Defining the Dream: Essays, Poetry, and Letters Exploring the American Dream

In Defining the Dream, high school juniors from an Honors English 3 class explore the American Dream in 21 argument essays, 9 poems, 9 letters, 2 short essays, 2 drawings, and a fable. This anthology could be used as a supplementary text in high school English Language Arts to catalyze debate, writing, discussion and analysis. It aligns well with the common core for high school English Language Arts, especially argument writing, and would work well in English 3, offering nonfiction texts and student models. The student authors address a wide range of topics, including unemployment, race, gender, social class, poetry, the role of education, the cost of education, the death tax, socialism, the divide between democrats and republicans, and the adventures of a hedgehog named Henry who is on a journey to discover his own definitions of happiness and success—and who just might need your help in figuring this out. All profits from the sale of this book will benefit 826 National, a non-profit literacy organization that supports writing and tutoring centers across America in offering free tutoring and writing instruction to students ages 6-18.