Lesson 3: Building Background Knowledge: Redlining, Who Gets to Own the Dream?

Have students take out their Homework Journals and reread what notes they took from the article that they thought were important or that they want to discuss. They will then use a Think-Pair Share routine to analyze a map and connect their findings to the photographs and poem from the previous lesson.

Think-Pair-Share

Display a historical redlining map of Los Angeles or another city so students can see how neighborhoods were graded and divided.

• Say: In Lesson 1, we looked closely at Rosskam’s photographs and practiced grounding every idea in evidence. In Lesson 2, we used the poem “Harlem” to think about what it means when a dream is deferred. Today, we are taking the next step by reading about one systemic barrier that can delay or block the dream of owning a home.

Say these Directions: Open your Journal and reread one idea you noted in homework. Then look closely at the redlining map. Turn to a partner and share one thing you notice about how the city is divided and one idea you already have about how that might connect to housing opportunities. Partner A, you have 30 seconds to share. Partner B, listen for one observation and one idea. Then switch.

• Ask: What do you notice about the redlining map, and how does it help you understand what redlining means?

  • I notice that neighborhoods are divided into different colored sections. That helps me understand that redlining was a system that judged whole neighborhoods.

• Ask: How does this topic connect to what we learned from Rosskam’s South Side Chicago photographs and Hughes’s idea of a deferred dream?

  • The photographs showed neighborhoods shaped by unfair conditions, and “Harlem” showed what it feels like when a dream gets delayed. This topic connects because owning a home can be a dream, but policies like redlining can put barriers in the way of that dream.

• Say: Today we are going to reread the excerpt from “Black Americans and the Racist Architecture of Homeownership” that you read for homework.

• Ask: What have you already learned from reading this article once about why homeownership has not been easily attainable for Black Americans after reading this source?

  • The article shows that it was not just about whether a family worked hard. Rules, banks, and neighborhoods made homeownership easier for some people and harder for Black families.

Teach: Using Context Clues to Understand Meaning

Explain that domain-specific words help readers track how a system works across time. Display the three vocabulary words with student-friendly definitions. Also display and read aloud the sentence from the article in which each word appears so students hear the word in context.

Say these Directions: Read the following vocabulary words and sentences where those words appeared in the nonfiction text you read:

• homeownership: owning the home where you live

  • “But Norrington's homeownership success story is an increasingly rare one for Black Americans.”

• intergenerational wealth: money, property, or assets passed from one generation of a family to the next

  • “It is also the key to building intergenerational wealth.”

• redlining: refusing loans or services to people in certain neighborhoods because of race

  • “But one way Black people and other minority groups were left out systematically was through a process known as ‘redlining’ which labeled certain areas as ‘risky’ for a home loan.”

• Say: When I read a text about a system, I pay attention to the words that name the big ideas in that system. Here, homeownership names the dream, intergenerational wealth names why that dream matters, and redlining names one barrier that got in the way. The map helps me picture that redlining was not about one house or one family alone. It affected entire neighborhoods.

• Say: That helps me get ready to read the article with a clear question in mind: What does the text show us about the dream of owning a home, and what blocked that dream for Black Americans? As we read, we are going to gather details that answer that question.

• Ask: How are these three terms connected?

  • They are connected because they show the dream and the barrier together. Homeownership and intergenerational wealth explain why owning a home mattered, and redlining shows one way that Black families were pushed away from that opportunity.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that you have language for the dream and the barrier, you are ready to read the opening of the article for specific evidence.

Say these Directions: First, reread the article introduction and, like before, stop before the heading “Beneath the Santa Monica Freeway, lies the erasure of Sugar Hill.” Pay close attention to the opening paragraphs because that is where we will gather all of our evidence today.

As you read this time, notice that this informational text opens in a way that feels almost like a story. Even when a text reads like a narrative, we can still stop, pull out facts, and learn a lot about the dream of homeownership and the barriers standing in the way.

Say these Directions: After you read the introduction, begin a KWL chart using the 3 Column Chart. Write the title Homeownership for Black Americans. In the first column, write K for Know. In that column, include at least one response to this question: What do Rosskam’s South Side Chicago photographs and Hughes’s poem “Harlem” already teach us about dreams and barriers? In the second column, write W for Want to Know, and write what you want to find out from the rest of the article. In the third column, write L for Learn. You’ll add information there later.

Give students a brief moment to set up the KWL chart and record initial ideas.

• Ask: Based on the introduction alone, what is one idea you already have about the article’s topic, and what is one question you want the article to answer?

  • I already think the article is saying that owning a home is connected to money and opportunity, not just shelter. From the photographs and “Harlem,” I also know that dreams can be shaped by unfair conditions. I want to know what specific barriers made homeownership harder for Black Americans.

Teach: Close Reading an Article

• Say: To really understand what an author wants us to know, especially with an informational text, we want to read it several times. Each time, we look deeper into what the author conveys. When I reread the beginning of this article, I notice that owning a home is described as part of the American Dream and as a way to build intergenerational wealth. Then I notice the barrier: the article says Norrington’s success story is increasingly rare for Black Americans. That tells me the opening is doing two jobs at once. It introduces a person, and it gives me information about a larger system.

Briefly model the close-reading process on the opening section of the article. Then have students continue reading through the paragraphs before the heading “Beneath the Santa Monica Freeway.”

Say these Directions: When we reread a text, we slow down and notice things that we didn’t notice the first time we read it. Now, as you read this part of the text again, follow this checklist:

• Underline details that show why homeownership matters. ox details that show a barrier to that dream.

• Circle the vocabulary words homeownership, intergenerational wealth, and redlining when they appear.

• Prepare to use one exact detail from the text in your discussion.

• Ask: What detail from the beginning of the article shows that homeownership is presented as a dream?

  • One detail is that the article says owning a home is part of the American Dream and American citizenship. That shows homeownership is presented as something people hope for and see as important.

• Ask: What detail from the beginning of the article shows that there is a barrier in the way of that dream?

  • The article says that Norrington’s homeownership success story is increasingly rare for Black Americans. That detail shows the dream is not equally reachable and that something larger is getting in the way.

• Ask: Even though the beginning reads like a story, what information can readers still learn from it?

  • Readers can still learn that homeownership is tied to wealth and opportunity and that Black Americans faced barriers to reaching that goal. The opening gives personal context, but it also teaches us about a bigger system.

Say these Directions: Return to your KWL chart and add to the L column with new learning from the article. Then add at least one new question to the W column if the reading inspired more questions in your mind.

• Ask: What is one new learning you added to the L column?

  • I added that homeownership was not just about having a place to live. The article shows it was also connected to citizenship and intergenerational wealth.

• Ask: What is one new question you added to the W column?

  • I added the question, "What policies or practices made homeownership much harder for Black families over time?"

Whole Class Discussion

Use this discussion to build a shared list of inquiry questions that students will carry into the next lesson.

Say these Directions: You are going to collect class questions that came from the beginning of the article and your KWL charts. Listen for questions that push us to understand the system more deeply. As classmates share, jot down one question you want to keep investigating.

• Ask: What is one question our class should carry into the next lesson?

  • One question we should carry into the next lesson is: What specific barriers made homeownership rare for Black Americans even when families were working toward that dream?

Connection to Today's Learning

Students have now moved from the language of deferred dreams to specific evidence about how the dream of homeownership could be blocked.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Think about how today’s article deepened your understanding of the American Dream. In your response, use at least two specific details from before the heading “Beneath the Santa Monica Freeway.”

• Ask: What is one thing you understand about homeownership for Black Americans after today’s lesson, and what question do you still have? Use at least two specific details from the beginning of the article and use at least one of these words in your response: homeownership, intergenerational wealth, or redlining.

  • One new thing I understand is that homeownership was presented as more than just having a place to live. The article says it is part of the American Dream and a key to intergenerational wealth, which shows why it mattered so much. I also learned that Norrington’s success story was increasingly rare for Black Americans, which shows there were barriers beyond individual effort. My question is what specific policies made that dream harder to reach.

Connection to Future Learning:

In the next lesson, students will continue reading the section on Sugar Hill and use today’s posted questions and KWL charts to deepen their understanding of how place, policy, and power can shape opportunity.

Instruct students to read the next section of the article beginning with the heading: "Beneath the Santa Monica Freeway, lies the erasure of Sugar Hill." In the KWL Chart, add the following:

• At least one new note to the L column

• One new question to the W column