James P. Brochin
A. Content Objectives-The students will be able to
1) define “middle class”;
2) discuss the question, “Who is in the Middle Class?”
3) define “The American Dream”
4) discuss whether the Middle class is shrinking
5) Is Middle Class status dependant on an income level or it also a state of mind
6) develop a survey addressing the above objectives
7) Present the survey results within a school newspaper articles on the subjects, with a focus on students’ views of their aspirations.
B. Initiation Strategy: In order to get them right into it, students are shown photos from America, including Margaret Bourke-White’s photo of the Billboard and bread line.
Teacher will project, and hand out, about 4 graphics/charts on the subject of income inequality and the middle class.
C. To begin with, students will define and describe the middle class. The class will define and discuss social Social Reproduction, the theories that explain the continuation of social inequality and the accceptance of such distinctions as destiny, focusing on
the structures and activities that transmit social inequality from one generation to the next.
D. Lesson Strategy:
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Students are divided into five groups of 4
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Students will define and discuss the terms and questions above, and share out, focusing on the irony of rich and poor being juxtaposed in the photograph by Margaret Bourke White.
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The class as a whole will develop a survey, the subjects of which will be fellow students as one cohort and staff and administration as the second cohort, directed to the objectives above. These surveys will be simple and direct, and will address what the subjects think about America’s growing income inequality and the effects on their view of what constitutes middle class.
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Students will present the survey results within school newspaper articles on the subjects, with a focus on students’ views of their aspirations.
D. Closure: Teacher poses and explains the activities for the next day: Building and taking, and interpreting the survey.