A Raisin in the Sun Introductory Webquest

Introduction

During the 1950s, African-American families dealt with issues pertaining to poverty, segregation, and racism. Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun depicts the Youngers, an African-American family struggling with these issues.  At the beginning of the play, the Younger family is expecting a life insurance check for $10,000.  Each member of the family has his or her own dreams for how the money should be spent. 

CLICK TASK TO SEE THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE WEBQUEST. 

Task

Today you will complete four tasks: 

  1. Write a biography of Lorraine Hansberry for a book jacket.
  2. Examine the Cultural Setting of the Play. 
  3. Examine the Cost of Living in the 1950s and Impact of $10,000.
  4. Walk a Mile in Someone's Shoes

In order to establish context for our reading of Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, you will complete the webquest. All your answers will be typed on the document created in Google Classroom entitled A Raisin in the Sun Introductory Webquest. Be sure to follow the instructions for each task.

CLICK PROCESS TO SEE THE DIRECTIONS FOR EACH TASK. 

Process

Task 1 - Write a Biography Book Jacket.

Follow the link below to read about Lorraine Hansberry.  After you have read the article, write your own paragraph biography of Lorraine Hansberry that you might include on the inside jacket cover of the book. Questions to answer: When and where was she born? What was her childhood like? What did she struggle with? Where did her success come from? Etc. Be sure to write in third person. 

http://www.biography.com/people/lorraine-hansberry-9327823

Task 2 -Examine the Cultural Setting of the Play. 

Click the hyperlinks below in order to answer each question in CSRQ.

1. What were Racial Restrictive Covenants?

2. Briefly describe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Chicago Crusade.

3. Read the first four paragraphs of the article “History of Fair Housing.” How did Dr. King ultimately help push the Fair Housing Act through Congress?

Task 3-Examine the Cost of Living in the 1950s and Impact of $10,000.

Look through the links below and determine the cost of living for the 1950s. You will need to use the first link to calculate how much $10,000 in the 1950s would be equal to in 2014.

http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php amount=10000&year=1950 

Then you will use the other links to research the cost of essential and luxury items in the 1950s: house, car, 1 gallon of gas, movie ticket, postage stamp, a pair of jeans, a pair of shoes, television, refrigerator, milk, bread and eggs.  

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f26/what-cost-live-1950-a-6954/

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50sclothes.html

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html

 

Task 4 - Walk a Mile in Someone Else's Shoes. 

Examine the website below and analyze the images featured on the site. It captures what life was like for African Americans living in the South Side of Chicago during the 1940's and 1950s. Consider what the pictures tell you about the society at the time and what life may have been like.

WRITING: When you finish reading and looking at the photos, choose the one you think is most powerful and paste it into the box beneath that task on the document. Beneath the photo, compose a journal entry from the perspective of one of the people in the photo. Your entry should be between 300-500 words and reflect what you have learned from your examination of the historical time period. You should take this assignment seriously. Disrespect of any person or people group will not be tolerated in this classroom.

 

 

CLICK EVALUATION TO SEE TURN-IN INSTRUCTIONS. 

Evaluation

Just make sure that you followed all the instructions fully for each task and that you placed your answers on the correct document. When you finish the webquest, submit the document in Google Clasroom.