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Lesson 1 (from Chapter I, The American Mosaic)

Objective

Chapter I, The American Mosaic

The United States has often been referred to as a "melting pot." Sowell prefers the metaphor of a mosaic. Today's objective is to examine the difference between the two metaphors and why the author prefers the second.

Lesson

1. Class discussion: What does the term "melting pot" imply to you? Would it be comfortable to be in a melting pot? What elements would supply the heat? What would happen to the individual characteristics of each ingredient in a melting pot? Do ethnic groups lose their ethnic distinctions over time?

2. Partner discussion: What are the characteristics of a mosaic? Do you think it makes an apt metaphor for a mixture of many ethnic groups living in the same country? Why or why not? Why do you think Sowell prefers the concept of a mosaic to that of a melting pot? Do ethnic groups...

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