Lesson 1

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Points of Impact,” excerpt from Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier, Hampton Sides, Anchor Books, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2004

Optional

• • “Remembering Tom Wolfe, American Writer with an ‘Anthropologist’s Delight’,” PBS NewsHour, Public Broadcasting Service, 2018
  • “The Angels” from The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe, Macmillan, 1979
  • “Tom Wolfe: The 60 Minutes Interview with Morley Safer,” 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes, 1998

Materials

Tools

• Character Note-Taking Tool

Reference Guides

• Annotating and Note-Taking Reference Guide
• Questioning Reference Guide

Question Sets

• Telling Stories: Section 4 Lesson 1 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Telling Stories: Section 4 Lesson 1 Question Set

Activity 1: View – Discuss

We will begin to study nonfiction narratives by learning about Tom Wolfe.

Watch "Remembering Tom Wolfe, American Writer with an 'Anthropologist's Delight'" and "Tom Wolfe: The 60 Minutes Interview with Morley Safer."

Following your viewing, discuss your reactions to the videos and what members of your class know about Tom Wolfe and his work.

Activity 2: Read

We will read “The Angels,” an excerpt from The Right Stuff, a historical narrative about the Apollo space program by Tom Wolfe.

As a class, read and discuss "The Angels," an excerpt from Tom Wolfe’s book about the Apollo space program, The Right Stuff. Consider how Wolfe brings the story of the Apollo astronauts’ wives to life by using elements of narration—specifically characterization and dialogue—that you have studied in previous sections of the unit.

Activity 3: Discuss – Listen

We will discuss our initial impressions of Hampton Sides’s “Points Of Impact” and its characterization of 9/11 survivor Ronnie Clifford. We will note connections between the narrative elements we have studied in fictional stories and the ways those elements are now being used by Sides to tell a true story.

As a class, discuss your first impressions of Hampton Sides's "Points of Impact." How does it introduce and characterize 9/11 survivor Ronnie Clifford? Discuss the details you noted about his character on the Character Note-Taking Tool you completed for homework.

Follow along and participate as your teacher models the close reading of a passage from the narrative.

Activity 4: Discuss – Read – Write

We will look closely at the story structure of “Points Of Impact.”

With your class, skim through and annotate the full text of "Points of Impact." Make notes about the following for each of the story’s 25 sections, which are indicated and separated by three asterisks:

• which character it focuses on

• whether it depicts events that occurred before, during, or after the 9/11 attacks

As you examine the story’s narrative sequence, consider the following text-specific questions about the story’s structure:

1. How does Sides structure his story about the three survivors of 9/11?

2. What is the sequence of time, events, and character stories?

As part of your discussion, develop a story outline (or storyboard) that indicates which character each of the 25 sections of the story focuses on, and at what point in the 9/11 story it takes place (before, during, the immediate aftermath, or later aftermath).

Activity 5: Read – Write

We will each choose a character from “Points Of Impact” to study closely. We will do a close reading and note-taking focused on that character’s particular story.

Step 1

Independently, select one of the story's three main characters (Ronnie Clifford, Silvion Ramsundar, or Will Jimeno) to study closely. Review the class outline or storyboard that identifies the central character and time frame for each of the narrative’s 25 sections. Determine which sections you will want to focus on for your selected character.

Read through the entire narrative, but pay particular attention to sections you have noted on the story outline that focus on your character.

Use your character's set of text-specific questions from the Section 4 Lesson 1 Question Set to annotate the story, focusing on sections and details about your chosen character. Write down key details and your analysis of them on a Character Note-Taking Tool.

Step 2

Questions for Ronnie Clifford:

1. What does Sides tell us about Ronnie Clifford’s state of mind and health in the aftermath of 9/11 (when Sides researched and wrote the story)? When in the story’s structure do we learn this?

2. What does Sides tell us about Ronnie Clifford’s situation before and during the initial minutes of the first attack on the North Tower?

3. What acts of heroism does Ronnie Clifford accomplish during and immediately after the attacks?

4. What does Ronnie struggle with in the aftermath of the attacks? How does he cope?

5. How is Ronnie changed, physically or mentally, by his experiences during and after 9/11?

6. What is one descriptive sentence or passage from Ronnie’s story that stands out to you as powerful?

7. What is Ronnie’s final perspective on 9/11? What meaning does he find in the experience?

Step 3

Questions for Silvion Ramsundar:

1. What does Sides tell us about Silvion Ramsundar’s state of mind and health in the aftermath of 9/11 (when Sides researched and wrote the story)? When in the story’s structure do we learn this?

2. What does Sides tell us about Silvion’s situation before and during the initial minutes of the first attack on the North Tower?

3. What happens to Silvion during the second attack on the South Tower? What might be seen as heroic about his survival?

4. What does Silvion struggle with in the aftermath of the attacks? How does he cope?

5. How is Silvion changed, physically or mentally, by his experiences during and after 9/11?

6. What is one descriptive sentence or passage from Silvion’s story that stands out to you as powerful?

7. What is Silvion’s final perspective on 9/11? What meaning does he find in the experience?

Step 4

Questions for Will Jimeno:

1. What does Sides tell us about Will Jimeno’s state of mind and health in the aftermath of 9/11 (when Sides researched and wrote the story)? When in the story’s structure do we learn this?

2. What does Sides tell us about Will’s situation before and during the initial minutes of the first attack on the North Tower?

3. What happens to Will during the collapse of the South Tower? What might be seen as heroic about his survival?

4. What does Will struggle with in the aftermath of the attacks? How does he cope?

5. How is Will changed, physically or mentally, by his experiences during and after 9/11?

6. What is one descriptive sentence or passage from Will’s story that stands out to you as powerful?

7. What is Will’s final perspective on 9/11? What meaning does he find in the experience?

Activity 6: Write

For homework, we will form an evidence-based claim about our character.

Step 1

For homework, review your text annotations and notes for your character. Focusing on the issues suggested by the text-specific questions for that character and key details from the text, think about how Hampton Sides has developed and used the character to tell the story of the 9/11 tragedy.

Form an evidence-based claim about your character and his depiction in Sides's story.

Write down your claim in your Learning Log.

Step 2

Read your claim and ask yourself the following questions.

1. Is the claim clearly stated?

2. Does the claim communicate your opinion or conclusion about your character?

3. Is the claim based on evidence that you gathered from the text?

4. Is the claim supported by evidence?

If you answered "No" to any of the questions, think about how you might revise your claim.