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Section 1: Overview

Fandom

We will read Chapters 1–4 of Friday Night Lights and explore the culture of fandom, a central aspect of the book. We will analyze how deeply fandom is embedded in the culture of Odessa, Texas, as a community. As we read the first four chapters of Friday Night Lights, we will consider the following question: How do the fans impact student athletes?

  • Lesson 1:

    We will begin reading Friday Night Lights. We will learn about the city of Odessa and the football players that the author focuses on. We will define fandom and discuss our observations and experiences with fandom in relation to high school and professional sports. We will also discuss the meaning of an author’s purpose and perspective and analyze different examples of each.

  • Lesson 2:

    We will continue reading Friday Night Lights and begin to analyze the city of Odessa and the relationship citizens have with the football team. We will discuss how Bissinger portrays this relationship.

  • Lesson 3:

    We will continue reading Friday Night Lights and focus on the theme of fandom. The second chapter will provide us with insight into the community and its feelings about the football team. We will analyze how the author views this relationship and how he chooses to portray this in the text. We will analyze a specific quote from the text and determine how this quote is representative of the author’s perspective.

  • Lesson 4:

    We will analyze the idea of fandom and discuss how fans impact high school sports. We will also analyze how Bissinger portrays the fandom of the citizens of Odessa.

  • Lesson 5:

    We will finish reading Chapter 3 in Friday Night Lights and analyze how Boobie’s past, including his uncle’s past, the culture in West Texas, and high school athletics, shaped Boobie’s self-image. This lesson is a continuation of the previous lesson; however, our analysis will shift from a focus on fandom to the culture that surrounds Boobie and his uncle. We will again form claims about Boobie’s self-image based on textual evidence from the book.

  • Lesson 6:

    We will finish our analysis of the impact of fandom on the Permian High School football team by reading Chapter 4 of Friday Night Lights. We will closely read of the chapter and conduct a class discussion that will summarize our reading in preparation for the Section Diagnostic.

  • Lesson 7:

    Based on our understanding of the first four chapters of Friday Night Lights, we will each write a response to the following question:

    1. How do the fans in Odessa impact the players of the Permian football team?

  • Lesson 8:

    We will review feedback on the Section Diagnostic. We will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.

  • Lesson 9:

    We will commence an Independent Reading Program in which we choose texts to read independently as we progress through the unit. We will learn how to choose texts, what activities we may complete, about the final task, and about any materials we will use as we read our independent reading texts. We will begin by reading our texts, using tools to help us take notes and analyze important textual elements.