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The Great Comeback
Explore the theme of resilience with
a Scope article, a video, and a classic poem
Essential questions:
What is resilience?
How do people find resilience within themselves?
Summary:
In this lesson, students will read a Scope article, watch a related
video clip, and read a poem by Emily Dickinson; they will connect
these sources through the theme of resilience.
Main objectives:
• to understand what resilience is and identify it as a theme in literature
• to make connections among genres
• to participate in class discussion
• to write a reflective essay
You will need (click the links below to download):
• the May 9, 2011, issue of Scope
• photo of flower
• video clip of Bethany Hamilton
• audio clip of Emily Dickinson’s poem “Hope Is the Thing With
Feathers”
• copies of “Hope Is the Thing With Feathers” to distribute and project
• digital version of “Shark Attack Survivor” to project
• step-by-step lesson plan
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Scholastic sCOPE DIGITAL LESSON • MAY 9, 2011
Uses: Copy machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants subscribers of Scholastic Scope permission to reproduce this page for use in their classrooms. Copyright © 2011 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
ARD
O
B
E
WHIT IVIT Y!
ACT
s cope Di g i t a l L e s s o n
1. Discussion
Duration: 10 minutes
Project the photo of
the flower on your
whiteboard. If possible,
use the mask tool to cover the text.
Ask students what they see in the photo.
How is the flower different from the ground
where it grows? Why is this an unlikely place
for the flower? Next, have a student read the
definition for resilience, below the photo.
How does the word relate to the picture?
What is an example of a situation in which
a person needs to be resilient?
2. Class Reading
Duration: 30
minutes, or one
class period
Project our
nonfiction story
“Shark Attack
Survivor” on
your whiteboard. (Students should follow along
in their individual magazines.) Ask students
if they are familiar with Bethany Hamilton’s
story. Have them read the “Check It Out” box
on page 4 and look for examples of resilience
in the article as they read.
After reading the article, discuss the
following questions:
• What do the last two lines of the second
paragraph tell you about Bethany, beyond the
fact that she’s talented? (She will do whatever
it takes to succeed at surfing, meaning hard
work and training.)
• What signs of physical resilience did Bethany
show right after the attack? (She didn’t panic,
so she lost less blood; her strength began
returning within 24 hours.)
• What did Bethany tell people who felt sorry
for her? How is this an example of resilience?
(She told them, “I am the same person on the
inside.” It shows the attack had not defeated
her; it didn’t change how she saw herself.)
• Specifically, what did Bethany have to relearn
for surfing? What was the process like? (She
had to relearn to paddle, stand up, and lift her
feet. It was harder than she expected, but she
didn’t give up.)
•What was Bethany’s goal before the attack?
After the attack? Did she achieve it? What can
you conclude from this? (Her goal both before
and after was to become a professional surfer,
which she achieved. You can conclude that she
would not be held back; she had the resilience
to overcome a terrible setback.)
• Mark Twain once said, “Courage is resistance
to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
How does this relate to Bethany? (Bethany
admits she sometimes thinks about sharks
in the water, but she doesn’t let that stop her
from pursuing her dream.)
3. Video Viewing
Duration: 15 minutes
Play this five-minute
video about Bethany
for your class.
After showing the video, ask:
• How would you summarize Bethany’s
friends’ opinions of her? (They are awed that
she has the courage and talent to return to the
water and surf so well. They don’t believe they
would be able to do the same thing.)
•What is your impression of Bethany from
Continued on Next page >
Scholastic sCOPE DIGITAL LESSON • MAY 9, 2011
Uses: Copy machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants subscribers of Scholastic Scope permission to reproduce this page for use in their classrooms. Copyright © 2011 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
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s cope Di g i t a l L e s s o n
the scenes in which she is surfing? (She looks
strong, graceful, and in control; you can hardly
tell she has only one arm.)
•How does seeing her in action add to the
article about her that you read? (Students may
respond that it confirms she made a full comeback; it is exciting to watch; it emphasizes the
difficulty of what any good surfer does.)
•Based on the article and video, how do you
think Bethany found the resilience to return to
surfing and become a champion? (Answers will
vary, but students may suggest that her love of
surfing outweighed her doubts; her family and
friends supported her; she had confidence; she
had to be herself, with or without an arm.)
4. Small-Group Reading
s co p e DIg IT a l l e s s o n
Click here to
listen to a recording
of this poem.
Hope Is the Thing With Feathers
by Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886)
4
“hope” is the thing with feathers—
that perches in the soul—
and sings the tune without the words—
and never stops—at all—
8
and sweetest—in the gale—is heard—
and sore must be the storm—
that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm—
12
i’ve heard it in the chillest land—
and on the strangest sea—
yet, never, in extremity,
it asked a crumb—of me.
Uses: Copy maChine, opaqUe projeCtor, or transparenCy master for overhead projeCtor. sCholastiC inC. grants sUbsCribers of sCholastiC sCope permission to reprodUCe this page for Use in their Classrooms. Copyright © 2011 by sCholastiC inC. all rights reserved.
Duration: 30 minutes
Place students in small
groups and give each
student a copy of the
poem “Hope Is the Thing
With Feathers” by Emily
Dickinson. Have them
listen and read along as you
play this audio clip of the poem.
ScholaStic sCOPE DIGITAL LESSON • MAy 9, 2011
After students read the poem, have each group
discuss the following questions:
• An extended metaphor is a comparison that
continues throughout a poem or other piece
of literature. What is the extended metaphor in
this poem—in other words, to what does Emily
Dickinson compare hope? Why do you think
she chose this for her comparison? (She
compares hope to a bird; students might
suggest that birds evoke cheery, hopeful images.)
• In the first stanza, where does the bird—or
hope—reside? What does it never stop doing?
What does this image suggest? (Hope resides
in the soul; it never stops singing. The image
suggests that hope is always within you, no
matter what.)
•What is a gale? What could it represent in
this poem? How does the bird react to the
gale? (A gale is a strong wind; it could
represent any challenge in life. The bird
sings sweetest in a gale.)
•What does abash mean? What do lines 6, 7, and
8 of the poem say about the bird? (Abash means
to embarrass or take away one’s confidence; the
lines suggest it would take a terrible storm to
diminish the bird’s cheeriness.)
•What do the last two lines of the poem mean?
What do they suggest about hope? (The bird
never asked for anything in exchange for its
constant sweet song. The lines suggest that
hope is an integral part of being human;
it can’t be destroyed even if you don’t pay
attention to it. Believing you can do something
is the first step to actually doing it.)
•How does hope relate to resilience? (Students
might suggest that hope is what makes
resilience possible, especially in hard situations.)
•How does this poem relate to Bethany’s
experience? (Bethany never lost hope. The
shark attack was her “gale” or “storm,” yet
she kept hearing the voice that said she
could come back again.)
•Did Bethany’s resilience “ask a crumb” of
her—in other words, did it take anything
out of her? (Answers will vary. Some students
might say yes, because she had to work so
hard, and others will say no, because she
worked hard but her hope did not waver.)
Invite each group to share its answers to these
questions with the class.
< End >
Scholastic sCOPE DIGITAL LESSON • may 9, 2011
Uses: Copy machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants subscribers of Scholastic Scope permission to reproduce this page for use in their classrooms. Copyright © 2011 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
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