Framework: DEI, UDL, Culturally-Relevant Teaching

Standards: Revised CCSS, NJSLS

Rationale: This curriculum addresses the need to examine the evolving concept of the American Dream, focusing on the historical and contemporary challenges, rewards, and implications of its pursuit, especially for BIPOC communities. By examining the role of language in shaping and perpetuating the American Dream, students will gain an understanding of how societal narratives can either empower or marginalize certain groups. Through close reading of essential texts, students will analyze how language is used to both uphold and critique dominant structures, identifying moments where language either amplifies or obscures the experiences of marginalized communities. By engaging with critical questions, such as who the American Dream is truly achievable for and how language can perpetuate inequality, students will consider how historical and current policies, educational systems, and societal attitudes intersect with ideals of success and opportunity. In exploring these themes, students will not only better understand the complexities of the American Dream, but also develop the skills to recognize and challenge the language that supports systems of power and privilege. Ultimately, students will leave the unit with the tools to critically analyze their own understanding of the American Dream, the ways in which language impacts this notion, and how they can use language as a tool for empowerment and social change. 

Planning

Learning Goals

Both students and teachers are provided essential questions, which function as a basis of inquiry. Teachers communicate learning goals in the form of SWBAT statements for each lesson, and they are given a user-friendly checklist of enduring understandings as a guide throughout curriculum implementation.

Sample Enduring Understandings:

• Students will understand the history of the American Dream and be able to discuss how it shaped past beliefs, policies, and societal attitudes.

• Students will understand the nuances of defining the American Dream as a BIPOC.

• Students will understand that language surrounding the American Dream can marginalize or disempower in many ways, from everyday interactions to fundamental policies. Specifically, they will be able to recognize instances where language marginalizes, targets, empowers, privileges, ignores, or seeks to negatively alter reality.

• Students will understand the importance of examining things via various perspectives and being aware of their implicit and explicit biases.

• Students will understand that language has historically been (and is currently) used as a tool of dominant structures in society, in part to marginalize minority identities.

• Students will understand how to wield language -- in conjunction with other tools -- to express, validate, and amplify their voices with regard to the pervasive beliefs espoused by the American Dream.

• Students will understand that both historical language and language they encounter daily actively shapes their realities.

Execution and Monitoring

After the initial iterative stages (see Evaluation below), the curriculum was ready to be adapted in a tenth-grade setting to a diverse set of learners (students receiving special education services, students in Honors and Accelerated classes). This necessitated obtaining the required permissions from administrative supervisors, communicating with stakeholders, and collaborating with teachers to ensure consistency in instructional goals. Its implementation was successful (see Evaluation below), and it is still being used as a framework for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Evaluation 

Data and Feedback

The full development of this curriculum was an iterative process. Overall, there were three sources of feedback -- SMEs, teachers, and the students themselves. Additionally, there were two types of metrics for success -- positive qualitative data and positive quantitative data. Upon determining the scope of the project, identifying learner goals, gathering and creating resources, and designing the first iteration, I presented the curriculum to fellow teachers for both specific and generalized feedback. After making minor adjustments, I connected with an SME, a highly-credentialed educational consultant to discuss key areas of change. This resulted in two more iterations, at which point I had incorporated essential feedback to create a ground-ready curriculum.

Success is not static, and neither was my evaluation method. By incorporating unit-by-unit checkpoints, from low-stakes assessments to project-based summative assessments, I was able to monitor student understanding as well as teacher comfort, which led to making minor changes to pacing and changing the language on assessment-related materials, such as the Multimodal Response Rubric, as well as adding more assessment options that abide by the UDL framework, such as the Literary Analysis Project. While these checkpoints provided numerical data indicating successful adoption of this curriculum, such as higher assessment scores and greater number of attempted assignments, I also incorporated survey-based opportunities that provided positive qualitative data regarding the impact of this curriculum. Open-ended survey questions, such as "What do you find most thought-provoking about __________?" and close-ended questions, such as "Do you feel like what you are learning is both relevant and interesting to your daily life?" particularly indicated success from the students' perspective. Teachers also responded regarding the ease of adaptability and authenticity of this curriculum, with one teacher appreciating that it opened up "very nuanced conversations." After years of successful implementation, this easily-adaptable curriculum has a track-record of helping students meet 21st century learning goals. 

For another curriculum or other instructional design samples, check out the rest of my portfolio.