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Lesson 1

We will begin by reviewing and discussing the Framing Questions for this unit. We then look at the overall organization of the timelines in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in order to make inferences about the author’s intent and purpose. Then, we begin reading Part 3, using text-specific questions to guide our learning.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I use connections among details, elements, and effects to make logical deductions about an author’s perspective, purpose, and meaning in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?

  • Can I take necessary action to prepare for the task?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, Crown Publishing Group, 2010

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write

We introduce the section by reviewing the Central Question and framing questions.

Step 1

Read along silently as your teacher or one of your peers reads the displayed Central Question and Framing Questions for this unit:

Central Question:

How do we tell someone else’s story?

Framing Questions:

  1. How does an author introduce and develop key persons, ideas, or events?

  2. What is the impact of an author’s word choice, and how does it affect the overall tone of a text?

  3. What inferences can be drawn about the ideas and key persons in the text?

  4. How does an author structure a text that involves multiple narratives over an extended amount of time?

  5. How does an author develop central issues in a text?

  6. What is the lasting significance of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cell culture?

Step 2

Respond to the following question in your Learning Log:

  1. What new knowledge do you have in relation to the Central Question?

You will return to this response in later lessons to examine how your understanding of the Central Question has evolved.

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We review the timeline in the book and make inferences about the structure of the book using text-specific questions.

Step 1

Find the timeline you set up in your Learning Log in Section 1, Lesson 5. Using the text features on the first page of each chapter as well as your notes, complete the timeline, including key persons and topics, for the rest of the chapters in Part 1 and Part 2.

Step 2

After you have completed the timeline, discuss the following questions with your group:

  1. Why do you think the author used such a disjointed timeline? What would be different if the story had been told in chronological order?

  2. What timeline is told in chronological order? Why do you think the author made this choice?

  3. Why do you think the author uses the prologue to introduce herself?

  4. Why do you think she included "Deborah’s Voice"?

  5. Can you think of a film that uses a similar structure in its timeline or that uses a frame story to begin? What was the purpose of structuring the film with multiple timelines? How is the film similar to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?

  6. How do you predict the author will organize the timelines in the final section of the book?

A frame story is a story set within a story, told by the main or supporting character.

Once you have discussed the questions, take notes in your Learning Log, and pick one idea to share with the class. After the class discussion, revise and add to your notes as you deepen your understanding about the overall structure of the book.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will read chapter 23 as a group and take notes using text-specific questions.

Read and annotate Chapter 23.

Discuss the following text-specific questions in your group and write down the answers in your Learning Log. Be sure to include evidence from the text to support your answers.

  1. What does Bobette learn at the beginning of Chapter 23? What misunderstanding does this create with Bobette?

  2. Why does Victor McKusick want to draw blood from the Lackses? What misunderstanding does this create with Day?

  3. What was Deborah’s reaction to Hsu and McKusick? How did their interaction lead to more confusion?

  4. Overall, what conclusions can you make about the misinformation and miscommunication that occurs between the doctors and the Lackses?

When you have finished the reading and discussing the questions, pick one answer to share with the class. Add to or modify your notes during the class discussion as you deepen your understanding of the text.

In your notes, summarize what you learned about one or more of the central issues of the text, including race, class, ethics, and science, from the reading and your discussion.

Activity 4: Read – Write

For homework, we will read chapters 24–25.

For homework, read and annotate Chapters 24-25. Respond to the following guiding questions in your Learning Log, providing evidence from the text to support your answers.

Chapter 24

  1. What do you understand about the Rolling Stone article by Michael Rogers?

  2. What do you understand about the Lackses’ reaction to the use of HeLa cells?

Chapter 25

  1. What do you learn about John Moore? How does his story relate to the rest of the book?

Write down new or interesting words in your Vocabulary Journal.