a look at enrollment data by race/ethnicity
for middle schools in Baltimore County by
geographic area.
Review your notes about 1950s Chicago from Slide 2.
Complete the worksheet in order to organize ideas
for the assessment activity on Slide 4.
Middle School
Geographic Area
Hereford Middle
Hereford Zone
Dumbarton Middle
Central
Deer Park Middle
Northwest
Perry Hall Middle
Northeast
Southwest Academy MS
Southwest
General John Stricker MS
Southeast
Click to enlarge
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Next
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Next
Create an infographic synthesizing the information you learned by comparing Lorraine Hansberry’s Chicago
in the 1950s and Baltimore County today. Use colored pencils/markers on paper, or a digital tool like
PowerPoint (1 slide), DiscoveryEd Board Builder, or Wixie as directed by your teacher.*
Use your handout from Slide 3 to help organize your data. Check out the infographic below as an example.
Evaluate your infographic according to this rubric and
revise as needed.
Then share your infographic with a small group and
discuss your findings. Questions to think about:
• How does 1950s Chicago compare to today’s Baltimore County?
How diverse is your own community?
• What effect does this have on Baltimore County and its residents?
• Why do you think racial segregation persists in some
communities despite the Fair Housing Act?
• Do you think this will change any time soon? Why or why not?
• What would need to happen in order to make neighborhoods
more reflective of our country’s diversity?
*Teachers: See support resources for digital infographic tools on Slide 6.
Click to enlarge
Image Source: Urban Enclaves
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Extend your knowledge. How has race
and diversity expanded through the
United States? How did fair housing
work in Lorraine Hansberry’s Chicago?
What about now?
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Image Source:
Housing Segregation: The Great Migration and Beyond Interactive
Mapping the 2010 US Census
2010 Census Interactive Map
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Chicago Black Renaissance
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Grade 7 English Language Arts, Unit 2
Time Frame: Two 40 minute class periods
Common Core State Standards
Reading: 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical
inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support
conclusions drawn from the text.
Writing: 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused
questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Standards for the 21st Century Learner
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g. textual,
visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to
curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.
Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students
3.0: Use a variety of technologies for learning and collaboration.
Differentiation:
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Direct students to use comprehension tools included in
databases, such as: audio read-aloud, labeled reading
levels, and embedded dictionaries.
Learning Styles:
Visual, Auditory, Active, Reflective, Global, Analytical
AVID Strategies: Cornell Notes
Notes to the teacher:
Support resources for having students use digital tools to
create Infographics:
 BCPS ODL Infographics in the Classroom Workshop page
 Using DiscoveryEd Board Builder
 Using PowerPoint 2013 to Create Infographics
 Using Wixie to Create Infographics
Last updated: November 2015
Created by Alexis Mazur, Library Media Specialist & Kelly Ray, ODL Resource Teacher
BCPS Slam Dunk Research Model, Copyright 2012, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD, all rights reserved. The models may be used for educational, non-profit school use only.
All other uses, transmissions, and duplications are prohibited unless permission is granted expressly. This lesson is based on Jamie McKenzie’s Slam Dunk Lesson module.