This English Language Arts unit is closely tied with a parallel unit in Social Studies.
While we predominantly explore the literary and cultural aspects of the city, the Social Studies class will focus moreso upon New Orleans history and politics. There is much overlap over the course of the unit, but we would be remiss not to include a small collaborative lesson that explicitly ties both classes together for students.
Once students have gained a basic understanding of the events and circumstances surrounding Hurricane Katrina, we'd like them to put themselves in the shoes of the New Orleans citizens who experienced the catastrophe first-hand.
We will discuss as a class how we imagine Katrina survivors might feel before, during, and after the storm. Many left the city to escape the hurricane... how might it have felt to leave their homes behind? Others chose to weather the storm... was that a wise decision? What would you do in such a situation? Student responses will be recorded and organized on the board.
As the discussion gets underway, the assignment sheet (included above as a downloadable PDF) will be handed out. Students will choose to take on the perspective of either a Katrina survivor or refugee and describe in detail their experiences. Students may choose what experiences to describe - be they during or after the hurricane - and the duration of time discussed.
The finished assignment will serve as a key piece in a Social Studies lesson later in the same day; students will choose the part of their narrative of which they are most proud and will read that section aloud to the class. The resultant discussion will segue into a frank discussion of facts and statistics concerning the actual choices made by the residents of New Orleans in the face of the hurricane. By having already projected themselves into such a scenario, students will be better able to understand the dilemma most people faced and the hard decisions that were made.
While we predominantly explore the literary and cultural aspects of the city, the Social Studies class will focus moreso upon New Orleans history and politics. There is much overlap over the course of the unit, but we would be remiss not to include a small collaborative lesson that explicitly ties both classes together for students.
Once students have gained a basic understanding of the events and circumstances surrounding Hurricane Katrina, we'd like them to put themselves in the shoes of the New Orleans citizens who experienced the catastrophe first-hand.
We will discuss as a class how we imagine Katrina survivors might feel before, during, and after the storm. Many left the city to escape the hurricane... how might it have felt to leave their homes behind? Others chose to weather the storm... was that a wise decision? What would you do in such a situation? Student responses will be recorded and organized on the board.
As the discussion gets underway, the assignment sheet (included above as a downloadable PDF) will be handed out. Students will choose to take on the perspective of either a Katrina survivor or refugee and describe in detail their experiences. Students may choose what experiences to describe - be they during or after the hurricane - and the duration of time discussed.
The finished assignment will serve as a key piece in a Social Studies lesson later in the same day; students will choose the part of their narrative of which they are most proud and will read that section aloud to the class. The resultant discussion will segue into a frank discussion of facts and statistics concerning the actual choices made by the residents of New Orleans in the face of the hurricane. By having already projected themselves into such a scenario, students will be better able to understand the dilemma most people faced and the hard decisions that were made.
