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Lesson 5

We will read the article “The White Flight from Football” by Alana Semuels and analyze her argument regarding race and youth sports. We will identify supporting evidence from the text to answer a question about the article and identify the author’s claim based on this evidence. We will discuss how this claim and evidence compares to the claims made by Bissinger in Friday Night Lights about race and sports.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I express an accurate understanding of the central ideas of “The White Flight from Football” after reading and identifying important evidence in the text?

  • Can I identify the author’s claims, reasoning, and evidence used to develop arguments and explanations in “The White Flight from Football"?

  • Can I develop and use an effective and efficient process to maintain work and materials while completing the Discussion Tool with my group?

Texts

Core

  • Unit Reader
    • “The White Flight from Football,” Alana Semuels, The Atlantic Media Co., 2019
    • “Unchecked, Unchallenged and Unabashed: Is Racism in High School Sports Being Tolerated?,” Ivey DeJesus, PA Media Group LLC, 2014
  • Tradebook
    • Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger, Da Capo Press, 1990

Materials

Tools

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write

We will read the article “The White Flight From Football,” and we will use a copy of the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to respond to a question about how race impacts youth sports.

Read and annotate the article, "The White Flight from Football." Identify details or evidence that help respond to the following question:

  1. What claims does the author make about race and youth football organizations?

Use a Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool, draft a response to the guiding question.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will discuss the claims we identified in “The White Flight From Football.” we will then discuss as a group what claims Bissinger would make about the same question we analyzed for the article. We will then compare these claims in a class discussion.

As a whole class, share and discuss the claims you identified Semuels made in "The White Flight from Football" about race and youth football.

Identify what claims Bissinger would make about the same question. Identify evidence from Friday Night Lights that would support these claims.

Compare and contrast how the two authors approach the answer to this question.

Activity 3: Read

For homework, we will review the section 2 diagnostic checklist and gather and organize our notes so that we are prepared to draft a response to the prompt.

Review the Section 2 Diagnostic Checklist. Gather and organize your notes so that you are prepared to draft a response to the prompt.