Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Passion for Puerto Rico: Practice with Rhetorical Analysis

Lin-Manuel Miranda is the visionary behind the Broadway musicals "Hamilton" and "In the Heights." His love for his Puerto Rican culture shines through in his music and activism, particularly after Hurricane Maria which devastated the island. This multiday set of lessons provides writing, analysis, discussion and viewing opportunities.

• The central text is The Miami Herald op-ed, “This is what Puerto Ricans need from the government. Now” penned by Miranda. Students will complete an evaluation on a rhetorical situation organizer for this op-ed.
• The TED TALK used is “How a Team of Chefs Fed Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria,” by José Andrés followed by the PBS video "Hamilton’s America" with a 35-question viewing guide.
• Lin-Manuel Miranda’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” filmed in Puerto Rico is featured in the lesson.
• There is a short paragraph writing opportunity to write a persuasive letter on the reasons to bring Hamilton to the island of Puerto Rico.
• Students will listen to an NPR Fresh Air episode with Lin-Manuel Miranda and complete a chart provided in the appendix complete the evaluation of ethos, logos, and pathos.
• There is a lesson on a Purpose Analysis on New York Times article, “Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Passion for Puerto Rico,” by Michael Paulson.
• Students will read and annotate The New York Times article “Lin-Manuel Miranda Brings ‘Hamilton’ to a Troubled but Appreciative Puerto Rico,” by Michael Paulson and Charo Henríquez and complete an Audience Analysis graphic organizer.

The entire lessons act as a building of context for a Socratic Seminar and an original rhetorical analysis prompt on The Miami Herald op-ed, “This is what Puerto Ricans need from the government. Now,” by Lin-Manuel Miranda. In the appendix, there are three student sample essays with commentary from an AP reader of AP Lang exams.

Students will read, listen to and view supporting video and audio clips while learning the necessary elements to establish their argument on the theme of the unit. Students will show mastery of the standards at the end of the lesson through a SOAPSTONE Analysis, short paragraph assessments, a Socratic seminar, and a written timed essay scored on an AP English-style rubric.

These six daily lessons fit any Honors Literature class, Pre-AP, American Literature, AP English Language or Literature class to prepare students for AP English Language exams, Common Core extended response assessments, American Literature Course exams, the SAT and ACT essay and critical thinking activities.

There are sources for teaching the Socratic Seminar, as the lessons act as explication for the argument. The packet includes complete lessons, Common Core standards, essential and key questions.