Unit 6: Independent Study Projects

Overview
This unit is the culmination of the students Independent Study Projects. At the end of Unit 1B, students
chose a group on which to focus their research, reading, writing, and sharing, and this unit is their time
to finish culminating projects and products, complete performance tasks, write essays, give speeches,
and make presentations. Their work should endeavor to establish connections between their groups
cycle of change to those studied in Units 2, 3, 4, & 5. Their work should show evidence of primary and
secondary historical context documents, legal documents (cases, precedents, status, proceedings,
Acts, Amendments, etc), literature, art, philosophical and/or religious texts, music, and popular culture.
This unit is also a time for culminating course activities, projects, performance tasks, and writing work
in which students are required to connect their research to the course content as a whole.
Generalizations
1. American definitions of identity, the human ideal, and the American Dream have changed over time
with the influence of different marginalized groups and their cycles of change.
2. There are similarities and differences in the histories of various marginalized groups in American
history.
3. Conformity, individualism, socioeconomic status, conflict, consensus, industrialization, urbanization,
and innovations influence and have influenced American cultural development.
4. American perspectives on freedom, equality, and justice have changed over time with the influence
of different marginalized groups.
5. Human interaction with land and nature has impacted American culture.
6. Innovations in technology, transportation, communication, music, advertising, and pop culture
media influence and have influenced American cultural development.
7. American definitions of identity, the human ideal, and the American Dream will continue to change
as more currently marginalized groups contribute their cultural identities, values, and beliefs to
majority American culture.
Essential Questions
1. How have American definitions of identity, the human ideal, and the American Dream changed over
time?
2. How have marginalized groups and their cycles of change influenced those definitions?
3. What are the similarities and differences in the histories of various marginalized groups in American
history?
4. How and to what extent has conformity and individuality affected American culture?
5. How and to what extent has conflict and consensus affected American culture?
6. How does socioeconomic status affect American culture?
7. How have industrialization and urbanization affected American culture?
8. Which innovations have influenced American cultural development over time?
9. How have innovations in technology, transportation, communication, music, advertising, and pop
culture media influenced American culture?
10. How have other types of innovations affected American culture?
11. How has human interaction with land and nature impacted American culture?
12. How has American culture identified, defined, rethought, changed, and adapted the concepts of
freedom, equality, and justice over time?

American Humanities, Unit 6

13. How do literature, philosophy, art, music, and pop culture serve as media through which social
norms are established, perpetuated, evaluated, accepted, rejected, and modified throughout
American cultural history?

American Humanities, Unit 6

Unit Goals
What do students need to KNOW?

What do students need to be able to DO?

How American culture defines what it means to

be an American

How the cycle of change has affected American

identity, the human ideal, and the American
Dream

Explain complex definitions of American identity,

the human ideal, and the American Dream in
which many factors and aspects are taken into
consideration

Analyze how American culture defines what it

means to be an American

Explain how the cycle of change has influenced

American identity, the human ideal, and the
American Dream over time

How marginalized groups in American history

have influenced majority culture and wrought
change in what it means to be an American

Similarities and differences in the histories of

various marginalized groups in American history

How conformity and individualism affect

American culture

Compare and contrast the histories of various

marginalized groups in American history

How socioeconomic status affects American

identity, the human ideal, and the American
Dream

Analyze how marginalized groups in American

history have influenced majority culture and
wrought change in what it means to be an
American

How American culture has dealt with the

concepts of freedom, equality, and justice

How conflict and consensus affect and are

affected by American culture

Analyze how literature, philosophy, art, music,

and pop culture are media through which social
norms are established, perpetuated, evaluated,
accepted, rejected, and modified throughout
American cultural history

How human interaction with land and nature has

impacted American culture

Explain how conformity and individuality affect

American culture

How industrialization and urbanization affect

American culture

Explain how conflict and consensus affect

American culture

Innovations in technology, transportation,

communication, music, advertising, and pop
culture media that have influenced American
culture

Analyze the extent to which conformity vs.

individuality and conflict vs. consensus have
influenced American literature, philosophy, art,
music, and pop culture

How innovations affect American culture

Analyze the role of socioeconomic status in

various definitions of American identity, the
human ideal, and the American Dream

Analyze how American culture has identified,

defined, rethought, changed, and adapted the
concepts of freedom, equality, and justice over
time

Analyze how human interaction with land and

nature has impacted American culture

Explain how industrialization and urbanization

affect American culture

Identify innovations in technology,

transportation, communication, music,
advertising, and pop culture media that have
influenced American culture

Analyze the ways in which those innovations

have affected American culture

American Humanities, Unit 6

American Humanities, Unit 6

I Can Statements

I Can explain complex definitions of American identity, the human ideal, and the American Dream in
which many factors and aspects are taken into consideration.

I Can analyze how American culture defines what it means to be an American.

I Can explain how the cycle of change has influenced American identity, the human ideal, and the
American Dream over time.

I Can compare and contrast the histories of various marginalized groups in American history.

I Can analyze how marginalized groups in American history have influenced majority culture and
wrought change in what it means to be an American.

I Can analyze how literature, philosophy, art, music, and pop culture are media through which social
norms are established, perpetuated, evaluated, accepted, rejected, and modified throughout American
cultural history.

I Can explain how conformity and individuality affect American culture.

I Can explain how conflict and consensus affect American culture.

I Can analyze the extent to which conformity vs. individuality and conflict vs. consensus have
influenced American literature, philosophy, art, music, and pop culture.

I Can analyze the role of socioeconomic status in various definitions of American identity, the human
ideal, and the American Dream.

I Can analyze how American culture has identified, defined, rethought, changed, and adapted the
concepts of freedom, equality, and justice over time.

I Can analyze how human interaction with land and nature has impacted American culture.

I Can explain how industrialization and urbanization affect American culture.

I Can identify innovations in technology, transportation, communication, music, advertising, and pop
culture media that have influenced American culture.

I Can analyze the ways in which those innovations have affected American culture.

American Humanities, Unit 6

Aligned Course Essential Standards

C.1
Understand
how American
culture
defines what
it means to
be an
American.

C.2
Understand
the role of
conformity
and
individualism
in American
culture.

C.3
Understand
how poverty,
affluence, and
the American
Dream have
influenced
American
culture.

C.1.1 Analyze
expressions
of identity
within
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.1.2
Distinguish
between
Americans
acceptance or
rejection of
both religious
faith and
human
reasoning
through
literary
movements.
C.1.3
Compare
ways that
various ethnic
and cultural
communities
in America
have
articulated
the self.
C.1.4
Compare
ways in which
the human
ideal has
been
expressed in
American
culture.
C.1.5
Evaluate the
extent to
which
American
affluence has
affected
individual
identity.

C.2.1 Explain
how
conformity
and
individuality
have
influenced
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.2.2
Evaluate the
extent to
which
American
support or
criticism of
conformity
has
influenced
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.2.3
Evaluate the
extent to
which
individualism
and the belief
in the human
capacity to
solve
problems has
influenced
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.

C.3.1
Compare
multiple
perspectives
of the
American
Dream using
examples of
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.3.2
Distinguish
the American
Dream as an
idealistic or
pragmatic
philosophy.
C.3.3
Evaluate
universal
prosperity as
a Utopian
ideal founded
in the
American
Dream.
C.3.4
Evaluate the
extent to
which
poverty,
affluence, and
the American
Dream have
affected
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.

American Humanities, Unit 6

C.4
Understand
how American
culture has
sought to
balance
individual
rights with
the common
good.
C.4.1
Deconstruct
the concepts
of freedom,
equality, and
justice in
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.4.2 Explain
how
discrepancies
in freedom,
equality, and
justice
influenced
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.

C.5
Understand
how conflict
and
consensus
influences
American
culture.

C.6
Understand
how human
interaction
with land and
nature has
impacted
American
culture.

C.5.1 Analyze
the
relationship
between
conflict and
consensus in
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.5.2 Explain
the impact of
American
slavery on
American
culture.
C.5.3 Analyze
the
relationship
between
warfare and
American
culture.
C.5.4 Analyze
American
societal
perceptions of
women.
C.5.5 Explain
how social
movements
on behalf of
civil rights
and reform
have
influenced
American
culture.
C.5.6
Evaluate the
extent to
which conflict
and
consensus
have shaped
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.

C.6.1 Explain
how human
interaction
with land and
nature
impacted the
development
of literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.6.2
Distinguish
nature as a
useful
resource for
humanity or
an
uncontrollable
element.
C.6.3 Explain
how
movement on
the American
frontier
influenced
artistic
expression
and
philosophical
thought
within the
United States.
C.6.4 Analyze
the
relationship
between
regionalism
and cultural
development.

C.7
Understand
the
relationship
between
industrializati
on,
urbanization,
and American
culture.
C.7.1 Explain
how
industrializati
on and
urbanization
impacted the
development
of American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.7.2 Analyze
the
relationship
between
urban
immigration,
migration,
and American
culture.
C.7.3
Evaluate the
extent to
which
industrializati
on and
urbanization
have defined
American
culture.

C.8
Understand
the
relationship
between
innovation
and American
culture.

C.8.1 Explain
how
innovations in
technology,
transportation
, and
communicatio
n influenced
American
literature,
philosophy,
and the arts.
C.8.2 Analyze
various
genres of
American
music, in
terms of
origins,
development,
cultural
effects, and
distribution
through radio
and
television.
C.8.3 Analyze
the
development
of popular
culture in
terms of
psychology,
advertising,
and
consumerism.
C.8.4
Evaluate
mediums of
popular
culture, such
as music,
television,
photographs,
and movies,
in terms of
historical
context and
accuracy.

American Humanities, Unit 6

Common Core Standards for Literacy in History and Social Studies

READING

WRITING

CMS CCSS Power Standards:

CMS CCSS Power Standards:

R.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to

support analysis of primary and secondary sources,
connecting insights gained from specific details to
an understanding of the text as a whole.

W.11-12.1 Write arguments focused on

discipline-specific content.

R.11-12.10 Read and comprehend history/social

studies texts in the grade 11-CCR text complexity
band independently and proficiently.

W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts,

including the narration of historical events,
scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical
processes.

Additional Reading Standards:

Additional Writing Standards:

R.11-12.2. Determine the central ideas or

information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary that makes clear the
relationships among the key details and ideas.

W.11-12.3 not applicable as a separate

requirement

R.11-12.3. Evaluate various explanations for

actions or events and determine which explanation
best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging
where the text leaves matters uncertain.
R.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and
phrases as they are used in a text, including
analyzing how an author uses and refines the
meaning of a key term over the course of a text
(e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No.
10).
R.11-12.5. Analyze in detail how a complex
primary source is structured, including how key
sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the
text contribute to the whole.
R.11-12.6 Evaluate authors differing points of
view on the same historical event or issue by
assessing the authors claims, reasoning, and
evidence.
R.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources
of information presented in diverse formats and
media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in
words) in order to address a question or solve a
problem.
R.11-12.8 Evaluate an authors premises, claims,
and evidence by corroborating or challenging them
with other information.
R.11-12.9 Integrate information from diverse
sources, both primary and secondary, into a
coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting

American Humanities, Unit 6

W.11-12.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in

which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.11-12.5 Develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or
trying a new approach, focusing on addressing
what is most significant for a specific purpose and
audience.
W.11-12.6 Use technology, including the Internet,
to produce, publish, and update individual or
shared writing products in response to ongoing
feedback, including new arguments or information.
W.11-12.7 Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self-generated question) or solve a
problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when
appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the
subject, demonstrating understanding of the
subject under investigation.
W.11-12.8 Gather relevant information from
multiple authoritative print and digital sources,
using advanced searches effectively; assess the
strengths and limitations of each source in terms of
the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain
the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and
overreliance on any one source and following a
standard format for citation.
W.11-12.9 Draw evidence from informational texts
to support analysis, reflection, and research.

discrepancies among sources.

W.11-12.10 Write routinely over extended time

frames (time for reflection and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or
two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.

Assessment Options:
W1- Literacy Common Core Power Standard: Writing Arguments

After reading a variety of texts, write ____ that argues your position on ____. Support your position with
evidence from your research. Be sure to acknowledge competing views, and give examples from past
or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.
o

Example: After analyzing a variety of written and visual texts, write an essay that argues your
position on whether conformity or individuality has most significantly influenced American
literature, philosophy, art, music, and pop culture. Support your position with evidence from
your research. Be sure to acknowledge competing views, and give examples from past or
current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.

Example: After analyzing a variety of written and visual texts, write an essay that argues your
position on whether the contemporary American relationship with the environment is going to
have an ultimately positive or negative effect on American cultural development in the future.
Support your position with evidence from your research. Be sure to acknowledge competing
views, and give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your
position.

Example: After analyzing a variety of written and visual texts, write an essay that argues your
position on the innovation in technology, transportation, communication, music, advertising, or
pop culture that has had the most significant impact on American cultural development. Support
your position with evidence from your research. Be sure to acknowledge competing views, and
give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.

[QUESTION] After reading a variety of texts, write ____ that addresses the question, and support your
position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views. Give examples from
past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.
o

Example: Has conformity or individuality most significantly influenced American literature,

philosophy, art, music, and pop culture? After analyzing a variety of written and visual texts,
write an essay that addresses the question, and support your position with evidence from the
texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views. Give examples from past or current events or
issues to illustrate and clarify your position.

Example: Will the contemporary American relationship with the environment have an ultimately
positive or negative effect on American cultural development in the future? After analyzing a
variety of written and visual texts, write an essay that addresses the question, and support your
position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views. Give examples
from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.

Example: Which innovation in technology, transportation, communication, music, advertising, or

pop culture has had the most significant impact on American cultural development? After
analyzing a variety of written and visual texts, write an essay that addresses the question, and
support your position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.
Give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.

American Humanities, Unit 6

W2- Literacy Common Core Power Standard: Writing Informative Texts

After reading a variety of texts, write a ____ that defines ____ and explains ____. Support your discussion
with evidence from your research. What conclusions or implications can you draw?
o

Example: After analyzing a variety of written and visual texts, write an essay that defines
contemporary American identity and explains how historically marginalized groups have
influenced definitions of contemporary American identity. Support your discussion with evidence
from your research. What conclusions or implications can you draw?

Example: After analyzing a variety of written and visual texts, write an essay that defines the
contemporary American Dream and explains how the histories of various marginalized groups in
America and the factors in their marginalization have influenced definitions of the contemporary
American Dream. Support your discussion with evidence from your research. What conclusions
or implications can you draw?

Example: After analyzing a variety of written and visual texts, write an essay that defines what it
means to be American and explains how the historical and cultural development of American
has changed what American means over time with the influence of various marginalized
groups. Support your discussion with evidence from your research. What conclusions or
implications can you draw?

[QUESTION] After reading a variety of texts, write ____ that defines ____ and explains ____. Support
your discussion with evidence from the texts. What conclusions or implications can you draw?
o

Example: What is the contemporary American identity? After analyzing a variety of written and
visual texts, write an essay that defines contemporary American identity and explains how
historically marginalized groups have influenced definitions of contemporary American identity.
Support your discussion with evidence from the texts. What conclusions or implications can you
draw?

Example: What is the contemporary American Dream? After analyzing a variety of written and
visual texts, write an essay that defines the contemporary American Dream and explains how the
histories of various marginalized groups in America and the factors in their marginalization have
influenced definitions of the contemporary American Dream. Support your discussion with
evidence from the texts. What conclusions or implications can you draw?

Example: What does it mean to be American? After analyzing a variety of written and visual
texts, write an essay that defines what it means to be American and explains how the historical
and cultural development of American has changed what American means over time with the
influence of various marginalized groups. Support your discussion with evidence from the texts.
What conclusions or implications can you draw?

R1/R10- Literacy Common Core Power Standards: Reading Closely Over Time with a Variety of Grade-Level
Texts

Historical texts (primary and secondary)

Religious texts
Legal texts
Philosophical texts
Literary texts
Artistic representations
Musical representations
Language study

American Humanities, Unit 6

American Humanities, Unit 6