Chapter 3: The Greatest City
"Look around! Look around! At how lucky we are to be alive right now! History is happening in Manhattan, and we just happen to be in the greatest city in the world!"
- Angelica Schuyler
It's the dawn of a new age in American literature, and patriotism is at an all-time high as the spirit of revolution is in the air. But between all the bleedin' and fightin', our founding fathers like Alexander Hamilton have been reading and writing -- and very soon, our country is headed to war. So whether you're reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine or perusing the finer points of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, rally your friends and get ready for a fight. The British are coming, and it must be nice to have Washington on your side.
As you explore The Greatest City in the World, brace yourself for an all-out adventure designed to prepare our powers of persuasion for a head-to-head battle against some of the heaviest hitters in all of speech and spoken rhetoric. And do not throw away your shot -- because Aaron Burr is lying in wait.
Side Expeditions:
- 3.1 "Waving Through a Window" (❎ Level 3)
Nominated for nine awards, Dear Evan Hansen won in six categories, including the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical. This soundtrack for Dear Evan Hansen was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul -- the creative duo behind the songs in La La Land and The Greatest Showman, and the show tells the story of a socially awkward teenager struggling to make sense of himself and the untimely death of a classmate. Featuring actor Ben Platt (from Pitch Perfect) in the Tony award winning lead role, the song "Waving Through a Window" gives audiences a glimpse into Evan's world. Watch his performance and discuss the ethos, pathos, and logos Evan employs.
- 3.2 "Fight The Dragons" (❎ Level 3)
Big Fish is a musical with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by John August. It is based on Daniel Wallace’s 1998 novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, and the 2003 film Big Fish written by John August and directed by Tim Burton. Big Fish revolves around the relationship between Edward Bloom, a travelling salesman, and his adult son Will, who searches for the meaning behind a lifetime of family myths and tall tales as his father nears death. The song "Fight The Dragons" comes as a 20-year-old flashback early in the first act, and Edward sings it to his 10-year-old son, Will. Can you make sense of this complex family relationship using just this one song?
- 3.3 "In The Heights" (❎ Level 2)
In 2008, Lin-Manuel Miranda took the Broadway world by storm with In The Heights, a story of a working class Latino and Hispanic neighborhood of Washington Heights that was inspired in large part by Miranda's own childhood growing up as the child of Puerto Rican immigrants in New York City. Miranda actually wrote the earliest draft of In the Heights in 1999, his sophomore year of college, and the title track "In The Heights" would propel the show to a 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical and a Grammy win for Best Musical Show Album. Watch this performance from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and reflect on the author's masterful display of poetic techniques.
Waitress is a musical with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson. The musical is based on the 2007 film of the same name, written by Adrienne Shelly. It tells the story of Jenna Hunterson, a waitress in a small town in the American South. No fair Googling plot summaries for this one! If you're interested in going inside Jenna's story, check out "She Used To Be Mine" from the 2016 Tony Awards. Then working with just the video provided (and a copy of the lyrics, if it helps you hear what the character is saying), dig into the pathos that this character is expressing to make sense of the ethos and logos of her predicament at this point of the show.
Bonus Expeditions:
GRIEFERS: Going to Battle With to the Opponent (❎ Level 3)
Once per chapter, you are invited to write an in-character blog in which you assume the persona of your avatar and write about your in-game experiences through the eyes of this fictional character. These blogs are completely optional, but they will help you trace your fictional character's journey through the mix of course content, in-class activities, and regularly scheduled curriculum. Reflections should be three paragraphs in length, and will be awarded up to 300 XP if completed to high standard. Likewise, especially thoughtful, creative, or well-researched reflections will be rewarded with treasure bonuses in the form of Badges, Streak bonuses, and Power-Up Item Cards. When you're finished and want to submit it, click here.
ACHIEVERS: Getting Deeper Into the Game (❎ Level 3)
Every Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m., educators from schools all across the country have converged on Twitter to take part in a weekly Twitter conversation called #satchat. The conversation started back in 2012 with just 25 teachers. Today, it regularly attracts more than 400 teachers, principals, and school leaders who get together to talk about how we can make our education system better.
Drop in to any #satchat between now and Thanksgiving to let these top quality school leaders learn more about all the amazing things that we're doing in our class as a cohort of education gamechangers! When you're finished and want to submit it, click here.
EXPLORERS: How Lucky We Are To Be Alive Right Now (❎ Level 3)
Once per chapter, you'll also have the opportunity to take part in a free choice "curating" side mission, in which you will be given free reign to explore the everyday life of the individuals or historical characters who inspired so many of these timeless works of literature. Curation projects are wide and open-ended in nature, and encourage students to explore their individual interests and passions as they discover more about the worlds in which these characters might have lived. Sample curation projects might include: researching a favorite recipe that a historical figure might have enjoyed (and then making that recipe for the class), making a playlist of songs that might have been popular during a particular historical period (and writing a blog entry in which you reflect on these works), or creating a map to help give students a clearer sense of the world in which these characters may have lived (using anything from modeling clay to Minecraft). For curation projects, the only limit is your imagination. Though ungraded, these fun, optional side expeditions award massive treasure payouts and bonus XP. If you are interested, contact Mr. Meehan. When you're finished and want to submit it, click here.
SOCIALIZERS: In Service of Our Nation (❎ Level 3)
Once per chapter, you likewise have the option to take part in a Christian service or faith-based opportunity inspired by our course content. Examples might include volunteering with war veterans recovering from PTSD while studying a unit on Hemingway, researching recent publications from the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops on legislation regarding immigrants and displaced persons during a unit on the Puritans, or taking part in a service retreat during a unit on American Romanticism. Though these assignments will not be graded for a letter grade, they will pay off considerably both in the form of in-game XP earned and in the very real life experience you will gain by developing a powerful connection between assigned course content and outside world relevance. The payout for volunteer expeditions is the single highest award in the game: bonuses double each time you complete a subsequent volunteer challenge to a high standard. If you are interested, see Mr. Meehan for details. When you're finished and want to submit it, click here.