Vocabulary Masters
This word means a strong desire to achieve something great.
What is aspiration?
A researcher surveys all 1,200 students at a school about homework habits. What term describes the 1,200 students?
What is the population?
This author explains how the American Dream has changed over time.
Who is Eva Bod?
This is the central question of the unit.
What is the American Dream?
Juxtaposition means placing two things close together for what purpose?
What is to create contrast?
This word means pleasure or satisfaction from achieving a goal.
What is gratification?
A researcher wants to study the opinions of American teenagers. Instead of surveying every teenager, she surveys 500 teens from different states. What is this group called?
What is a population sample?
This author observed that Americans often continue striving for more, even after achieving material success, suggesting that satisfaction remains elusive.
Who is Alexis de Tocqueville?
Name one barrier that can prevent people from achieving the American Dream.
What is....poverty, discrimination, lack of education, or healthcare access?
This juxtaposition contrasts the promise of wealth with ongoing wealth gaps.
What is Economic disparities?
This word describes a system where advancement is based on ability and achievement.
What is meritocracy?
A study produces nearly identical results when repeated several times under the same conditions. Which research term is being demonstrated?
What is reliability?
This author challenges the idea that individual success stories should be used as evidence that everyone has equal access to opportunity.
Who is Tara Westover?
True or False: Every author in the unit agrees that the American Dream is easily attainable.
False.
This juxtaposition compares equal opportunity with systemic injustice.
What are social justice issues?
This word means a subtle difference in meaning or expression.
What is nuance?
A researcher gives responses from underrepresented groups extra influence so the results better reflect the overall population. What process is being used?
What is weighting?
This author argues that hard work alone is often insufficient for success and encourages readers to recognize the role of privilege, circumstance, and systemic barriers.
Who is Casey Gerald?
This author provides the strongest argument that the American Dream is alive and well.
Who is Angel Eduardo?
Place these authors on a spectrum from most optimistic about the American Dream to most skeptical:
Who are Angel Eduardo → Eva Bodo → Alexis de Tocqueville → Tara Westover → Casey Gerald?
This word means fear or anxiety about something that may happen.
What is trepidation?
A researcher carefully explains how surveys were conducted, how participants were selected, and how data was analyzed. What section of a study is being described?
What is the methodology?
This author uses personal experience to argue that the American Dream remains attainable, directly countering authors who claim the Dream is largely an illusion.
Who is Angel Eduardo?
Three authors in this unit challenge the idea that the American Dream can be achieved through hard work alone. Identify two of those authors and explain how their arguments differ.
Who is Tara Westover? She argues that individual success stories should not be used as proof that everyone has equal opportunity,
Who is Casey Gerald? He argues that hard work alone is not enough because systemic barriers and circumstances affect people's chances of success.
Give your own example of juxtaposition related to the American Dream.
Promise: Education is the pathway to success.
Reality: College tuition and student debt can create barriers for many students.