Extremely Loud and
Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Curriculum Unit by
Najwa Sweilem
Conrad Schumacher
Centennial Park School
1
Table of Contents
Rationale …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....3
Essential Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Unit at a Glance …………………………………………………………………………………………………...6
Opening Acts
Get to Know You Business Card ………………………………………………………...10
Set Community Norms ………………………………………………………………………….11
Carousel Photo Exhibit………………………………………………………………………….12
Impressions …………………………………………………………………………………………….15
Main Stage
OPB Witness Activity …………………………………………………………………………...19
Golden Lines/Notetaker/Annotations………………………………………………..22
Witness Narratives ……………………………………………………………………………….27
Found Poem ……………………………………………………………………………………………...28
Things I About/Things I Wish I Didn’t Know About……………………….31
Personal Timelines…………………………………………………………………………………...32
Stuff That Happened to Me………………………………………………………………….33
Inquiry Circles ………………………………………………………………………………………...34
#Hashtag into an Evidence Paragraph…………………………………………………35
Three Voice Poem …………………………………………………………………………………...37
Evidence Wall/Evidence Strips …………………………………………………………...41
Heavy Boots and Light Boots………………………………………………………………...42
Business Cards ………………………………………………………………………………………...46
Character Biological Index Cards ………………………………………………………..47
Loud & Close Visuals ……………………………………………………………………………….48
Personal Narrative ………………………………………………………………………………….50
Possible Prompts ……………………………………………………………………………………..53
Deepak Chopra ………………………………………………………………………………………...55
Wall of Thesis Statements …………………………………………………………………..57
Closing Acts:
Final Portfolio Requirements …………………………………………………………………60
Letter to Dr M. Fleetwood …………………………………………………………………….62
Unit Reflection…………………………………………………………………………………………..64
Appendices and Resources
9/11 Witness Accounts…………………………………………………………………………….68
Hiroshima Witness Accounts ………………………………………………………………...79
Dresden Witness Accounts …………………………………………………………………...85
Bruce Springsteen Songs ……………………………………………………………………….92
Bateson ……………………………………………………………………………………………………...94
Debono ……………………………………………………………………………………………………....96
Notes & Ideas ………………………………………………………………………………………...99
Dedications ………………………………………………………………………………………………100
2
Educational Rationale for teaching JS Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, delves into the issues of
death, loss, and generational trauma. It is based on the shared seminal American
experience of 9/11. The book also references other historical “tragedies” including the
Dresden fire bombings, Hiroshima, and the Holocaust. Students will be given the chance in
reading, discussion and class activities to engage in and examine “histories” that are quite
honestly, seldom taught truthfully-at the very least only from one perspective.
The novel is engaging and will be high interest for students. The novel deals with the
themes of trauma, loss and grief, which will potentially resonate with our students. The
book is a multi-media text that will create multiple avenues of entry for different learning
styles and help us explore the Essential Question of: How are text and image used in the
structure of the narrative?
Oskar is an relatable, interesting, likeable character with much to offer our students by
way of examining one of the Essential Question: How do I live a good life/become a good
person in difficult times? Through the study of Oskar, students will see and experience
the habit of resilience.
We want our students to read a novel in full which is not currently a common practice at
our school, nor an academic experience they are given. We want them to have a different
educational experience than they’re having in other classes while giving them something
more educationally challenging.
Opportunities related to the book for writing, discussion and group work will be key
components of the unit. Students will have multiple chances to improve and sharpen their
academic and analytic skills. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a book we want to use to
help students access their own stories and creativity as writers and thinkers. We want
students to use the joy in Foyer’s book/ structure to create their own pieces. This relates
to our Essential Question of: How can we use the creativity of others to inspire our
own creativity?
Students will have multiple opportunities for writing and self-reflection. We expect our
students to delve into their experiences and share their knowledge/discoveries and
experiences with others. We know the wisdom is in the room. Most of all, perhaps, we
desire to create Community through sharing writing, reading, discussion and discovery and
exploration of what it means to be a human.
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Some possible obstacles and struggles/roadblocks for students:
In the novel there are three storylines, four narrators and time jumps. Sorting out the
structure of the work and figuring out who is writing/speaking at the time can be
challenging for any reader. This structural piece is an important element of the storyincluding how the images and visuals are incorporated into the text. This relates to the
Essential Question of: How are text and image used to help enhance the structure of
the narrative?
Students may not have knowledge of tragic events: 9/11, (The Holocaust), Dresden,
Hiroshima, so we will need to build background knowledge. This relates to the Essential
Questions of:Why do we look at history with a mono lens? and
How are we continuing to fail to learn from history and continuing to make the same
mistakes?
Perhaps most importantly how will students who have experienced loss or trauma be
negatively affected by reading this story?This is a question of class and school culture as
well as a question of curriculum and design. We will need a safe (to quote Grandma from
the book) “It is necessary.” environment to explore, question, answer and heal as we read
the novel. We have included in our curriculum activities and prompts to help us and our
students work through our past losses, griefs and traumas. We have also created
curriculum to acknowledge the other HEALING side so necessary in this novel and in this
process. This relates to our (please excuse the Umbrella!) Essential Questions of:
How do I deal with trauma loss hurt and grief?
How do you process grief...?
Do we believe we are alone in our experiences and feelings? Or is everything
connected?
Does everything happen for a reason?
Is trauma inherited?
How are trauma, loss, grief and healing all entwined? Necessary parts of life?
What if we celebrate death in the same way we celebrate birth?
Why do we not inherit healing?
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Essential Questions
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How are text and image used in the structure of the narrative?
How do I live a good life/become a good person in difficult times?
How can we use the creativity of others to inspire our own creativity?
Why do we look at history with a mono lens?
How are we continuing to fail to learn from history and continuing to make the
same mistakes?
How do I deal with trauma loss hurt and grief?
How do you process grief...?
Do we believe we are alone in our experiences and feelings? Or is everything
connected?
Does everything happen for a reason?
Is trauma inherited?
How are trauma, loss, grief and healing all entwined? Are they necessary parts
of life?
What if we celebrate death in the same way we celebrate birth?
Why do we not inherit healing?
5
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Lesson Outline and Reading Schedule
Day
Title/Narrator
1 to 5
plus possible flex
day
Lessons
Pages
Opening Acts:
-Business Card
-Norms
-Carousel
-Impression
6
1-What the?
Oskar
-Bearing Witness
-Witness Narratives
-Golden Lines/Note
Takers/Annotations
7
2-Why I’m not
where you are
5/21/63 Grandpa
8
3-Googolplex
Oskar
--Things I know
about/Things I wish
I didn’t know about
35-55
9
3-Continued
-Stuff that
Happened to Me
Personal Timelines
+/-
56-74
10
4-My Feelings
Grandma
Inquiry Circles
75-85
11
5-The Only Animal
Oskar
-# quotes
86-109
12
6-Why I’m not
where you are
5/21/63 Grandpa
3 voice poem
examples and
introductions
108-120
13
6-Continued
Theme Wall and
Evidence Strips
120-141
14
7-Heavy crossed out
Heavier Boots
Oskar
Heavy Boots and
Light Boots
142-160
15
7-Continued
-Found Poem
1-15
16-34
160-173
6
16
8-My Feelings
Grandma
Loud & Close Visuals
174-186
17
9-Happiness,
Happiness
Oskar
Business Cards and
Character Cards
# Characters
186-207
18
10-Why I’m not
where you are
4/12/78
Grandpa
Personal Narrative
208-216
19
11-The sixth
borough
Thomas Schell 3rd
person
Healing Childhood
Anger
Deepak Chopra
217-223
20
12-My Feelings
Grandma
Dealing with Pain
Deepak Chopra
224-233
21
13-Alive and Alone
Oskar
234-249
22
13-Continued
250-261
23
14-Why I’m not
where you are
9/11/03
Grandpa
24
14-Continued
25
15-A simple solution
to an impossible
problem
Oskar
26
15
27
16-My Feelings
Grandma
The 4th Insight
Deepak Chopra
306-314
28
17-Beautiful and
True
Oskar
Heroic Journey
Board Games
315-320
29
17-Continued
Final Portfolio Idea
320-326+Flipbook
30
Flex Day
Physical /Visual
Thesis/Claim Walls
262-273
274-284
Healing a Historic or 285-295
Personal Trauma
Dealing with Duality
Deepak Chopra
296-305
7
Product
31-36
Final So What
Letter to Sam B.
and Unit reflection
and Assessment
8
OPENING ACTS
9
Get to know you business card…
1. As a way of introduction, create a business card for yourself and one other person.
Use only one word to describe yourself and your other person.
Example:
2. Once you have created your business cards, introduce yourself and share your cards
with others in the classroom community. Be ready to introduce your final partner to the
class.
3. Introduce your partner using their name and word.
4. Display your business card on the theme wall.
10
Setting Community Norms
Because at times we are dealing with historical traumas, loss, and grief, we will
have to focus on creating a safe, classroom environment where we can share our
writing, listen with empathy,
Using Think-Pair-Share strategy...
Think of where you feel safe and are able to say what you think and feel without
judgement.
With a partner answer the question:
What does a safe classroom environment look like for writing, sharing,
discussion?
Share out your ideas with the class and brainstorm a list of possible norms.
Pare down norms to 3-4 norms.
Repeat the process to answer these questions:
How do we hold people accountable for adhering to the norms?
What is the agreed upon “process” for checking one another?
How will we do this? Phrase? Sign?
We will review the norms at minimum weekly as well as create more activity
specific norms for reading, writing, group work etc.
11
Carousel Photos Exhibit
Carousel
A Pre-Reading and Post-Reading Strategy
Description:
CAROUSEL is a small group activity that helps students activate prior knowledge and
allows them to discuss, elaborate and problem-solve.
Steps:
1) The teacher prepares questions, or pulls quotes from the text, to generate interest
and to elicit other student questions based on an up-coming unit. The teacher writes the
questions on separate sheets of chart paper, which are then placed around the room. (Also
see OBSERVATION CHARTS)
2) Students are divided into groups of 3-4 members and given a different color marker
(no yellow, of course, too hard to see).
3) Each group stands in front of a question and brainstorms possible answers to the
question. One member writes the group’s answers on the chart paper.
4) When the teacher gives the signal, each group rotates to the next station with their
color marker and answers the new question.
5) Continue rotating several times, or until all groups get to all questions.
6) Follow-up to this activity:
·
Each group reviews all the comments at one of the carousel stations, summarizes and
reports back to the class.
·
Each group categorizes the responses on one sheet and responds back to the full group.
·
The whole class makes predictions about the content of the unit.
Potential problem:
If wall space is a problem, the various sheets of carousel response paper can be moved
from group to group instead of the groups moving from sheet to sheet.
Variations:
1) This activity also works well as a review at the end of a unit of study.
2) Instead of using questions on butcher paper, use a collection of photographs that
connect to the historical times of a novel or play. Ask students, while they browse the
photos with their group, to write and talk about the following:
·
Observations: Describe without judgment what you see in the photos.
·
Connections: Do the photos remind you of anything in your life? In history?
·
What story or memories emerge from the photos for you as you move from photo to
photo.
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·
Questions: What do you want to know more about? What are you wondering about?
(See student handout on next page.)
Carousel Photos Exhibit
As you browse the photos with your group, write and talk about the following:
· Observations: Describe without judgment what you see in the photos.
· Connections: Do the photos remind you of anything in your life? History?
· What story or memories emerge from the photos for you as you move from photo to
photo?
· Questions: What do you want to know more about? What are you wondering about?
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Images from the book:
Falling Man p 59
Central Park Pic p 60-61
Purple p 63
Crying Elephant p 94
Doorknob p 115
Coney island p148
Picture of the Yes/No hands p 260-61
Key p 303
Additional images in Word Document:
Empire State Building Observation Deck
Tambourine
Twin Towers 9/11
Migrating Birds
Alas, poor Yorick!
Stephen Hawking
Bombing Hiroshima
Answering Machine
Missing Persons Wall
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Impressions, An Opening Act
(also part of the ongoing main stage)
In small groups students will be given a series of quotes- “Impressions” of the book
they are about to read. On chart paper they will write down predictions of what they
think the story will be about based on the quotes. The quotes will be used as
“predictive evidence” of what impressions they have of such story elements as
character, setting, plot, tone, theme etc.
My most impressive song that I can play on my tambourine is “The Flight of the
Bumblebee,” by Nicholai Rimsky-Korsakov, which is also the ringtone I downloaded for the
cell phone I got after Dad died.
One weird thing is, I wonder if everyone’s hearts would start to beat at the same time,
like how women who live together have their menstrual periods at the same time, which is
something I know about, but don’t really want to know about.
Please marry me.
“Ha,ha,ha!” She flipped forward and pointed at, “Please marry me.” I flipped forward and
pointed at,”I’m sorry this is the smallest I’ve got.”
“Mom?” “Yes?” “It doesn’t make me feel good when you say that something I do reminds
you of Dad.”
Every time I left our apartment to go searching for the lock, I became a little lighter,
because I was getting closer to Dad. But I also became a little heavier, because I was
getting farther from Mom.
“ The fall play this fall is Hamlet, in case you’re interested. I’m Yorick.”
Until that day,
Most sincerely,
Stephen Hawking
But a friction began to arise between Nothing and Something…
There came a point, a year or two ago, when our apartment was more Nothing than
Something, that in itself didn’t have to be a problem, it could have been a good thing, it
could have saved us.
Excuse me, where do you get tickets?
15
The next performance was only Grandma again. She cried at all the wrong times and
cracked up at all the wrong times.
“Oskar, I think you made Gail feel quite uncomfortable.” “What do you mean?” “I could tell
that she felt embarrassed.” “I was just trying to be nice.” “You might have tried too hard.”
“How can you try to hard to be nice?”
“They couldn’t feed themselves because they couldn’t get their hands to their mouths! So
you know what they did!” “They starved?” “They fed each other! That’s the difference
between heaven and hell! In hell we starve! In heaven we feed each other!” “I don’t believe
in the afterlife.” “Neither do I, but I believe in the story!”
Message three. 9.31am Hello? Hello? Hello?
Why are you leaving me?
He wrote, I do not know how to live.
I do not know either, but I am trying.
I do not know how to try.
To my unborn child,
To my child,
“Life is scarier than death.”
I love you,
Your Father
Even though I didn’t want to, I started inventing.
“He sounds calm in the last message.” I told him, “I read something in National Geographic
about how, when an animal thinks it’s going to die, it gets panicky and starts to act crazy.
But when it knows it’s going to die, it gets very, very calm.”
I’m still sorry.
The day after the renter and I dug up Dad’s grave, I went to Mr. Black's apartment.
“ Because people hurt each other. That’s what people do.”
I asked him, “Do you forgive me?”
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“Do I forgive you?”
“Yeah.”
“For not being able to pick up?”
“For not being able to tell anyone.”
I thought about waking her.
But it was unnecessary.
There would be other nights.
And how can you say I love you to someone you love?
I rolled onto my side and fell asleep next to her.
Here is the point of everything I have been trying to tell you, Oskar.
It’s always necessary.
I love you,
Grandma
“How come you didn’t die in the accident?” Mom said, “ That’s enough, Oskar.” Ron said, “I
wasn’t in the car.”
I reversed the order, so the last one was first, and the first one was last.
When I flipped through them, it looked like the man was floating up through the sky.
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Main Stage
18
Taken From OPB’s Teaching Guide
Elie Wiesel First Person Singular
Activity Two: Bearing Witness
"I believe that anyone who lived through an experience is duty bound to bear
witness to it." — From Elie Wiesel: First Person Singular
1. Help students understand what it means to speak as a witness, by having them
write a poem, essay or story or create a work of art about an event they saw — or
"witnessed" — in person.
2. They might choose an incident as immediate as walking by a homeless person
sleeping in a doorway or catching another student cheating on a test. Or they
might describe how they experienced the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Encourage them along the writing path with "It's important to remember…" or "I
saw it with my own eyes."
Teacher Note: Look at this for later as well as the link to the Heroism
Projects Curriculum Below
(Activity Three: Making a Difference)
"Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the
tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives
are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and
sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because
of their race, religion, or political views, that place must — at that moment —
become the center of the universe… And action is the only remedy to indifference,
the most insidious danger of all." — Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize acceptance speech,
1986
Part I
1. Write on the board or hand out a printed version of Wiesel's statement above.
2. Have students spend ten minutes writing in their journals, or talking to a
partner, investigating, explaining, and exploring the meaning of the quote. Use any
or all of the following prompts: Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
Can you think of any experiences you have had that validate or contradict this
idea? What, if any, are the personal implications of this statement? What
questions do you have about this statement?
3. After individual journal writing, ask students to share their thoughts and
insights in small groups or as a whole class. Ask students to think about this idea as
they go through their day. Were there any incidents in class or at home that
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related to this idea?
Part II
Adapted from The Heroism Project
http://www.heroism.org/curriculum.html
1. Discuss the fact that we all have the power to have a positive impact on the local
"world" around us. We are all part of the communities in which we live, and we each
have the ability to make a difference — by encouraging tolerance, helping someone
in need, fighting an injustice or simply speaking our minds.
2. Using the lists below as suggestions, have students work individually or with a
partner to find out about a human rights activist individual or organization. Ideally,
students will identify people and/or organizations in the community, with whom
they might be able to make a connection.
a. If students select individuals, what did they do (or are they doing)? Why? What
kind of risks did they take, if any? How did their actions impact the world? A
possible source for this unit is Michael Collopy's Architects of Peace: Visions of
Hope in Words and Images (New World Library).
People: Martin Luther King Jr., Helen Caldicott, Alfred Nobel, Mikhail Gorbachev,
Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Jesse Jackson, Chief Seattle, Dr. Maria
Montessori, Rosa Parks, Ella Baker, Nelson Mandela, Albert Schweitzer, Andrei
Sakharov, Jane Addams, , Linus Pauling, Lech Walesa, Susan B. Anthony, Cesar
Chavez, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Emma Goldman, Medgar Evers, Dalai
Lama, Dorothy Day, Rachel Carson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Thich Nhat Hanh.
b. If they select an organization, have them investigate what contributions these
or other organizations they identify make to society. What, if anything, do these
contributions have to do with human rights and tolerance?
Organizations: Project Open Hand, Teach for America, Unicef, Unesco, Shanti,
Zen Hospice Center, United Nations, American Civil Liberties Union, Global
Women's Council, Amnesty International, NAACP, International Court of Justice,
N.O.W., Catholic Charities, La Casa de Las Madres, Holocaust Museum, Museum of
Tolerance, Mother Teresa's Home for Abandoned Children.
Part III
Adapted from The Heroism Project
1. Encourage students to spend a few days reading the local and national news,
doing research on the Internet, taking notice of things around the school and
community and thinking about a project to undertake as individuals, in small groups
20
or as a class to make a contribution. One might write a letter to his congressman
about a national human rights issue. Another might take blankets to a local
homeless shelter. A small group might visit a convalescent home and spend a few
hours with the residents. A pair might spend a couple of hours cleaning up the
playground in a low-income neighborhood.
2. Ask students to submit a plan, including how they chose the project, what they
intend to do and how they will proceed.
3. After students have completed their projects, meet as a class to discuss how it
went. Ask each person or group to present a short oral (and written) report on the
process. Did they feel the project they selected was something that made a
difference? Did they enjoy the process, planning and execution? Would they
choose to do something like that again?
Assessment
Students will be assessed on the quality of their participation in class discussions,
the quality of their writing, and the quality of their presentations.
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As resource materials and common class practices we will become
familiar with and use on a regular basis these three reading
strategies:
1) Golden Lines
2) Key Concept and Personal Response Notetaker
3) Annotations
Golden Lines is a method where as you read you highlight the “Golden” (think
WOW I wish I’d written that!!) sections/sentences of what you are reading.
We will be using this to help in class discussions as well as writing the “Found”
Poems and finding quotes for your Stuff that happened to me books.
More in depth information is below:
RA Routines Sheet: Golden Lines
Golden Lines is a routine that asks students to note or highlight “golden lines”—
lines or short passages from a text that are particularly meaningful to the student
for some reason. This is a protocol you can use with any text you want students to
read.
What it’s good for:
·
Creating a low-risk way for all students to access to text and participate in
activities
·
Focusing attention on crucial parts of a text
·
Making personal connections to a text
·
Assessing students’ interests and understanding
·
Looking for patterns/tendencies in a class as a whole
STEP ONE: Set a focus for reading
Participation structure: Individual
It’s important for them to know what they should be highlighting. The focus you
set depends upon your reasons for asking students to read the text.
Some possibilities for highlighting:
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Anything that seems particularly important (for whatever reason the student
chooses)
Anything that seems particularly important to know/understand about
_____________
Anything that you don’t understand (or don’t understand about ____________)
Anything that you really disagree with
Possible supports:
Let students know how they might/should be reading (quick-read, careful read,
etc.).
Let students know how much time they’ll have to read.
STEP TWO: Students read
Participation Structure: Individual
Be sure to have some way for students to mark their Golden Lines. If it’s a text
they can write on, highlighters can be helpful. If they can’t write on the text,
some kind of note-taking sheet will work. You might also use sticky notes.
STEP THREE: Sharing
Participation Structure: Varies; you can use pairs, small groups, or whole-group
sharing
You’ll want some way of knowing what students chose as their golden lines. If you
do whole-group sharing, consider ways of making sure that you hear varied
voices/perspectives. You might use Whip Around, numbered sticks, or some other
method of making sure you hear from many students in a quick time.
You’ll probably want students to share what they highlighted and then explain why
they highlighted it.
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Our Note-taker (and if this one does not work for you will will
invent/find one that does!!)
Key Concept/Evidence and Personal Response Note-taker
Name_________________________________________
As you read the passage from Mr. Vonnegut about the bombing of Dresden from
his book Slaughterhouse Five highlight / underline the sentences or passages that
make the most meaning to you/help you visualize what the bombing must have been
like. After you have finished reading copy the evidence/passages from the text in
the chart below and next to them write your personal responses. When necessary
please cite the page and paragraph in the evidence column. Focus on your questions
and personal connections in your responses.
Example Text Section:
Every day we walked into the city and dug into basements and shelters to get the
corpses out, as a sanitary measure. When we went into them, a typical shelter, an
ordinary basement usually, looked like a streetcar full of people who’d
simultaneously had heart failure. Just people sitting there in their chairs, all dead.
A fire storm is an amazing thing. It doesn’t occur in nature. It’s fed by the
tornadoes that occur in the midst of it and there isn’t a damned thing to breathe.
We brought the dead out. They were loaded on wagons and taken to parks, large
open areas in the city which weren’t filled with rubble. The Germans got funeral
pyres going, burning the bodies to keep them from stinking and from spreading
disease. 130,000 corpses were hidden underground. It was a terribly elaborate
Easter egg hunt. We went to work through cordons of German soldiers. Civilians
didn’t get to see what we were up to. After a few days the city began to smell, and
a new technique was invented. Necessity is the mother of invention. We would bust
into the shelter, gather up valuables from people’s laps without attempting
identification, and turn the valuables over to guards. Then soldiers would come with
a flame thrower and stand in the door and cremate the people inside. Get the gold
and jewelry out and then burn everybody inside.
24
For example:
Evidence from text-Rationale
Personal Response
looked like a streetcar full of people
How can someone handle such a
who’d simultaneously had heart
sight? Is it possible not to be
failure. Just people sitting there in
traumatized by this?
their chairs, all dead
Evidence from text-Rationale
The Germans got funeral pyres going,
burning the bodies to keep them
from stinking and from spreading
Personal Response
This sounds so matter of fact-and
the dark humor of relating it to an
Easter Egg hunt?? Why would you
want to find a dead body-but that’s
disease. 130,000 corpses were hidden the joke right-I guess humor really
underground. It was a terribly
can help us through tragedies and
elaborate Easter egg hunt
After a few days the city began to
smell, and a new technique was
invented. Necessity is the mother of
invention
grief
Difficult times demand difficult
measures I can’t help but thinking/
making the connection of Oskar herehis inventions- and how he wants to
stop inventing-can we have some good
inventions please! How do we shut our
brains down during difficult times-or
can we do anything other than shut
down? Is there a wrong way to deal
with this terrible stuff??
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And finally our Guide on How to Annotate or Yea!!! I get to mark-up the text!!
Annotation Guidelines
(or writing in/on the margins/paper)
For the texts we read in class please use these marks for annotating.
These will aid you in our class discussions and also in your reading/writing responses.
Ask me how???
A-This means this is something you find yourself strongly agreeing with, whether it is a
feeling, opinion, character, experience or even description.
D- This means this is something you find yourself strongly disagreeing with, whether it is
a feeling, opinion, character, experience or even description.
??-This means that you find this puzzling or confusing either because of lack of
information or knowledge, or maybe you just want to know more about this.
!*!-This means you are surprised, in a new-good way, you have an AHA!, a WOW! I wish I’d
said that or thought of that or maybe even one of those moments where AHA! This finally
makes sense when I see it this way.
STHTM- In the book this is the Stuff That Happened to Me annotate here for things
you want to discuss in class, things that inspire and remind you to write in your own book
V-This means you have found a vocabulary word you don’t know or recognize, or a word
you’d like to add to your own vocabulary.
26
Witness Accounts in Resources...
There are numerous witness accounts for Dresden, Hiroshima, and 9/11 in the
resources. These will serve as texts to enhance background knowledge, as well
as, pieces from which to gather lines for the Found Poem.
27
Found Poem
Example of a found poem: “110 Stories” by John M. Ford
As a group, you will create a found poem based on witness accounts of Dresden, Hiroshima
or 9/11.
1. Reread the witness accounts from Dresden, Hiroshima, and 9/11 and highlight the
Golden Lines that you find powerful, interesting or moving.
2. Make a list of your Golden Lines ( highlighted words and phrases), then edit your
list by cutting out words and phrases that are ordinary or lackluster. You should
have a minimum of 20 amazing lines.
3. Read over the lines and consider the tone of the piece. How will you organize the
pieces to give the poem power and beauty? Play with the phrases until you find the
combination that creates the feeling and sound that best conveys the spirit of the
historical event.
4. You may change punctuation and tenses to make the words fit together, but try to
honor the witness accounts by leaving their words intact. Add words if you
absolutely must, but keep them to a minimum.
5. Read the poem aloud and make necessary edits.
6. Add a title that speaks to the spirit of the poem.
7. Think about laying out the poem in a visual manner that helps the reader understand
the poem.
28
110 Stories
by John M. Ford
This is not real. We've seen it all before.
Slow down, you're screaming. What
exploded? When? I guess this means we've
got ourselves a war. And look at -- Lord have
mercy, not again.I heard that they went after
Air Force One. Call FAA at once if you can't
land. They say the bastards got the Pentagon.
The Capitol. The White House. Disneyland .I
was across the river, saw it all. Down Fifth, the
buildings put it in a frame. Aboard the ferry -we felt awful small. I didn't look until I felt the
flame. The steel turns red, the framework
starts to go Jacks clasp Jills’ hands and step
onto the sky. The noise was not like anything
you know. Stand still, he said, and watch a
building die. There's no one you can help
above this floor. We've got to hold our breath.
We've got to climb. Don't give me that; I did
this once before. The firemen look up, and
know the time. These labored, took their
wages, and are dead. The cracker-crumbs of
fascia sieve the light. The air's deciduous of
letterhead. How dark, how brilliant, things will
be tonight. Once more, we'll all remember
where we were. Forget it, friend. You didn't
have a choice. That's got to be a rumor, but
who's sure? The Internet is stammering with
noise. You turn and turn but just can't turn
away. My child can't understand. I can't
explain. The towers drain out from Boston to
LA. The cellphone is our ganglion of pain.
What was I thinking of? What did I say?
You're safe? The TV's off. What do you
mean? I'm going now, but not going away.
I couldn't touch the answering machine.
I nearly was, but caught a later bus. I would
have been, but had this awful cold.
I spoke with her, she's headed home, don't
fuss. Pick up those tools. The subway job's on
hold. Somebody's got to pay, no matter what.
I love you. Just I love you. Just I love -The cloud rolls on; I think of Eliot. Not silence,
but an emptiness above. There's dust, and
My friends all made it, and that's why I cry.
He stayed with me, and he died anyway.
We almost tipped the island toward uptown.
Next minute, I'm in Macy's. Who knows
how. I really need to get this bagel down.
He'd haul ass, that's what Jesus would do
now. A fighter plane? Dear God, let it be
ours. We're scared of bombs and so we're
loading guns. Who didn't have a rude word
for the towers? The world's hip-deep in junk
that mattered once. Hands rise to heaven
as asbestos falls. The air is yellow,
hideously thick. A photo, private once, on
fifty walls .A candle in a teacup on a brick.
They found -- can you believe -- a pair of
hands. Oh, that don't hurt. Well, maybe just
a bit. The Winter Garden's shattered but it
stands. A howl is Mene Tekeled in the grit.
Some made it in a basement, so there's
hope. The following are definitely known . .
.You live, is how you learn that you can
cope. Yes, I sincerely want to be alone.
Don't even ask. That's what your tears are
for. The cats are in a shelter; we are not.
Pedestrians rule the Roeblings' bridge once
more. A memory of home is what we've got.
Tribeca with no people, that's plain wrong.
It's just a shopping bag, but who can tell?
Okay, okay, I'm moving right along. The
postcards hit two dollars, and they sell. Be
honest, now. You're proud of living here. If
this is Armageddon, make it quick. Today,
for you, the rose is free, my dear. We're
shooting down our neighbors. Now I'm sick.
I can't do that for fifty times the fare. A
coronary. Other things went on.
It goes, like, something mighty, and
despair. All those not now accounted for
are gone. Here is the man whose god
blinked in the flash, Whose god says sinful
people should be hurt, The man whose god
is kneeling in the ash, The man whose god
is dancing on the dirt. Okay, I ate at
29
metal. Nothing else at all.it's airless and it's
absolutely black. I found a wallet. I'm afraid to
call. I'll stay until my little girl comes back.
You hold your breath whenever something
shakes. St. Vincent's takes one massive
trauma case. The voice, so placid, till the
circuit breaks. Ten minutes just to grab stuff
from my place .I only want to hear them say
goodbye. They could be down there, buried,
couldn't they?
Windows now and then. This fortune-teller
went to Notre Dame? They knocked 'em
down. We'll stack 'em up again. Oh, I'd say
one or two things stayed the same.
Some nights I still can see them, like a
ghost. King Kong was right about the
Empire State. I'd rather not hear what you'll
miss the most. A taller building? Maybe. I
can wait. I hugged the stranger sitting next
to me. So this is what you call a second
chance. One turn aside, into eternity.
This is New York. We'll find a place to
dance.
With resolution wanting, reason runs
To characters and symbols, noughts and ones.
30
Things I wish I knew/Things I don’t really want to know
Throughout the novel, Oskar comments on the both the things he know but wishes he
didn’t and things he wishes he knew. For example, on page 1, Oskar says, “I wonder if
everyone’s hearts would start to beat at the same, like how women who live together have
their menstrual periods at the same time, which I know about, but don’t really want to
know about.”
Throughout the unit, we will be giving you time in class to revisit this notetaker as it may
be one of the places where you find inspiration to create a larger narrative piece.
In the organizer below, create your own list of “Things you wish you knew” and “Things you
know, but don’t really want to know.
Things I Wish I Knew
Things I Know, but Don’t Really Want to
Know About
31
Personal Timeline
Begin by drawing a line horizontally on the strip of paper you have been given. On the far
right put a dot and write the year of your birth, on the far left put a dot and write the
current year.
On the top side of this timeline, identify the POSITIVE key historical/social/cultural events that
gave your life shape and meaning.
On the timeline itself identify NEUTRAL events
On the bottom side of the timeline, identify the NEGATIVE key events in your life— For
POSITIVE NEUTRAL AND NEGATIVE you may choose to illustrate these historical/social/cultural
events with appropriate images
Remember the higher you go the more POSITIVE and the lower you go the more NEGATIVE.
Here are some tips for succeeding on this assignment:
●
Do some careful thinking about the key historical/cultural/social events that have shaped—
this is hard to do! Think back in your life about the larger events that shaped yours and
your family's circumstances—especially your beliefs, opinions values/practices.
Here are some online timelines that you may (or may not) find useful: timeline for the Internet
<http://info.isoc.org/internet/history/>; timeline for American news, lifestyle, and souns
<http://archer2000.tripod.com/index.html>; timeline of Black history <http://blackhistory.eb.com/>;
timeline of computing history <http://www.computer.org/computer/timeline/>; Chinese American
timeline <http://www.itp.berkeley.edu/~asam121/timeline.html>.
32
Stuff That Happened to Me...
Goal: Students will respond to a weekly prompt either generated by the teachers, or
directly from the book and write about a life event that has affected them to create a
“Stuff That Happened to Me” book modeled after Oskar’s. Students will also be matching
meaningful images to emphasize and enhance their written work.
This could take the Final Form of a Digital Journal, A Scrapbook, A Dairy etc.
Teacher Note:(we will create exemplars for students)
Rationale: Students will be reflecting on experiences that have impacted their lives
through weekly writing prompts. By doing so, students will deepen their understanding of
themselves and the book by reflecting on quotes and their own life experiences.
Materials: Ideally, computers to create a digital journal. If not, Paper, EL & IC text, art
supplies, binding materials
Process:
1. Discuss Oskar’s “ Stuff That Happened to Me” book: Googolplex p 46-67. Why do
you think he includes each piece? How might each piece have influenced him?
2. Handout instructions
3. Create books (Possible workshop with artist)
4. Throughout the unit, students will be responding to prompts (both teacher selected
and student generated), writing a weekly entry, and electing a visual artifact to
enhance their written work. Students will share a portion of their entries with the
classroom community.
5. Using events from your Narrative Timeline, list 10 things that happened to you. Be
sure you have an equal mix of positive and negative.
Handout:
Throughout the quarter, we will be creating a multi-media journal inspired by Oskar’s
“Stuff That Happened to Me” book. Some entries will be memoir pieces about events on
your personal timeline. Others will be similar to Oskar’s in that they may be about events
that directly affect you or events that are not directly connect to you (the shark
attacking the girl or the decapitated soldier. Regardless of the direct or indirect nature
of the event, Oskar includes them in his book and shares his feelings on the subject.
Your task throughout the quarter is to write a weekly entry in your “Stuff That Happened
to Me” book. For each entry you will include an image or visual artifact to represent each
event. You may choose an image from the internet, personal photos, or create your own
symbol. Be ready to share your journal entries with the classroom community.
33
Inquiry Circles
Adapted from Edmund Burke Feldman’s How to Read a Visual
● Begin by having students/teachers put an quote/issue/event in the center
circle.
● Let students “react” to the prompt and write those in the next circle
● Help students distinguish between reaction and thought-and how to turn
reactions into thoughts write those in the next circle
● Based on the thoughts create questions and write those in the next circle
● Write possible answers to the question/s in the next circle
● **You may end the process here-or repeat with from the answer develop
another question and another answer etc.
● In the outer circle take action-stake a claim based on your answer-answers
demand actions!
34
Craft Lesson: Hashtag into Evidence Paragraph
Thanks to Maurice Cowley and Tara Jardine from the 2015 OWP Summer Institute for
this lesson.
1. Begin by asking students, “What is a hashtag? How are they used?” You may look
at some sample hashtags if students aren’t familiar.
2. Select a quote or image from your work together and place it on the document
camera. Ask students to generate a hashtag for the prompt. Explain that this is part
of the process you will work through together. You might show the attached models
to students.
3. On large pieces of chart paper, students draw three circles in the form of a bullseye.
4. Each group selects a quotation that they think is the most important (relevant to
the essential questions) based on their individual selections in their reading
journals, articles, etc. Students write the quotation in the inner circle on a large
piece of chart paper
5. With each group’s chart paper hanging on the wall, students walk around adding
hashtags in the first circle on the chart paper. These hashtags should capture the gist
of the quote, theme of the quotation. Then ask students to walk around and discuss
which hashtags they think are most effective. (See sample below.)
6. Bring the class back together. Return to your original quote (#2) and ask students
to pull the quote into a sentence. (See model) Ask students to partner share or small
group share. Ask a few students to share with the large group to make sure
everyone has a common understanding of the next step.
35
7. Once students return to the hallway, ask students to write sentences in response
to the hashtags and quotations. Tell them to write on at least three sheets.
8. Once students have written on a few hashtag posters, return once again to the
large group. The last step is to write a paragraph using one of the quotations,
hashtags and sentences as the evidence for their paragraph. Before students write
their evidence paragraph, brainstorm together the elements of an evidence
paragraph: What is in an evidence paragraph:
Claim
Support Evidence
Interpretation/Analysis
Quote
Context
(See “Raising the bones of an evidence paragraph”.)
Students write a practice paragraph with the classroom model. (#2) Students
partner or small group share and pop up share a few paragraphs in class. (See
model below.)
9. Ask students return to hashtag posters, find a quote, hashtag, and sentence they
want to develop into a paragraph. Once students complete their paragraphs, share
in small groups or post on the wall next to the hashtag posters.
36
Three-Voice Poem
From your reading, choose three characters that might argue, discuss or dialogue. Create
a discussion between the trio. Let them speak in authentic voices.
Pair with a partner and work together to create a three-voice poem. Choose three
characters from Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Improvise a dialogue/argument
between these characters. After you get the idea about what the dialogue sounds like,
write it in draft form. Without using names, lay it out so that it’s clear when the voices
change.
Three-Voice Poem Notetaker
Use the notetaker below to organize quotes and ideas to begin creating a dialogue.
Character 1:
Character 2:
Character 3:
**MODEL AND CREATE A THREE-VOICE POEM WITH A TEXT THEY KNOW.
Examples:
37
The Vicar and The Teacher
from I Heard the Owl Call My Name
by Maxx Nanson, student
The clouds are a light gray,
the normal but beautiful color of Kingcome sky.
The clouds are ominous and dreary,
I grow tired of this place.
Rain starts to fall,
as much a part of me as my own arms.
Rain starts to fall,
reflecting my somber mood.
The air is cold,
feeling clean, fresh, and new.
The air is cold
and I put on my jacket longing for the warm summer days of my old home.
Soon the children will visit me,
so innocent and curious.
Soon the children will visit me,
I grow tired of their blank, expressionless faces.
I respect the culture,
and don’t force my beliefs.
I am a teacher,
and they will learn English.
Life in Kingcome is simple,
it makes a man realize what his place in life is all about.
Life in Kingcome is boring,
no man should ever have to come here.
I am an outsider, for I can never truly be a part of them
I am an outsider, for I will never be one of them.
38
Honeybees from Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul
Fleischman
Being a bee
Being a bee
is a joy.
is a pain.
I’m a queen
I’m a worker
I’ll glad explain.
I’ll glad explain.
Upon rising,
I’m fed
by my royal
attendants,
I’m up at dawn, guarding
the hive’s narrow entrance
I’m bathed
then I take out
the hive’s morning trash
then I’m
groomed.
then I put in an hour
making wax,
without two minutes’ time
to sit still and relax.
The rest of my
day
is quite simply
set forth:
Then I might collect nectar
from the field
three miles north
I lay eggs,
or perhaps I’m on
larva detail
by the
hundred.
feeding the grubs
in their cells,
wishing that I were still
helpless and pale.
I’m loved and
I’m lauded,
I’m outranked
by none.
39
Then I pack combs with
pollen—not my idea of fun.
When I’ve
done
enough laying
Then, weary, I strive
I retire
to patch up any cracks
in the hive
for the rest of
the day.
Then I build some new cells,
slaving away at
enlarging this Hell,
dreading the sight
of another sunrise,
wondering why we don’t
all unionize.
Truly, a bee’s is the
Truly, a bee’s is the
worst
best
of all lives.
of all lives.
Lesson from OWP Reading & Writing Strategies 2015
40
Evidence Wall: Emerging Themes & Issues
To help students understand how to build essays based on their own passions and
interests, we will build an “Emerging Theme Wall” as we read. During class discussions,
when a student makes an excellent point, the teacher might say, “Let’s put that on the
theme and issue wall.” For example, during a discussion about the main character in If We
Must Die, Tiara talked about how the maid, Ivory, pushed Berneen’s understanding of her
role to combat racism as a white woman. Tiara created a sentence strip: “Berneen’s
awareness around racism is pushed by black characters.”
Collecting Evidence:
1. At the end of a class discussion about a scene in the play, students get in small groups
and create sentence strips with themes that they see emerging or ideas they want to
follow in their dialogue journals. Some of these will not bear fruit. This is a good real life
lesson: Sometimes our original ideas need to be tweaked, amended, or abandoned as we
read deeper into a novel, history, or science.
2. Stop the class regularly to collect quotes, arguments and insights on sticky notes and
place them under the appropriate theme. In this way, students collect evidence (with page
numbers) along the way, instead of flipping back through the play at essay writing time.
41
Heavy Boots and Light Boots
Throughout the novel, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Oskar refers to having heavy
and light boots to illustrate his emotional state:
“I had thought about giving it to Sonny, the homeless person who I sometimes see standing
outside the Alliance Francaise, because he puts me in heavy boots” (35).
“ A few weeks after the worst day, I started writing lots of letters. I don’t know why, but
it was one of the only things that made my boots lighter” (11).
Think about things that make your boots heavy and things that help to make your boots
lighter. In the notetaker, identify experiences, events, people, sounds, words, songs,
places, ANYTHING that makes your boots heavier or lighter.
Heavy Boots
Light Boots
42
Cranes (Light Boots) & Boots (Heavy Boots)
1. Read the story of Sadako
2. Fold your Origami paper into a crane.
3. Origami crane tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux1ECrNDZl4&safe=active
4. Choose one thing that makes your boots lighter and write it on a small strip of
paper. Attach it to your crane.
5. Fold your paper into a boot.
6. Origami boot tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09-W98l6yPw
7. Choose one thing that makes your boots heavy and write it on a small strip of paper.
Attach it to your boot.
8. Choose one thing that makes your boots heavy and write it on a small strip of paper.
Attach it to your boot.
9. Hang your crane and boot with the rest of the installation (cafeteria, library or
other public space).
43
The Story of Sadako
Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl living in Hiroshima when the atomic
bomb was dropped on Japan (August 6, 1945). In 1955, at age 11, Sadako was diagnosed with
leukemia, a type of cancer caused by the atomic bomb. [Photo from wikipedia.com]
While in the hospital, Sadako started to fold paper cranes. In Japan, there is a belief that if you
folded 1000 paper cranes, then your wish would come true. Sadako spend 14 months in the
hospital, folding paper cranes with whatever paper she could get. Paper was scarce so she
used the paper from medicine bottles, candy wrappers, and left over gift wrap paper. Her wish
was that she would get well again, and to attain peace & healing to the victims of the world.
Sadako died on October 25, 1955, she was 12 years old and had folded over 1300 paper
cranes. Sadako’s friends and classmates raised money to build a memorial in honor of Sadako
and other atomic bomb victims. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial was completed in 1958 and has
a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane. At the base is a plaque that says:
This is our cry.
This is our prayer.
Peace in the world.
Although Sadako died at a very young age, her legacy continues. To this day, the paper crane
is probably the most recognized origami model. The paper crane is often given as a wish for
peace.
Sadako's brother (Masahiro Sasaki), who is now over 70 years old, saved five of the original
paper cranes folded by his sister when she was in the hospital. He hopes to donate the
remaining 5 cranes to the the five continents of the world.
44
Sept 22, 2012: One of the original paper cranes folded by
Sadako was donated to the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii. It
is hoped "that Japan and the United States can overcome
resentment and animosity over the war and strengthen their
relationship."
Sept 13, 2009: One of the original paper cranes folded by
Sadako was given as a gift to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center in
New York City. It is hoped that the fingernail-sized crane will
remind us of a little girl's wish for world peace. Masahiro says,
"people from all over the world will see the crane that Sadako
folded, and will desire peace."
1990: In Seattle, Washington, USA, Nobel Peace Prize
nominee, Dr. Floyd Schmoe, built a life-size statue of Sadako.
The statue was unveiled on August 6, 1990, 45 years after the
bombing of Hiroshima. The statue is in the Seattle Peace Park
and often has paper cranes draped over it. [Photo from
wikipedia.com]
Article from: http://www.origami-resourcecenter.com/sadako.html
45
Business Card a la Oskar Schell
On his business card, Oskar illustrates his identity through inspirations, beliefs,
inspirations, and collections.
1. Brainstorm a list of your own descriptors (talents, hobbies, loves, hates,
inspirations, aspirations, beliefs).
2. Create a your own card.
3. Display your business card on the theme wall.
46
Character Biological Index Cards a la Mr. Black
Character cards
On page 156-58, we are introduced to Mr. Black’s biographical index (card catalogue) which
contains potentially hundreds of thousands of cards with a person’s name and a “one-word
biography”.
1. For each main character and 5 minor characters in the novel, create a card with their
name and a one-word biography.
Main Characters
Oskar
Grandpa
Abby Black
Mom
Anna
William Black
Dad
Mr. A.R. Black
Grandma
Stan
2. Choose 5 minor characters and create a card for each of them.
3. Display your card on the Character Theme Wall
4. Exit paragraph: Consider the pros and cons to Oskar and Mr Black’s approach to
business cards. What does each approach say or not say about each character?
47
Loud and Close Visuals- A Thematic Gallery
What about the book is loud?
What about the book is close?
Can you be loud and close at the same time?
What does loud mean anyway?
And what does close mean anywho?
How do we visualize a theme or a concept or an idea?
Using what we know about the many themes in the book (think of our theme wall)
we will create a visual wall of themes that represent the dualities and similarities
of loud and close.
Here is what to do:
Pick a theme that is loud in the book and find a visual to represent it.
Pick a theme that is close in the book and find a visual to represent it.
Per esempio, which is Italian for for example, which I know about:
My loud theme is needing family no matter how dysfunctional we and they are
48
My close theme is how we hurt ourselves and others we love
49
Creating and Using A Personal Narrative Timeline
Content: You are to write a narrative describing how an event or person (or both)
helped shape and influence you, or someone else you know, as a person. Your
narrative should center around one remembered event and/or one remembered
person. It should not be several small anecdotes (stories) combined into one,
although you may refer to these in your narrative. You may include places, ideas,
vacations, mentors, events, school experiences, teachers, family, friends, or
anything else from your past that has helped shape you as a person. You will want
to make sure that your narrative is engaging and centers around a conflict. Be sure
to make clear through character and dialogue how the people and event changed
you in some way. Tell your story dramatically and vividly, and remember to give the
significance of your narrative as well.
Format: This essay must be at least 1000 words, hand-written or computergenerated, double-spaced. Please secure your final draft with a paper clip, rather
than a staple. Thank you.
Peer Review date:
Due Date:
Directions:
For this class, you will compose a personal narrative with the primary purposes of: 1) examining and
reflecting on the people experiences and events that have shaped and influenced you as a person;
2.) placing these stories, people and events (and values) into some sort of narrative context so that
you and others can better understand the relationships between who you are through what you have
experienced
The definition of narrative we are using for this class is a story that has or could have happened
to a real person.
The audience for your Narrative is me and and the other people in this class.Create a timeline of
your life—online or on paper (e.g., poster- board(s), a homemade book, a scroll)—noting key dates in
your life.
50
Begin by drawing a line horizontally on the strip of paper you have been given. On the far
right put a dot and write the year of your birth, on the far left put a dot and write the
current year.
On the top side of this timeline, identify the POSITIVE key historical/social/cultural events that
gave your life shape and meaning.
On the timeline itself identify NEUTRAL events
On the bottom side of the timeline, identify the NEGATIVE key events in your life— For
POSITIVE NEUTRAL AND NEGATIVE you may choose to illustrate these historical/social/cultural
events with appropriate images
Remember the higher you go the more POSITIVE and the lower you go the more NEGATIVE.
Here are some tips for succeeding on this assignment:
●
Do some careful thinking about the key historical/cultural/social events that have shaped—
this is hard to do! Think back in your life about the larger events that shaped yours and
your family's circumstances—especially your beliefs, opinions values/practices.
Here are some online timelines that you may (or may not) find useful: timeline for the Internet
<http://info.isoc.org/internet/history/>; timeline for American news, lifestyle, and souns
<http://archer2000.tripod.com/index.html>; timeline of Black history <http://blackhistory.eb.com/>;
timeline of computing history <http://www.computer.org/computer/timeline/>; Chinese American
timeline <http://www.itp.berkeley.edu/~asam121/timeline.html>.
Below, you will find a copy of the Personal Narrative Autobiography questions you may find helpful
in creating your Timeline. Remember as we start this today we will take time in future classes to
add to it-the timeline marches on!
To compose the narrative, look at the questions below and answer each of them in writing—
responding as fully and completely as possible. Then begin placing them using either images or
“shorthand” On your timeline.
Personal Narrative “Autobiography” Questions:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Name:
Your place and date of birth:
Academic Major (if applicable):
Intended Occupation (if applicable):
Nationality:
Race:
Ethnic Heritage:
Religion/denomination (optional):
Immediate family members and ages:
How would you describe your family economic circumstances when you were growing up?
(e.g., we had very little money, we were comfortable, we were well off, we were extremely
well off)
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Parents’/Guardians’ Education and Professions:
What is your very first memory?
Of joy
Of struggle
Of fear
Of success
Of failure
Of embarrassment
Of pride
What values and beliefs did your learn from your parents/grandparents/guardians? At
home? At school? What were their thoughts about education?
What stories did they tell you about you?
About your family and relatives?
Who helped you? Hindered you? (include personal computers, computer games, etc.).
What are your happiest memories?
What are the stories you tell about yourself to people you know well? To people you don’t
know well?
What are the most important event and stories and people in your life from the ages of 5 to
10?
From 10 to 15?
From 15 to now?
What important historical/political/social events were happening in your state, country, or
around the world when you were a child growing up? When you were a teenager? Please list
as many of these as possible
What important family events happened when you were a child growing up? When
you were a teenager? Please list as many of these as possible.
Who were your heroes when you were a young child? An older child? An adolescent?
52
Possible Prompts
Who/what makes your brain quiet?
On page 12, Oskar says, “I loved having a dad who was smarter than the New York Times
and I loved how my cheek could feel the hairs on his chest through his T-shirt, and I loved
how he always smelled like shaving, even at the end of the day. Being with him made my
brain quiet. I didn’t have to invent a thing.” Who or what in your world makes your brain
quiet?
Inventions
Oskar creates numerous inventions throughout the novel. Creating inventions to quiet the
brain
Counting Lies & Counting Disappointments
Oskar’s Inventions
Choose one and write about how the invention might change the world.
Extremely Bright and Incredibly Funny
Consider the title of the book, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. If you were to write a
story of your own journey, how might you title it?
Extremely ________________ & Incredibly __________________
Happily _________________ & Annoyingly ___________________
Hungrily ________________ & Gracefully ___________________
Choose 2 adverbs and 2 adjectives to create your title. Please explain why the title
represents your life.
53
Personal Narrative Criteria Sheet
Literary Elements: Mark each of these elements on your draft. If you have a highlighter or colored
pencils, color each of the elements with a different color. If not, put the number of the element in
the margin of your paper. For example, every time you use dialogue put #1 in the margin next to it.
(The elements marked * are not essential, but give your writing more depth.)
___ 1. Dialogue
What are the characters saying?
Do they each have a “voice print?”
___ 2. Blocking
What are the characters doing while they are talking? Leaning against a wall? Tossing a
ball in the air?
Where are they located?
___ 3. Character Description
What does the character look like?
Smell like?
What is the character wearing?
Can we tell the character’s age?
Is the character bossy? Shy? Rowdy?
___ 4. Setting Description
Where does the story take place?
What does it look like?
Smell like?
What’s on the walls?
___ 5. Figurative Language*
Did you use metaphors and similes — comparisons?
Did you use personification — giving human qualities to non-humans?
___ 6. Interior monologue*
What is going on inside the character’s head?
What is the character thinking while the action is happening?
___ 7. Flashback*
This is fancy stuff. Does the character remember a time when…?
___8.Conflict
What’s the problem or problems in the story?
___9. Meaning/What’s the lesson learned
Why are you writing this?
Why are we reading this? So what?
54
Deepak Chopra
In the unit we will be using selected pieces of Deepak Chopra’s
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC
0QtwIwAmoVChMI3aqD1rG4xwIVxZaICh34OQSr&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yo
55
utube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhkJb7Sg8N0&ei=gCnWVd3qDcWtogT485DYCg&usg=AFQjCNFJ9DUijwj48ChokGbcx04Gxd
fGWw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkJb7Sg-8N0
The pieces we will be using from the book are:
Healing Childhood Anger:Exercise 10 page 231
(link to Healing a Historic or Personal Trauma)
Dealing With Pain:Exercise 8 page 223
Dealing with Duality : Exercise 3 page 193
The 4th Insight:Page 283
56
Wall of Thesis Statements
From the writing of Linda Christensen . . .
For years, I pushed students to write their thesis statements before they collected their
evidence. This was a mistake. Statements didn’t fit their facts. They sounded great but
couldn’t find any purchase once students started writing. Now, I wait until after students
collect information to work on developing a thesis statement.
I explain that a strong thesis statement is essential for writing a strong essay because:
· It provides a roadmap for the writer by stating what the essay will prove. It answers the
question: What is this essay about?
· The thesis statement is more than a statement of the topic — language and power. It defines
the writer’s interpretation of a specific aspect of language and power, for example, how
language played out in Native American boarding schools and what the student thinks about
that.
· A strong thesis helps the writer shape the essay by clarifying its topic and its stance: What
do you think about language and power? What is your perspective on the topic? It also helps
the writer weed evidence; it clarifies what the essay is not about and what evidence is not
relevant.
I also point out that the thesis statement is typically somewhere in the first paragraph of the
essay and clues the reader in on the point of the essay and that it can be stated explicitly or
implicitly. I don’t get rule-driven about this, telling students that it must include three parts or
certain kinds of phrasing. I want them to get the gist of a thesis statement. I used to get too
technical, and I lost students and myself. And, as a writer, I frequently have a working thesis
or direction, then adapt and change it along the way. I write my way to understanding. I bring
in drafts of my writing and hang them on the wall to demonstrate this.
After we go over the mission of the thesis statement, I tell students to write one or two drafts
of potential statements for their essay. Once most students have at least one statement, I tell
them, “Share your thesis statements with a partner. I want you to think about what your
friend is trying to prove. Is it clear? Is there evidence for it? Once you’ve helped each other,
revise your sentence if your partner was confused. Then select your ‘best’ statement and
write it on this strip of paper or blackboard.” During this time, I travel furiously around the
room, noting great sentences, and some that provide teaching points — too broad, too
narrow, not enough evidence.
After all students have their thesis statements (without names) on the wall, we walk around
the room discussing each statement. Now, even if I had a document projec- tor or a working
overhead with transparencies, I would still use this method as least once or twice a year.
Students get out of their chairs. We walk around the room in a huddle of humanity as we
discuss thesis statements. I start by saying, “As you know, I don’t spell everything correctly
and neither do other people, so there’s no need to point out when someone has misspelled a
word or two. We’re looking for clarification about thesis statements, not spelling and
grammar.”
I herd them to a couple of promising statements, pause, and ask questions. For example, in
the thesis statement, “When it came to the character Janie in Hurston’s novel Their Eyes
57
Were Watching God, skin color did not matter.” I ask, “What has the writer promised to
prove?” As students make suggestions, I underline the key phrases. For this statement, the
writer has to prove that skin color did not matter to Janie. “Can the writer back up this
thesis? What evidence would you suggest?” After students discuss Mrs. Turner’s “color
struck” attitude and compare it to Janie’s attitude, we decide that the writer has enough
evidence. I also ask, “Can this statement be improved? How?” It is not necessary to visit
every thesis, but we visit enough for students to gain clarity about what promises they’ve
made.
I never humiliate students in this process. When I see very weak thesis statements, I note
them so I can work with those students individually. I do find problematic or overstated
thesis statements to discuss because I want students to learn how to narrow or refocus.
Sometimes these statements help students clarify their understandings or
misunderstandings of the novel or unit. Take, for example, this statement: “Janie, in Their
Eyes Were Watching God, is fascinated by wealth and power in her youth, and later finds that
it truly cannot make up for a deficiency in pas- sion.” The first part seemed off to me, so I
asked the class, “Is Janie fascinated by wealth and power? Where do you see that? I don’t
see Janie as fascinated. Her grandmother believes property and wealth is necessary to help
black women, but Janie is concerned about passion and love.” The class argued. Michael
disagreed. He found the quote about Janie’s first vision of Joe as proof that she was struck
by the way he dressed. “It was a citified, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that
didn’t belong in these parts. His coat was over his arm, but he didn’t need it to represent his
clothes. The shirt with the silk sleeve-holders was dazzling enough for the world.” These
conversations push students (and me) to return to the text, to make sure they can prove their
points, but also to see that they need to convince the reader with evidence. When students
return to their seats, I ask them to revise their thesis statements.
I type up a few of the best thesis statements at the end of the day to distribute so students
have models if they get stuck. I use this method once or twice during the year to help
students develop a solid thesis, but any strategy needs follow-up. Unlike movie teaching, I
don’t teach a lesson once, and everyone gets it. I circle back, re-teach in one- on-one
sessions, and figure out a different way to approach it and re-teach it again later in the year.
Sometimes the cloudy thesis is not a problem with writing, it is a problem with thinking. The
student lacks clarity on the topic and needs to talk or write more to gain a clearer
understanding of the points they want to make.
58
CLOSING ACTS
59
Final Portfolio Requirements for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Congratulations and welcome to your “Final” for this class! You will have three days
to compile, assemble, design, reflect and present to us your DIGITAL or ANALOG
portfolio. Don’t worry, if you are current with all of your class assignments you
have done 90% percent of the work for this already. Now it is time to begin…
● Decide if you are going to do this digitally or non-digitally or maybe a little
of both.
● Using the guidelines below decide what will be in your “portfolio”
● Your portfolio will show us your work and thoughts about the work you have
done around the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
● Whatever form your portfolio takes you will need to make sure it includes:
1. A cover /title page with your name
2. A table of contents with appropriate portfolio items and page numbers
3. A description/rationale and a reflection of/on each of the assignments
included
So what do I have to include in my Final Portfolio? ( please do consider the
order of how you put yours together) Your portfolio will include:
1. The class final reflection and your assessment of assignments
2. Your letter to Dr. Fleetwood
3. One witness letter
4. A finished /polished narrative
5. An unfinished piece of writing that you struggled with
6. An unfinished piece of writing you want to finish
7. An artwork or visual/ “physical” 3-D work or digital 2-D work (see list of
possibilities)
8. A found poem
9. “Artifact” 1 of your choice
10. “Artifact” 2 of your choice
11. An idea for an assignment we didn’t get to do, but you would have liked to
have done.
#7-List of Possibilities-(we will add to this in a class brainstorm)
Heroic Journey Board game
60
Kid’s Book
Portland’s 6th Borough Sculpture or...
Wire sculpture of Zoo/Animal
Illustrations of Characters, Settings, Events…
Podcast
Video of chapter
Photo Essay
Photo montage
Instagram account for a character
Fl
Book of Letters and Responses
Visual Narratives of chapters
Object Self-Portraits
Oskar’s (or another character’s) Instagram feed
Character Playlists
Personal Instagrams and playlists
For the rationale and description of the items in your portfolio explain why you chose the
item, other than it was required, and what the assignment was that generated the work.
Consider telling the story of the work.
For the reflection of the work consider these questions:
Are you proud of it, what did you learn from doing it, was it easy, a struggle-was it worth
doing? So what? And as always explain everything.
61
From the desk of M. Fleetwood Superintendent of Silver Springs School District, Illinois
cc. Stevie Nicks, Principal, Silver Springs High School
Lindsey Buckingham, Chair SSSD School Board
Subject: Concerns from the Silver Springs School Board about the book Extremely Loud and
Incredibly Close being taught to students.
Dear Mr. Frampton and Ms. Benatar,
First of all, thanks for all of the work you do for our students. Secondly, as you read this please
remember, don’t kill the messenger.
It has come to my attention, by way of our school board, that you have and are currently teaching
the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.
I have been asked by our School Board to relay to you this message:
“After having reviewed the book we feel it is not appropriate for our students to read this as a
part of their English Language Arts curriculum during their education in the Silver Springs
School District.”
I request that even if you are currently teaching this book, you honor our School Board’s request
and immediately cease the unit. No longer will we use this book as a part of our curriculum.
Here are the reasons we feel this is a reasonable request:
First the main character, Oskar Shell, is a dangerous example/model of a human being to present
to our students. What’s more, he is a foul-mouthed- irreverent liar, a bad son and grandson,
extremely obstinate and defiant just to be defiant.
The voice of Oskar is disrespectful of authority, crass for no other reason than to be crass and has
no authentic/valuable insights or real credibility into the human condition.
And, as if that is not enough, towards the end of the novel he breaks into a cemetery and defiles
the grave of his own father, a recent victim of the 9/11 tragedy.
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Much of the book centers on Oskar’s grandparents’ sexual relationships and their dysfunctional
relationship with each other. This is not appropriate for teenagers to be reading about or really
for anyone of any age. It is gratuitous and graphic and borders on being pornographic.
As far as being well written, the book models for our students poor Standard White English and
is gimmicky in its use of pictures and numbers, entire pages are blurred or blanked and there is
even a flip-book which celebrates the 9/11 tragedy.
The book also questions our heroic and necessary bombing of Hiroshima and dares equate the
US’s actions in Dresden during WWII with the terrorist atrocities of the 9/11 attacks. This is
historically inaccurate, patriotically indefensible, as well as Anti-American.
It is for these reasons that we demand you cease and desist from teaching this novel. Once again
we appreciate all the work you do for our students here in the Silver Springs School District in
our great state of Illinois, the Land of Lincoln.
Should you have any concerns comments or questions please do not hesitate to contact me at
[email protected]
or call me at ex.8675309
Respectfully,
Dr. M. Fleetwood
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End of the Unit Reflection
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Name: ________
In your own words tell us what your most significant “take away” was from reading
this book:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
What was the most significant issue or event in the book and what was your
perspective on that issue?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Give me one specific example from your story that demonstrates your perspective
on the issue or event. (Find the direct quote/passage from your story)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Over the course of the unit is there something you would like to see us do more or
less of? This is your opportunity to let us know what might be interesting for you
to learn about.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
64
In this unit we have used a variety of strategies to support your learning of the
designated targets. From the list below select the two things that supported your
learning the best and describe to us how they supported your learning.
Think-Pair Share
Looking at Authors Strategies
Talking to the Text
Jigsaw (Small groups reading only
writing
parts of text)
Editing Checklist
Adult Editing
Peer Editing
Scoring Rubrics
Cooperative Learning Strips
Turn and Talk
Give one Get One
Sentence Strips
Individual Readings
Paired Readings
Small Group Readings
Round Robin Reflection on
Historical Documents
Read Alouds
Golden Lines
Citing Evidence from the text
Two/Three Column Note-takers
Annotations
Class Discussions
Theme Wall
Strategy #1: _____________
How did it support my learning? (Be Specific)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Strategy #2: _____________
How did it support my learning? (Be Specific)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
This unit we have written on variety of topics and in a variety of genres. From the
list below select the two things that you were most interested in learning/writing
about and tell us why?
Found Poems
Dialogues
Witness Letters
Historical Fictions
Journals/Diaries
Three Voice Poems
Annotated writing prompts
Descriptive Language
Free writes
Argumentative Essay
Narratives
Lessons on the craft of writing
Guided/Text based writing prompts
65
Topic #1: _________
Why?- ________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Topic #2: _________
Why?- ________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
66
Resources
67
9/11 Witness Accounts
Neil DeGrasse Tyson Wednesday, September 12, 2001, 10:00 AM
First-hand account of the WTC attacks and subsequent evacuation from Lower Manhattan residence. A
heavily forwarded e-mail that became the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal a week later on
the widespread use of the web to communicate the tragic news of the day.
My entire family is safe. We evacuated our lower-Manhattan residence at about noon yesterday and
migrated north on foot to Grand Central Terminal (about three miles) where we took Metro North to the
home of my parents in Westchester, from where I write this message.
We live four blocks from the World Trade Center, in view of both Towers, City Hall, and City Hall Park. I
happened to be working at home yesterday. My wife went to work at 8:20AM. I left at the same time to
vote in NYC's Mayoral Primary. My 9-month old son was at home with our nanny. My 5-year old
daughter was attending her second day of Kindergarten at PS-234, three blocks from World Trade
Center. Lineup time in the yard was 8:40AM in full view of WTC 1.
When the first plane hit at 8:50, they evacuated the school without incident. I noticed WTC 1 on fire in
a high floor upon returning from voting, about 8:55AM. Large crowds of onlookers were gathering
along the base of City Hall Park as countless fire engines, police cars, and ambulances screamed
past.
I went home, grabbed my camcorder, went out to the street and started filming. I consider myself to be
emotionally strong. What I bore witness to, however, was especially upsetting, with indelible images of
horror that will not soon leave my mind.
1) I first see WTC 1 on fire at a high floor. Not just flames coming out of some windows, but four or
five entire floors on fire with smoke penetrating floors still higher.
Upsetting enough, but then...
2) Among the papers and melted steel fragments fluttering to the ground, I notice that some debris
was falling distinctly differently. These weren't parts of the building that were falling. These were
people, jumping from the windows, their bodies tumbling in rapid descent from the eightieth floor. I
noticed about ten such falls, morbidly capturing three of them on tape.
68
Upsetting enough, but then...
3) A fiery explosion burst forth from a corner of WTC 2 about two thirds of the way up, perhaps the
60th floor. The fireball created an intense radiative impulse of heat from which we all had to turn our
heads. From my vantage point, I could not see the plane that caused it, which hit 180 degrees on the
other side of the building. Nor did I know at the time that a plane caused it. I first thought it was a
bomb, but the explosion was not accompanied by the tell-tale acoustic shockwave that rattles
windows. This was simply a low frequency rumble.
As it burst from the building's corner, the fireball was so large that it extended all the way across to
WTC 1. The fact the building's corner exploded tells me that the ignited jet fuel got focused by the
sides of the floor into which the second plane flew, meeting at the corner with increased explosive
pressure. The flames were accompanied by countless thousands of sheets of paper that burst forth,
fluttering to the ground as though every filing cabinet on multiple floors was emptied.
The fact that the second tower was now on fire made it clear to us all on the street that the first fire
was no accident and that the WTC complex was under terrorist attack. Morbidly, I have the explosion
on tape and the sounds from the horrified crowd surrounding me. At this point I stopped filming, and
went back inside my apartment.
Upsetting enough, but then…
4) As more and more and more and more and more emergency vehicles descended on the World
Trade Center, I hear a second explosion in WTC 2, then a loud, low-frequency rumble that
precipitates the unthinkable—a collapse of all the floors above the point of explosion. First the top
surface, containing the helipad, tips sideways in full view. Then the upper floors fall straight down in a
demolition-style implosion, taking all lower floors with it, even those below the point of the explosion. A
dense, thick dust cloud rises up in its place, which rapidly pours through the warren of streets that
cross lower Manhattan.
I close all our windows and blinds. As the dust cloud engulfs my building, an eerie darkness
surrounded us—the kind of darkness you experience before a severe thunderstorm. I look out the
window and can see no more than about 12 inches away.
Upsetting enough, but then...
69
5) Outside my window, after about 15 minutes, visibility grows to about 100-yards, and I notice about
an inch white dust everywhere outside my window. That's when I realize that every single rescue
vehicle that had parked itself at the base of the World Trade Center must now be buried under 110
collapsed floors of tangled debris, and multiple feet of dust. This collapse took out the entire first round
of rescue efforts including what were surely hundreds of police officers, firefighters, and medics.
As visibility increased and I could now see the blue sky, there was blue sky where WTC 2 used to be.
Upsetting enough, but then...
6) I decide it's time to get my daughter, who was taken by the parents of a friend of hers to a small
office building, six blocks farther from the WTC than my apartment. As I dress for survival: boots,
flashlight, wet towels, swimming goggles, bicycle helmet, gloves, I hear another explosion followed by
a now all-too familiar rumble that signaled the collapse of WTC 1, the first of the two towers to have
been hit. I saw the iconic antenna on this building descend straight down in an implosion twinning the
first.
This dust cloud was darker, thicker and faster-moving than the first. When this round of dust reached
my apartment, fifteen seconds after collapse, the sky turned dark as night, with visibility of no more
than about a centimeter. It was getting harder to breathe in the apartment, but we were stable.
At this point I offer no hope of survival for any of the rescue personnel who were on the scene.
Upsetting enough, but then...
7) The cloud settles once again, now leaving a total of about three inches of dust outside my window.
Another dark cloud of smoke now occupies the area where two 110-story buildings once stood. This
cloud, however, was not the settling kind. It was smoke from ground-level fires. At this time the air in
the apartment is getting harder and harder to breathe and it becomes clear that we should evacuate—
especially with the likelihood of underground gas leaks. I load up my largest backpack with survival
items, put my son in our most nimble stroller and leave with our nanny, who then walks across the
Brooklyn Bridge toward her home.
I go to where my daughter was held, which was upwind from all debris on a quiet street. She is in
good spirits, but clearly upset. I have a crayon drawing of hers, sketched while waiting for me to
arrive, which shows the Twin Towers with smoke and fire coming from them, as only a 5-year old
could draw. "Daddy, why do you think the pilot drove his plane into the World Trade Center?" "Daddy,
70
I wish this was all just a dream." "Daddy, if we can't return home tonight because of all the smoke, will
my stuffed animals be okay?"
Upsetting enough, but then...
8) From the calm of an upholstered couch in the office where my daughter was kept, with my son
under one arm and my daughter under the other, I realize that, fully loaded, each tower of the WTC
holds 10,000 people. From what I witnessed, I have no reason to believe that any of them survived. In
fact, I would not be surprised if the death toll reached 25-30,000. Beneath the Towers is an entire
universe of six subterraneous levels containing scores of subway platforms, plus a hundred or so
shops and restaurants. The Towers simply collapsed into this hole—a hole large enough to have
supplied the landfill for the World Financial Center across the West Side highway from the World
Trade Center.
Upsetting enough, but then...
9) I realize that if the death toll is as high as I suspect, this incident is much, much worse than Pearl
Harbor, where several thousand people died. It's more spectacularly tragic than the Titanic, the
Hindenburg, Oklahoma City, car bombs, and airplane hijackings. The number of deaths in one fourhour period will be nearly half of the American death toll in all of Vietnam.
I reconnected with my wife by 4PM, meeting her just north of Union Square Park, before we hiked
another mile north to Grand Central Terminal for our ride to Westchester, above New York City.
I will never be the same after yesterday, in ways that I cannot foresee. I suppose that my generation
now joins the ranks of those who lived through unspeakable horrors and survived to tell about it. How
naive I was to believe that the world is fundamentally different from that of our ancestors, whose lives
were changed by bearing witness to the 20th century's vilest acts of war.
Peace to you all
Neil deGrasse Tyson
New York City
71
Perspective: September 11
Adam Oestreich, Merrill Lynch employee at the World Financial Center
September 12, 2001
I was at work when the two planes hit the Towers yesterday. My office, 2 World
Financial Center, is/was on the 24th floor and faced the Towers from across West
Street (the west side highway). I was at my desk when the first plane hit. We
shook a bit in our seats but didn't know what happened.
I ran to the window and looked down; I thought it was a car bomb (like in
1993). I saw a parking lot that had a variety of things on fire. People started
screaming about the tower (this was about 45 seconds after impact).
I ran to the other side of my office and saw fire raining down. Parts of the
building was falling and on fire along with paper and other things. We had to
look way up because the plane hit in the higher floors. The impact hole was huge
-- it looked like 10 stories were burning. The fire seemed to crawl around the
tower. The winds were so high it caused the smoke to spin in a large swirl.
It is hard to describe how the building looked from my angle. You just couldn't
believe what you were seeing. At that point we didn't know exactly what
happened. About a minute after the crash was reported by the news our phone
started ringing. Everyone called their wives, husbands, and friends and said:
"Did you see what happened?!?" "No, it wasn't us." "Yes, we know people."
72
I was walking around the desks at my office when the other plane hit. It felt like
a big earthquake. I stumbled with the hit. People started yelling. One man in my
office saw the plane go in and screamed it was another plane.
We ran again to the window. This time it was much lower in the tower and
seemed worse than the first because it was so much closer to my office. People
on the street could feel the fireball. My manager started yelling -- "Everybody
get the fuck out! Everyone get out NOW!"
I grabbed my bag, palm pilot and my juice and headed for the stairs. 24 floors
isn't that bad; they were full of people. Some were very upset, a few were
panicky. We got to the winter garden (lobby) and headed out to South End
Street (parallel to the river). I walked out and just saw a crowd staring up at the
burning Towers. It was surreal this is the only word that can be used to amply
describe the scene.
I stood there for a minute and watched the fire climb up, down and around the
towers. I heard sudden cries from the crowd and looked up and saw people
falling/jumping to their deaths. And I wish I could say there was only one. It got
worse as the fire spread.
I then moved next to the marina and watched a bit more. Trying to call anyone
proved almost impossible. I left messages for my immediate family and lent my
phone to two guys who had to call their wives. I then started walking up the
West side highway with the rest of the refugees. And I mean refugees. People
carrying odd stuff crying, shaking and in total shock. I could only find 4 people
from my office. Fortunately all were OK, but every got separated when we
headed for the exits.
I then came upon a guy with a telescope aimed at one of the towers. The picture
I will never forget. At about the 60-70th floors, people were hanging out
windows trying to get air. Literally holding onto the side of the building waving a
T-shirt to try to get someone's attention. I couldn't watch any longer. I kept
walking, and about 10 minutes later I was about a half mile away and was
talking with someone and we heard this sound that can only be described as a
"thundering crack." That is the best I can do. I then saw what I thought was just
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a chunk of the WTC but it was actually the whole tower. I said it wasn't ... I
couldn't believe it ...
With the first collapse people started running from the wall of smoke, dust and
ash that erupted. The running wasn't very panicked, which helped. I then went
to a car on the side of the road with about 15 other New Yorkers -- it was a true
melting pot: a punk, few suits, office men and women, odd workers, truck
driver, secretaries etc. That is when I learned about the Pentagon and the
hijacking. Walking home I heard that "crack" again. I ran to corner to catch the
second plume of smoke and debris from the second tower collapsing.
I stood there for a while in utter shock and disbelief. Then I took the long walk
home. The city was closed. The streets were crowded with people and
emergency vehicles and that was it.
After walking home, I ended up rollerblading from my apartment up to my
parents' place (about 5 miles). It was so quiet -- thousands of people were just
walking home from everywhere, the silence was deafening. I even tried to give
blood at four different locations, but they were overloaded with volunteers.
One of the hardest parts was trying to call people. Both land and cell lines were
overloaded and failing. By today (12th) I was able to get in contact with most
people. I finally gave blood -- it took 5.5 hours.
As of now, my office building is still standing, but I believe our windows were
blown out and the office heavily damaged by debris from the collapse.
A Young Mother’s Experience
My name is Roz; I am a mother of one. I work for Silverstein Properties, Inc., the owner of
several buildings in New York City, including The World Trade Center (WTC). Today is
September 29, 2001, I feel normal, but I sometimes wonder if I am truly okay. I haven’t had any
nightmares since the attack; I sleep and eat well, and am able to function in my normal way each
day. Some people tell me that I am not okay, and that it will affect me later. Everyday I go into
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work; I know they are watching me to see if I break down, again I assure them, that I am fine.
Afraid like everyone else? Certainly. But I am taking it one day-at-a-time. My experience was
grim, and something I hope never to experience again. I sometimes wonder why I was chosen to
have this experience, but I ask God to help me through this and protect my daughter and me from
evil. I believe in my heart that He protects us each day, especially this day. Here’s my story:
Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began for me as any other day would. I dropped my daughter,
Amanda, off at school around 8:05 am. It was Amanda’s fifth day at “big” school (as she refers
to it), and it was still uncomfortable for her to let go, so I would make her separate from me
outside the school instead of taking her inside, because she was afraid, and taking her in would
not help matters. When we separated that morning, I remember a need filled me to see and watch
her go upstairs with her classmates. So I ran to the other entrance door and snuck into the school
to see her. Of course she did not know this because I hid. I watched her play and talk with her
classmate, as they formed a line to follow the teacher to the breakfast room. I stood there and
watched as they filed out, until I could no longer see her. I thought about why I had done that,
had no answer, and proceeded to the subway, approximately 8:20 a.m.
As I boarded the “E” train to Chambers Street there was nothing unusual. It takes 10 minutes to
ride from Port Authority Station to Chambers Street Station, then another 5-7 minutes to walk
from Chambers Street Station to the lobby of One WTC, and approximately 5-7 minutes to arrive
on the 88th floor. It’s now approximately between 8:42 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. It was my second day
back from vacation. As I enter, I see Sylvia who sits on the north side of Tower One with me, so I
stopped to say hello. As we engage in small talk, it is literally about 2-3 minutes later; an
explosion of great magnitude blew off the entrance door through which I had just previously
walked. It knocked us both down in her cubicle. Sylvia tries to get up, because she is confused,
and wants to see what is happening. I reached up and grab her clothes or hand (I’m not sure
which), to pull her back down. Suddenly it calms. Everyone on the north side gathers. The room
is now gray and dusty, dimly lit—most of the lights are destroyed. We gather to make sure
everyone from our side is with us and okay, we turned to get the others, and we see Elaine
walking toward us, her arms are spread, and she’s walking mummy-like. As she nears, we see
that she is badly burned, from head to toe, her clothes are completely shredded around her,
someone lets out a loud gasp, another takes his coat off and wraps it around Elaine, no words are
being exchanged at the moment.
We walk over to the south side to gather more individuals; they are walking toward us. I see John
Griffin, you cannot miss him, since he is 6’6” in height. He is passing out wet tissues for us to
place over our noses. By the time everyone gathers, we are about 30 in number. We try to find an
exit, but we are not sure where to go, it’s now about five minutes later. I took this opportunity to
call my headquarters, Silverstein Properties. I got Janet on the line, I say “Jan, we just had an
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explosion, tell Mr. Silverstein to get us out of here!” Janet tells me a plane hit the building, and
asks me to hold the line. I say, “HOLD?!” I disconnect the line and yelled that a plane hit the
building. By this time some are on their radios finding out what had happened, or how to
proceed. I am beginning to feel panicked because they are taking too long to make a decision as
to which direction to go out.
Finally, we exit where the explosion blew off the door. There is glass everywhere, so we have to
be very careful as we proceed and approach stairwell “B.” Fortunately, the lights are intact, but
there is water gushing down so we must be careful and hold on. As we descend, everyone is
amazingly calm; some are holding each other’s hand when necessary. Sometimes people are
crying, so you look up and let them know it’s going to be okay. As we come halfway into the
forties, some can no longer go, the trek is too long; some are tired, old, asthmatic or over-weight.
They opt to sit and wait. I look at them and keep going. The stairwell begins to get backed-up -too many people coming from other offices. Our group decides to head over to stairwell “C”.
The door to exit stairwell “B” is locked. We now must go back up one flight of stairs and that
door is unlocked, Thank God. As we descend stairwell “C”, we see the firemen coming up in
their heavy uniforms carrying oxygen tanks and other equipment. They ask us to stand on the
right of the steps to allow them through, we oblige.
We can start walking again, and we come upon a stairwell landing where someone has left bottled
water, we pick them up, but as more firemen come we give it to them figuring they need it more.
They thank us, they stop to drink the water, and some of them are sharing the water with their
comrades, I just stare at them, one is Irish with blue eyes, one is Black, and he’s talking to the
others saying they still have a way to go, the other is Italian, his eyes are big and sad, and his skin
is olive, he looks to be in his late 20s early 30s, and he looks afraid. There were others, but these
three stand out in my mind. They thank us for the water, and tell us to put our shoes on when we
get to the Mezzanine.
After a while, my thighs are trembling, and we still have some ways to go, we’re now on the 23rd
floor. All the while, I’m talking to God. I keep saying “Dear God, I know that this is not the way
you want me—not like this.” For some strange reason, it did not feel right—it wasn’t my day. A
gentleman holds my hand. I never got his name. I say thank you to him. Slowly, we get to the
10th floor, and we start to laugh because the single numbers are coming and we’re almost there.
It’s close to one hour later that it took to walk down those stairs.
Never in a million years did I expect what I saw next. When we came through the mezzanine, the
Port Authority Police were standing side by side, in a row to guide us how to walk out, but quite a
few feet apart from each other doing their best to shield us from the atrocity that lay behind them.
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The mezzanine is constructed with floor to ceiling glass walls. Behind those walls, I see a body
(man or woman, I don’t know) with part of the right side of the cheek blown off. A few feet
away, I see a man’s legs, but there’s no torso, I see intestines just lying there bunched together. I
put my hands to my mouth, and I knew my eyes were bulging. An officer yells not to look over
there, but you cannot help it.
We are led down to the retail section of WTC. There is water everywhere. We finally exit the
WTC on Vesey Street. Sylvia meets up with me. She yells to me, Roz, look back. As I do so, I
see both towers on fire at the top. I turn around to go to another one of my company’s buildings
to make a call, to let them know that I am okay. As I approach Nassau Street, chaos is around
me. Everyone is screaming all of a sudden, when I look back, 2 WTC is falling, and the force is
pushing the debris through any space it can find. I kick my shoes off and start to run. I have to
get to my daughter, and I do not know how I’m going to get to her. I run as far as South Street
Seaport. I see a lady in a car, and she’s smiling. I walk over to her car and say, “Mamma, my
name is Roz, I have no shoes or money to pay you, but I have to get to my daughter, she goes to
school in Midtown. Can you please help me?” She tells me to get in. Her name is Isolene, she
works at the UN, and she too is on her way to pick up her daughter. She takes me to her home,
by the FDR Drive, and gives me shoes. I went to the bathroom, and just dropped to my knees and
asked God’s forgiveness. I was so afraid. When I came from the bathroom, I noticed a map on
Isolene’s wall, a map of Barbados. I ask “Are you from Barbados?” She says “yes.” I say “Me
too.” Isolene then takes me to get my daughter. By the time I reach her school, my sister is
already there, but I did not see her. I start to cry in the Principal’s office, as I ask them to release
my daughter from school today, Andrea sees me, and screams my name, as we embrace. The
principal is looking at us as if we’re nuts. But I felt she understood.
We got Amanda, and I headed to my Headquarters to let them see and know that I was okay.
When I arrived, Mr. Silverstein was visibly shaken. I say, “Mr. Silverstein, are you okay, he said
he was, but I know he felt seven thousand times worse than I did. I leave the building to head
home. My sister, her friend June, Amanda and I headed to the 59th Street Bridge. I don’t know
how I walked over that bridge after walking down 88 flights of stairs, but I knew God was with
me.
I carried Amanda most of the way, because she was incapable of walking for such a long period
of time. The shoes Isolene gave me were very comfortable and that helped to ease some of the
pressure. Never was I so happy to see that sign that reads “Welcome to Queens, Mayor is
Rudolph Giuliani.” I was so tired when I arrived home. I had not eaten or drank anything all day,
and yet I was not thirsty or hungry. Maybe just shock. When I arrived home, my Grandmother
was waiting for me, as well as some of my neighbors. They all hugged and kissed me. I received
so many calls and well wishes from folks in Barbados, New York, Florida, Georgia, Virginia and
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England. I did not realize how many people cared about Amanda and me, until that day. But
above all, I must say a heartwarming and sincere thank you to Queens Regular Baptist Church,
for being there for Amanda and me, in so many ways, and for allowing me to share my story. By
being able to talk about it, or expressing it in some way, helps in allowing me to face the next
day, even though I am afraid.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020203125404/http://www.servenyc.org/survivor_stories.htm
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Hiroshima Witness Accounts
Testimony of Kinue Tomoyasu
Ms. Kinue Tomoyasu was 44 years old at the time of the A-bomb attack. She was at home, 5 kilometers from the
hypocenter. She then entered Hiroshima City to search for her daughter. Previously her husband had died of
illness and her only son was sent to a battle field. She was living with her only daughter. Ms. Tomoyasu was
admitted to the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Victims Nursing Home thirteen years ago.
TOMOYASU: That morning I left home with my daughter. She was working at the industrial
Research Institute. Then an air-raid warning was issued. I went back home, but my daughter
insisted, ``I'm going to the office.'' even though the air-raid warning had been issued. She
reached the train station. The trains were always late in the morning, but they were on time
that day. She took the train and when she got off at the station, she was hit by the A-bomb. I
went inside my home since the warning was still on. I tucked myself in bed and waited for the
warning to be lifted.
After the warning was lifted, I got up and folded the bedding, put it back into the closet, and
opened the window. As I opened the window, there came the flash. it was so bright, a ten or
hundred or thousand times brighter than a camera flash bulb. The flash was piercing my eyes
and my mind went blank. The glass from the windows was shattered all over the floor. I was
lying on the floor, too. When I came to, I was anxious to know what happened to my
daughter, Yatchan. I looked outside the window and saw one of my neighbors. He was
standing out there. I called, ``Mr. Okamoto, what was that flash?'' He said, ``That was a
killer beam.'' I became more anxious. I thought, ``I must go, I must go and find her.'' I
swept up the pieces of glass, put my shoes on, and took my air-raid hood with me. I made
my way to a train station near Hiroshima. I saw a young girl coming my way. Her skin was
dangling all ever and she was naked. She was muttering, ``Mother, water,mother,water.'' I
took a look at her. I thought she might be my daughter, but she wasn't. I didn't give her any
water. I am sorry that I didn't. But my mind was full, worrying about my daughter. I ran all
the way to Hiroshima Station. Hiroshima Station was full of people. Some of them were dead,
and many of them were lying on the ground, calling for their mothers and asking for water. I
went to Tokiwa Bridge. I had to cross the bridge to get to my daughter's office. But there was
a rope for tote across the bridge. And the people there told me, ``You can't go beyond here
today.'' I protested, ``My daughter's office is over there. Please let me go through.'' They told
me, ``No.'' Some men were daring to make the way through, but I couldn't go beyond it. I
thought she might be on a way back home. I returned home, but my daughter was not back
yet.
INTERVIEWER: Did you see the large cloud?
TOMOYASU: No, I didn't see the cloud.
INTERVIEWER: You didn't see the mushroom cloud?
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TOMOYASU: I didn't see the Mushroom cloud. I was trying to find my daughter. They told me
I couldn't go beyond the bridge. I thought she might be back home, so I went back as far as
Nikitsu Shrine. Then, the black rain started falling from the sky. And I wondered what it was.
And it was what's called the black rain.
INTERVIEWER: Can you tell us what was the black rain like?
TOMOYASU: It was like a heavy rain. And I had my air-raid hood on, so I didn't get it on my
head fortunately, but it fell on my hands. And I ran and ran. I waited for her with the windows
open. I stayed awake all night waiting and waiting for her, but she didn't come back. About
six thirty on the morning of the 7th, Mr. Ishido, whose daughter was working at the same
office with my daughter, came around. He called out asking for the Tomoyasu's house. I went
outside calling to him, ``It's here, over here!'' Mr.Ishido came up to me and said, ``Quick!
Get some clothes and go for her. Your daughter is at the bank of the Ota River.'' I said,
``Thank you, thank you very much. Is she still alive?'' He said, ``She is alive,'' and added,
``I'll show you the way.'' I took a yukata with me. My neighbors offered me a stretcher. And
I started running at full speed. People followed me and said, ``Slow down! Be careful not to
hurt yourself!'' But still, I hurried as fast as I could. When I reached the Tokiwa Bridge, there
were soldiers lying on the ground. Around Hiroshima Station, I saw more people lying dead,
more on the morning of the 7th than on the 6th. When I reached the river bank, I couldn't tell
who was who. I kept wondering where my daughter was. But then, she cried for me,
``Mother!'' I recognized her voice. I found her in a horrible condition. Her face looked terrible.
And she still appears in my dreams like that sometimes. When I met her, she said, ``There
shouldn't be any war.'' The first thing she said to me was ``Mother, it took you so I couldn't
do anything for her. My neighbors went back home. They had wounded family members as
well. I was all by myself, and I didn't know what to do. There were maggots in her wounds
and a sticky yellowish pus, a white watery liquid coming out her wounds and a sticky
yellowish liquid. I didn't know what was going on.
INTERVIEWER: So you tried to remove the maggots from your daughter's body?
TOMOYASU: Yes. But her skin was just peeling right off. The maggots were coming out all
over. I couldn't wipe them off. I thought it would be too painful. I picked off some maggots,
though. She asked me what I was doing and I told her, ``Oh, it's nothing.'' She nodded at my
words. And nine hours later, she died.
INTERVIEWER: You were holding her in your arms all that time?
TOMOYASU: Yes, on my lap. I had had bedding and folded on the floor, but I held her in my
arms. when I held her on my lap, she said, ``I don't want to die.'' I told her, ``Hang on Hang
on.'' She said, ``I won't die before my brother comes home.'' But she was in pain and she
kept crying, ``Brother. Mother.'' On August 15th, I held her funeral. And around early
October, my hair started to come out. I wondered what was happening to me, but all my hair
was disappearing. In November, I become bald. Then, purple spots started to appear around
my neck, my body and my arms, and on the inner parts of my thighs, a lot of them, all over,
the purple spots all over my body. I had a high fever of forty degrees. I was shivering and I
couldn't consult the doctor. I still had a fever when I was admitted here for a while, but now I
don't have a fever so often.
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INTERVIEWER: After your son returned home from the war, what did he do?
TOMOYASU: He came back in February of 1946, and he took care of me. When he heard how
his sister died, he said he felt so sorry for her. He told me he hated war. I understand. Many
of his friends had died in the war. He told me he felt sorry that he survived. He was just filled
with regret. My son got malaria during the war, also. He suffered a lot. I don't know why, but
he became neurotic and killed himself, finally, by jumping in front of a train in October. I was
left alone. I had to go through hardships, living alone. I have no family. I joined the white
chrysanthemum organization at Hiroshima University, pledging to donate my body upon death
for medical education and research. My registration number is number 1200 I'm ready. I'm
ready now to be summoned by God at any moment. But God doesn't allow me to come his
side yet. If it were not for the war, my two children would not have died. If it were not for the
war, I wouldn't have to stay at an institution like this. I suppose the three of us would have
been living together in happiness. Ah, it is so hard on me.
http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hibakusha/Kinue.shtml
Also,
http://www.history.com/speeches/eyewitness-account-of-hiroshima-bombing#japans-unconditionalsurrender
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The Bombing of Hiroshima, 1945
August 6, 1945 - the sun rose into a clear blue sky over the city of Hiroshima,
Japan promising a warm and pleasant day. Nothing in the day's dawning
indicated that this day would be any different from its predecessors. But this
day would be different, very different. This day would change the world. On this
day a single bomb dropped by a single airplane destroyed the city, leading to
the end of World War II and introducing mankind to the Atomic Age.
Dr. Michihiko Hachiya lived through that day and kept a diary of his experience.
He served as Director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital and lived near
the hospital approximately a mile from the explosion's epicenter. His diary was
published in English in 1955
Suddenly, a strong flash of light...
"The hour was early; the morning still, warm, and beautiful. Shimmering
leaves, reflecting sunlight from a cloudless sky, made a pleasant contrast with
shadows in my garden as I gazed absently through wide-flung doors opening to
the south.
Clad in drawers and undershirt, I was sprawled on the living room floor
exhausted because I had just spent a sleepless night on duty as an air warden
in my hospital.
Suddenly, a strong flash of light startled me - and then another. So well does
one recall little things that I remember vividly how a stone lantern in the
garden became brilliantly lit and I debated whether this light was caused by a
magnesium flare or sparks from a passing trolley.
Garden shadows disappeared. The view where a moment before had been so
bright and sunny was now dark and hazy. Through swirling dust I could barely
discern a wooden column that had supported one comer of my house. It was
leaning crazily and the roof sagged dangerously.
Moving instinctively, I tried to escape, but rubble and fallen timbers barred the
way. By picking my way cautiously I managed to reach the roka [an outside
hallway]and stepped down into my garden. A profound weakness overcame
me, so I stopped to regain my strength. To my surprise I discovered that I was
completely naked How odd! Where were my drawers and undershirt?
What had happened?
All over the right side of my body I was cut and bleeding. A large splinter was
protruding from a mangled wound in my thigh, and something warm trickled
into my mouth. My check was torn, I discovered as I felt it gingerly, with the
lower lip laid wide open. Embedded in my neck was a sizable fragment of glass
which I matter-of-factly dislodged, and with the detachment of one stunned
and shocked I studied it and my blood-stained hand.
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Where was my wife?
Suddenly thoroughly alarmed, I began to yell for her: 'Yaeko-san! Yaeko-san!
Where are you?' Blood began to spurt. Had my carotid artery been cut? Would I
bleed to death? Frightened and irrational, I called out again 'It's a fivehundred-ton bomb! Yaeko-san, where are you? A five- hundred-ton bomb has
fallen!'
Yaeko-san, pale and frightened, her clothes torn and blood stained, emerged
from the ruins of our house holding her elbow. Seeing her, I was reassured. My
own panic assuaged, I tried to reassure her.
'We'll be all right,' I exclaimed. 'Only let's get out of here as fast as we can.'
She nodded, and I motioned for her to follow me."
It was all a nightmare...
Dr. Hachiya and his wife make their way to the street. As the homes around
them collapse, they realize they must move on, and begin their journey to the
hospital a few hundred yards away.
"We started out, but after twenty or thirty steps I had to stop. My breath
became short, my heart pounded, and my legs gave way under me. An
overpowering thirst seized me and I begged Yaeko-san to find me some water.
But there was no water to be found. After a little my strength somewhat
returned and we were able to go on.
I was still naked, and although I did not feel the least bit of shame, I was
disturbed to realize that modesty had deserted me. On rounding a corner we
came upon a soldier standing idly in the street. He had a towel draped across
his shoulder, and I asked if he would give it to me to cover my nakedness. The
soldier surrendered the towel quite willingly but said not a word. A little later I
lost the towel, and Yaeko-san took off her apron and tied it around my loins.
Our progress towards the hospital was interminably slow, until finally, my legs,
stiff from drying blood, refused to carry me farther. The strength, even the will,
to go on deserted me, so I told my wife, who was almost as badly hurt as I, to
go on alone. This she objected to, but there was no choice. She had to go
ahead and try to find someone to come back for me.
Yaeko-san looked into my face for a moment, and then, without saying a word,
turned away and began running towards the hospital. Once, she looked back
and waved and in a moment she was swallowed up in the gloom. It was quite
dark now, and with my wife gone, a feeling of dreadful loneliness overcame me.
I must have gone out of my head lying there in the road because the next thing
I recall was discovering that the clot on my thigh had been dislodged and blood
was again spurting from the wound.
I pressed my hand to the bleeding area and after a while the bleeding stopped
and I felt better
Could I go on?
I tried. It was all a nightmare - my wounds, the darkness, the road ahead. My
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movements were ever so slow; only my mind was running at top speed.
In time I came to an open space where the houses had been removed to make
a fire lane. Through the dim light I could make out ahead of me the hazy
outlines of the Communications Bureau's big concrete building, and beyond it
the hospital. My spirits rose because I knew that now someone would find me;
and if I should die, at least my body would be found. I paused to rest.
Gradually things around me came into focus. There were the shadowy forms of
people, some of whom looked like walking ghosts. Others moved as though in
pain, like scarecrows, their arms held out from their bodies with forearms and
hands dangling. These people puzzled me until I suddenly realized that they
had been burned and were holding their arms out to prevent the painful friction
of raw surfaces rubbing together. A naked woman carrying a naked baby came
into view. I averted my gaze. Perhaps they had been in the bath. But then I
saw a naked man, and it occurred to me that, like myself, some strange thing
had deprived them of their clothes. An old woman lay near me with an
expression of suffering on her face; but she made no sound. Indeed, one thing
was common to everyone I saw - complete silence.
All who could were moving in the direction of the hospital. I joined in the dismal
parade when my strength was somewhat recovered, and at last reached the
gates of the Communications Bureau."
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pfhiroshima.htm
http://www.history.com/speeches/eyewitness-account-of-hiroshimabombing#firsthand-account-of-hiroshima-bombing
84
Dresden Witness Accounts:
(From Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five)
Every day we walked into the city and dug into basements and shelters to get the corpses out, as
a sanitary measure. When we went into them, a typical shelter, an ordinary basement usually,
looked like a streetcar full of people who’d simultaneously had heart failure. Just people sitting
there in their chairs, all dead. A fire storm is an amazing thing. It doesn’t occur in nature. It’s fed
by the tornadoes that occur in the midst of it and there isn’t a damned thing to breathe. We
brought the dead out. They were loaded on wagons and taken to parks, large open areas in the
city which weren’t filled with rubble. The Germans got funeral pyres going, burning the bodies
to keep them from stinking and from spreading disease. 130,000 corpses were hidden
underground. It was a terribly elaborate Easter egg hunt. We went to work through cordons of
German soldiers. Civilians didn’t get to see what we were up to. After a few days the city began
to smell, and a new technique was invented. Necessity is the mother of invention. We would bust
into the shelter, gather up valuables from people’s laps without attempting identification, and
turn the valuables over to guards. Then soldiers would come with a flame thrower and stand in
the door and cremate the people inside. Get the gold and jewelry out and then burn everybody
inside.
I survived the bombing of Dresden and continue to believe it was a war crime
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/15/bombing-dresden-war-crime
I wasn't new to murder and bloodletting. I had enlisted two years prior to the outbreak of the
second world war and by the time I was 21 I had taken part in one major battle and various
smaller ones. I had been in fights where the ground in front of me was littered with the remains
of young men who had once been full of the joy of living, laughing and joking with their mates.
As each year of the war went by, the fighting got more ferocious, new weapons were introduced
and fresh young men became the targets. How I remained a sane person through all this I don't
know.
Then came the evening of the 13 February, 1945 – 68 years ago this week. I was a prisoner of
war held in Dresden. At about 10.30pm that night, the air raid sirens started their mournful
wailing and because this happened every night no notice was taken. The people of Dresden
believed that as long as the Luftwaffe kept away from Oxford, Dresden would be spared. The
sirens stopped and after a short period of silence the first wave of pathfinders were over the city
dropping their target flares.
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As the incendiaries fell, the phosphorus clung to the bodies of those below, turning them into
human torches. The screaming of those who were being burned alive was added to the cries of
those not yet hit. There was no need for flares to lead the second wave of bombers to their target,
as the whole city had become a gigantic torch. It must have been visible to the pilots from a
hundred miles away. Dresden had no defences, no anti-aircraft guns, no searchlights, nothing.
My account of this tragedy, Dresden: A Survivor's Story, was published on the day of the
anniversary this week. I gave a number of interviews around the publication, in which I insisted
that the affair was a war crime at the highest level, a stain upon the name Englishman that only
an apology made in full public view would suffice to obliterate.
Many – including some writing comments underneath articles on this site – have criticised me
for this. Reading through the criticisms I have to admit that some of the things I have written
have caused many people some hurt, but to these people I would say that as a person I still suffer
at times the memories of those terrible events.
From being regarded as some form of hero on the one hand, to a Nazi supporter on the other, has
taught me that there are so many sides to any question. I have learned to try to understand those
who disagree with my outlook. Like Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five, I wrote as I
witnessed. I have no axe to grind. I just sat down and tried to empty my mind and clear away the
residues of the nightmares that I still occasionally suffered from.
My justification for still harbouring these attitudes is the events in European history since the
ending of the second world war. The massacres in Bosnia at Srebrenica, the hurling of
Tomahawk missiles by British naval cruisers into the centre of an inhabited Benghazi, the
manner in which as a nation we still tend to be sympathetic to the use of superior aircraft strength
to bomb overcrowded refugee centres. These are the reasons my anger has refused to subside.
Perhaps I should be more realistic and knuckle down to the concept of the brutality of the human
race, but I have always been a stubborn individual. I am not a diplomat. I just happen to have
witnessed the worst that man has to offer and I like it not one bit. Bearing in mind that I care
deeply about the future of all my children and grandchildren, please allow me to express my
anger.
http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=1589
Eyewitness Götz Bergander Recalls the Bombing of Dresden (Retrospective Account)
page 1 of 4
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There had been two American daylight attacks on Dresden, one in October 1944, one in January
1945. The latter was somewhat heavier and we knew that Dresden wasn't going to come out of it
untouched. Nevertheless, we had no idea what we were in for; we didn't have the experience they
had in Hamburg, Berlin, Kassel, or the Ruhrgebiet.
I got myself a grid map of Germany. You could listen in on a radio channel—we called it the
flak channel but it actually came from the headquarters near Berlin—which transmitted coded air
intelligence. Whenever I was home I listened to this channel and marked the flight paths on the
large map which I'd covered with onionskin paper. I still have this map.
And that's how it was on the evening of February 13, which happened to be Mardi Gras. You
could determine the approach of a massive raid far into central Germany, beyond Leipzig. When
the alarm sounded, it was approximately 20 minutes before 10:00 P.M.
The city was already filled with refugees; everything was a dull, war gray. The train stations
were bursting with people. I had already participated in some so-called refugee aid there. We
received refugees from Silesia and tried to get them and their baggage out of the city as quickly
as possible. They were taken to old dance halls, ballrooms, and cinemas in the suburbs, but some
always remained in the city center—those who'd just arrived and had not yet been
accommodated.
According to certain city documents, Dresden had approximately 640,000 inhabitants, and I'd
estimate that there were perhaps a million people in the city, so there were about 300,000
refugees. There were no bunkers at all—not one public air raid shelter. At Dresden's main train
station, luggage storage rooms and basements had been set up as shelters.
People thought Dresden would be spared. There were rumors that the British thought a great deal
of Dresden as a cultural center. The story also went around that an aunt of Churchill's lived in
Dresden, and in 1945 the rumor circulated that the Allies intended to use Dresden as their capital.
Even by then, we expected partition; we thought the Russians would occupy the eastern half and
the others the western half. Finally, people said, Dresden is full of hospitals.
All of this was wrong. All these claims, including the one that Dresden was protected because it
was a "hospital" city, were false. Dresden was completely unprotected. The flak had been
withdrawn during the winter. Half the guns were sent to the Ruhr to strengthen the air defense
there, only to be lost when the Americans overran the area. It was ridiculous. The Dresden antiaircraft troops weren't killed in Dresden, but died fighting against the Americans.
As I listened to the flak channel, I had a feeling of ever-increasing dread, but layered with
excitement. You could compare it to what every soldier feels before he has to leave the trench.
You're afraid, yet at the same time very excited, wondering what's going to happen. Talk about
87
butterflies! I took my radio down to the air-raid shelter and tried to tune into the flak channel.
Our shelter warden was outside.
GHDI - Document - Page
While I was still fiddling with the radio dial he came running down into the cellar and called,
"It's getting light, it's getting light, it's bright as day outside! They're coming, they're coming, the
dive bombers are here!" I told him: "But that's impossible, dive bombers can't fly at night." He
said: "I saw them, they came right over the Friedrichstadt hospital." After the war we found out
that he had really seen Mosquitos come down with target flares. They dropped the target markers
about 500 yards from where we lived, and the markers exploded in the air before they hit the
ground. The so-called "Christmas trees" came down by parachute. Everything was quiet for
awhile, until we heard the bombers and the first explosions.
It was as if a huge noisy conveyor belt was rolling over us, a noise punctuated with detonations
and tremors. It lasted for about 25 minutes before it gradually ceased. Then there was absolute
quiet.
I had tuned in to the local air raid broadcasts, and their last announcement had been, "Attention!
Attention! This is your local air defense office. Bombs in the city area. Citizens, keep sand and
water ready." Then it was cut off.
I went outside after this first attack because our warden told us we had to look for incendiaries.
We didn't find any, but coming out of the cellar was unforgettable: the night sky was illuminated
with pink and red. The houses were black silhouettes, and a red cloud of smoke hovered over
everything. I left our courtyard and climbed onto the roof of the factory next door with my
camera. I thought, "You have to take a picture of this."
People ran toward us totally distraught, smeared with ash, and with wet blankets wrapped around
their heads. These people made it out of the burning areas without too much difficulty, because
the firestorm only developed about half an hour to an hour after the first of the two night attacks.
All we heard was, "Everything's gone, everything's on fire."
In the meantime, many people had gathered in our courtyard. They had all come to our house
because it was still intact. Everyone talked at once until someone yelled, "They're coming back,
they're coming back!" Sure enough, through the general confusion we heard the alarm sirens go
off again. The alarm system in the city had ceased to function, but we could hear the sirens from
the neighboring villages warning of a second attack. That's when I was overcome with panic, and
I'm also speaking for the rest of my family and those who lived in our house. It was sheer panic!
88
We thought this couldn't be possible, that they wouldn't do such a thing. They wouldn't drop
more bombs on a city that was already an inferno. We were a target not even the worst shot
could miss. We rushed into the cellar, and the second attack began just like the first one.
The first raid was flown by the famous 5th Bomber Group which had been specially pre selected
for the initial incendiary attack. The rest of the bomber groups came in for the second attack. The
British really put everything they had into the air that night, though not all of it was used against
Dresden. Approximately 800 planes were deployed against Dresden, and another 300 went
against a refinery near Leipzig.
GHDI - Document - Page
This attack left exhaustion and tension in its wake, a feeling of utter helplessness and terror.
Since high-explosive bombs came down in our immediate vicinity, we had no idea of what it
looked like outside. Neither did we hear the slapping sound of incendiaries. There was an
indescribable roar in the air: the fire. The thundering fire reminded me of the biblical
catastrophes I had heard about in my education in the humanities. I was aghast. I can't describe
seeing this city burn in any other way. The color had changed as well. It was no longer pinkishred. The fire had become a furious white and yellow, and the sky was just one massive mountain
of cloud. The blaze roared, with intermittent blasts of either delayed-action bombs or unexploded
bombs which were engulfed by the flames.
In the morning I turned on my radio and listened to the BBC. On the seven o'clock news, the
BBC reported: "Last night, Dresden, one of the few German cities thus far to be spared, was
attacked by RAF bombers with great success."
Later, people arrived from the inner city asking if we still had water. We said yes and opened the
hydrants. Several of them settled into our house, but many others told us, "Out, out, get out of the
city. Get away from here," and went on. Some were speechless with horror. They only said, "My
home and everything in it are gone."
Since the factory supplied its own power and water, it could be kept running. My father, who
was the manager, had to decide whether work should continue. We produced yeast for baked
goods. My father said that food was important, so we'd have to keep operating. And the workers
showed up too. I don't know if anyone can work like the Germans. It was amazing. Some even
came on their bicycles between the two night raids. I still remember one of them pedaling up and
my father asking him, "What are you doing here?" And he replied, "I just had to see if the shop's
still in one piece."
89
The city was absolutely quiet. The sound of the fires had died out. The rising smoke created a
dirty, gray pall which hung over the entire city. The wind had calmed, but a slight breeze was
blowing westward, away from us. That's how, standing in the courtyard, I suddenly thought I
could hear sirens again. And sure enough, there they were. I shouted, and by then we could
already hear the distant whine of engines. We rushed down into the cellar. The roar of the
engines grew louder and louder, and the daylight attack began. This was the American 8th Air
Force, and their attack came right down on our heads.
Normally, there were only 20 to 25 of us down in the cellar. But now, with many people off the
street, including those who'd stopped over at our house, there were about 100 of us.
Nevertheless, no one panicked—we were too numb and demoralized from the night before. We
just sat there. The attack rolled closer, and then a bomb hit. It was like a bowling ball that
bounced, or jumped perhaps, and at that moment the lights went out. The whole basement filled
with dust. When the bomb carpet reached us, I crouched in a squatting position, my head
between my legs. The air pressure was immense, but only for a moment. The rubber seals on the
windows and the steel doors probably helped to absorb some of the impact. Someone screamed,
and then it was quiet. Then a voice shouted, "It's all right, nothing's happened." It was the shelter
warden.
GHDI - Document - Page
This attack left exhaustion and tension in its wake, a feeling of utter helplessness and terror.
Since high-explosive bombs came down in our immediate vicinity, we had no idea of what it
looked like outside. Neither did we hear the slapping sound of incendiaries. There was an
indescribable roar in the air: the fire. The thundering fire reminded me of the biblical
catastrophes I had heard about in my education in the humanities. I was aghast. I can't describe
seeing this city burn in any other way. The color had changed as well. It was no longer pinkishred. The fire had become a furious white and yellow, and the sky was just one massive mountain
of cloud. The blaze roared, with intermittent blasts of either delayed-action bombs or unexploded
bombs which were engulfed by the flames.
In the morning I turned on my radio and listened to the BBC. On the seven o'clock news, the
BBC reported: "Last night, Dresden, one of the few German cities thus far to be spared, was
attacked by RAF bombers with great success."
Later, people arrived from the inner city asking if we still had water. We said yes and opened the
hydrants. Several of them settled into our house, but many others told us, "Out, out, get out of the
90
city. Get away from here," and went on. Some were speechless with horror. They only said, "My
home and everything in it are gone."
Since the factory supplied its own power and water, it could be kept running. My father, who
was the manager, had to decide whether work should continue. We produced yeast for baked
goods. My father said that food was important, so we'd have to keep operating. And the workers
showed up too. I don't know if anyone can work like the Germans. It was amazing. Some even
came on their bicycles between the two night raids. I still remember one of them pedaling up and
my father asking him, "What are you doing here?" And he replied, "I just had to see if the shop's
still in one piece."
The city was absolutely quiet. The sound of the fires had died out. The rising smoke created a
dirty, gray pall which hung over the entire city. The wind had calmed, but a slight breeze was
blowing westward, away from us. That's how, standing in the courtyard, I suddenly thought I
could hear sirens again. And sure enough, there they were. I shouted, and by then we could
already hear the distant whine of engines. We rushed down into the cellar. The roar of the
engines grew louder and louder, and the daylight attack began. This was the American 8th Air
Force, and their attack came right down on our heads.
Normally, there were only 20 to 25 of us down in the cellar. But now, with many people off the
street, including those who'd stopped over at our house, there were about 100 of us.
Nevertheless, no one panicked—we were too numb and demoralized from the night before. We
just sat there. The attack rolled closer, and then a bomb hit. It was like a bowling ball that
bounced, or jumped perhaps, and at that moment the lights went out. The whole basement filled
with dust. When the bomb carpet reached us, I crouched in a squatting position, my head
between my legs. The air pressure was immense, but only for a moment. The rubber seals on the
windows and the steel doors probably helped to absorb some of the impact. Someone screamed,
and then it was quiet. Then a voice shouted, "It's all right, nothing's happened." It was the shelter
warden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGcO6zZ4MRM&safe=active
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/11393917/The-firebombing-of-Dresdenarchive-footage.html
91
"Empty Sky"
Bruce Springsteen
I woke up this morning
I could barely breathe
Just an empty impression
In the bed where you used to be
I want a kiss from your lips
I want an eye for an eye
I woke up this morning to the empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Blood on the streets
Yeah blood flowin' down
I hear the blood of my blood
Cryin' from the ground
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
On the plains of Jordan
I cut my bow from the wood
Of this tree of evil
Of this tree of good
I want a kiss from your lips
I want an eye for an eye
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
92
“You’re Missing"
Bruce Springsteen
Shirts in the closet, shoes in the hall
Mama's in the kitchen, baby and all
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing
Coffee cups on the counter, jackets on the chair
Papers on the doorstep, you're not there
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing
Pictures on the nightstand, TV's on in the den
Your house is waiting, your house is waiting
For you to walk in, for you to walk in
But you're missing, you're missing
You're missing when I shut out the lights
You're missing when I close my eyes
You're missing when I see the sun rise
You're missing
Children are asking if it's alright
Will you be in our arms tonight?
Morning is morning, the evening falls I have
Too much room in my bed, too many phone calls
How's everything, everything?
Everything, everything
You're missing, you're missing
God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox
I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops
93
Bateson
94
95
De Bono
96
Oskar and Me Venn Diagram
(in Mainstage folder for Centennial Park) or you can make your at
97
http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/graphic-organizers/venn.html
98
Notes and Ideas
How does the author use text and image to further the narrative?
Why does the author choose these images?
How do we read images differently than we read text?
Repetition of images?
Colors?
The man falling..
Three different stories
Illustrations of the 6th borough
Personal letters from survivors of tragedy?
Letters from people about their 9/11 experience. Staff and Community members.
Make this a year long thematic class link to A Thousand Splendid Suns or The Color Purple
Letters to god-theme of letters in EL and IC
Why didn’t the dad call the grandma?
How do you react to and respond and deal with pain?
Why is the Mom so unexplained-she is action and not explanation
Metaphor poem: I am a letter to an unborn child. I am a key around my neck.
Witness account: What is the final witness account for this book. What do you take away
that you need to share with others.
Things that make my boots lighter: 1000 cranes write what make boots lighter, put them
on origami paper.
A Thousand Splendid Suns: Khalid Hosseini
Endurance of the human spirit..
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Dedications…
We’d like to thank our extremely knowledgeable & incredibly helpful colleague and coach,
Barb Murray (you take a sad song and make it better…) with heavy and light influence
from Frampton, Benatar, and Fleetwood.
This unit is dedicated to Tubthumpers everywhere... “I get knocked down but I get up
again, you’re never gonna get me down.”
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