Hamilton! We viewed a ~8:00 minute intro to their performance at the White House that gives good context for the musical in terms of contemporary society and pop culture as well as historical relevance -- take down some bullet-point notes of this context. We then viewed the 4-minute video of Lin-Manuel Miranda performing the opening number as Aaron Burr in 2009 at the White House as a visual, energizing introduction to the production. (Email me and I'll reply with a Google share of the two videos.) Two maps were provided, color-coded, and notes added and discussed (pick up these handouts and connect with a reliable classmate). To further help us with this auditory journey (to begin tomorrow with a note-taking packet), a list of characters (historical figures) with key descriptions was distributed -- we discussed and added clarifying notes where needed. Reminder: there is some derogatory Revolution Era language used in some of the songs in reference to Hamilton's social status as a child of an unwed mother. This was specified as an example on the parent/guardian permission slip at the start of the school year. (This language is used for historical tic effect in painting the picture of Hamilton's insecurity and engine for ambition; it is obviously not terminology appropriate to throw around casually outside of that context.)
