Hobb's Chapter Four

I found chapter four in Hobb’s book interesting, mainly due to the mentioning of Martin Luther King’s speeches. I have found many adult learners seemed to be interested in Martin Luther King, so it was enlightening to see the young students’ enthusiasm in this event. As I read through the book, I envision ways in which I can use the lesson plans for an English class for adult learners.

I believe I would title the lesson “The American Dream” and the clips of King’s speeches would be a wonderful way to introduce the lesson. I believe it is important to have both a reading and a writing component to the lesson. The play A Raisin in the Sun is a great example of a family’s struggle to experience the American Dream, and reading is not a challenge. YouTube has a plethora of clips featuring A Raisin in the Sun that would be an additional visual element.

The end result of the lesson would be a five paragraph essay in which the student would be required to use two direct quotes from their choice of King’s speeches. The central focus of the paper would be the idea of the American Dream and what this actually means to the student. It certainly would be nice if the play were incorporated into the paper, but I would let that up to the student to decide whether to synthesize that or not.

I hope for feedback from my classmates, since I have never taught a class, I would value your opinions. I believe this lesson could cover two one hour and fifteen minutes classes, perhaps a third day to add mini lessons for the writing component.   

Lynn Eager