In this second section students are introduced to Walt Whitman and Alexis de Tocqueville through their writings about America and discover what they and contemporaries think about this country. Students conduct a survey of their community and read and discuss various ethnic-American essays about the immigrant experience.

This lesson addresses the English Language Arts standards: #4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes; #7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources to communicate their discoveries in ways that suite their purpose and audience; and #8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources to gather and synthesize information and to create andcommunicate knowledge. The unit also addresses U.S. History Standards #2: Historical Comprehension and #3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation and U.S. Government Standards

Students should have completed the first section of this unit with relative success. Students should have a working knowledge of using the Internet.

1. Read and respond in writing to poetry and essays on the American experience. 2. Conduct surveys of current issues in the United States. 3. Respond to Internet "Treasure Hunt" about de Tocqueville.

1.Students read aloud poem, "I Sing America" by Walt Whitman and summarize and interpret the poem. 2.Students, in collaborative groups, read assigned essays about the immigrant experience and report to the class a) a summary of the essay, b) its importance c) group's reaction. 3. Students conduct a prepared survey listing the ten most important issues facing American today. Participants are to rank these issues in importance and explain their reasons. 4. Students create a spreadsheet and analyze the results. 5. In pairs, students engage in an internet treasure hunt on Alexis de Tocqueville.

Students should have a working knowledge of navigating the World Wide Web, bookmarking favorite sites, and word processing.