Lesson 1

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

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

• • “HeLa,” L. Lamar Wilson, Carolina Wren Press, 2008

• • Henrietta Lacks (HeLa): The Mother of Modern Medicine, Kadir Nelson, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2018

• • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, George C. Wolfe, HBO, 2017

Materials

Tools

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Culminating Task Checklist

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Author Craft Note-Taking Tool

• Culminating Task Progress Tracker

Editable Google Docs

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Culminating Task Checklist

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Author Craft Note-Taking Tool

• Culminating Task Progress Tracker

Activity 1: Read – Write

We will prepare for the Culminating Task by reviewing the framing questions for the 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?

How do other texts portray the story of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cell culture?

In your Learning Log, write a response to the Framing Question 7.

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will prepare for the Culminating Task by reviewing and unpacking the task.

Read along silently as your teacher or one of your peers reads aloud the Culminating Task Checklist.

Working with your partner, reread the Culminating Task Checklist and review your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Think about what knowledge you have gained and skills you have practiced thus far in the unit. Use the Culminating Task Progress Tracker to do the following:

• Add or refine any skills and content knowledge required for the Culminating Task.

• Evaluate how well you have mastered the skills and knowledge required for the Culminating Task.

• Note where you need additional practice or support.

Be prepared to share your list during the class discussion.

Activity 3: Write – Discuss

We will prepare for the Culminating Task by synthesizing our thinking and learning from the unit and considering a companion text for our essays.

Create a table in your Learning Log and label each of the texts from Section 4 and a separate section for the anchor text, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. For each text, respond to the following questions:

1. What techniques from the Author CraftNote-Taking Tool are good points of connection between the anchor text and the companion texts?

2. What are some key points of connection between the central issues from the anchor text and the companion texts?

In small groups, share, discuss, and expand your initial responses to the questions. Be prepared to share with the whole class during a debriefing.

Activity 4: Read – Write

We will review our Author Craft Note-Taking Tools for homework.

For homework, review your completed Author CraftNote-Taking Tool. Highlight any content that might help you make a decision about the focus for your essay or that might support your ideas regarding the companion text you are considering for the Culminating Task.

Jot down some notes in response to the following questions:

1. Which companion text’s use of techniques has the most interesting and insightful points of comparison to the anchor text? Explain.

2. Which companion text addresses the central issues of the anchor text in the most interesting and insightful way? Explain.

3. Overall, which text is more compelling: the anchor text or one of the companion texts?