A History of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina: Four Week Unit Plan

Four Week Unit Plan

Week 1 Focus: The History of New Orleans

Monday: Brainstorm on what students know or think about New Orleans; begin discussing the history of the city and state of Louisiana
Tuesday: Continue the history of New Orleans and begin to introduce the culture of the region.
Wednesday: Continue studying the history and culture of the city and its racial and social background (See Katrina's first Lesson Plan)
Thursday: Continue discussing the history and culture, begin to introduce politics and get more current.
Friday: Start studying the current history of the city just preceding Hurricane Katrina (See Liz's first Lesson Plan)

Week 2 Focus: Hurricane Katrina

Monday: Start discussion on Hurricane Katrina - what were they told beforehand? What kinds of preparations were made in the city? etc. (See Katrina's second lesson plan)
Tuesday: Follow up previous lesson with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the effects on the social and racial makeup of the city, the political response and its criticisms, etc. What could have been different? (See Liz's second lesson plan)
Wednesday: In-class writing assignment from the perspective of someone who lived through Hurricane Katrina (stayed or left) - include historical data and write in a narrative voice to incorporate English and Social Studies
Thursday: Discuss the writing assignment in class, discuss the reasons why people stayed or left, what might have been push or pull factors for them. Have students reflect on the writing prompt and their answers..
Friday: Begin teaching about the response to Katrina in the media. How was the response to this disaster treated in the newspapers and on television? (See Justin's first lesson plan)

Week 3 Focus: Picking Up the Pieces in the Wake of Katrina

Monday: Start Spike Lee Documentary "When the Levees Broke"
Tuesday: Continue Documentary
Wednesday: Finish Documentary; have students write a short reflection on the documentary for homework - what stood out, what they did not realize before, how they felt about the situation of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the effects it had on people in the area.
Thursday: Discuss the documentary in class and the conitnuing response to Katrina's aftermath (See Justin's second lesson plan)
Friday: Introduce and start the final projects: Students will break into groups and complete short, 10 to 15 minute documentaries using the information they have learned in class about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. Students will be able to chose to work on any topic we discussed in class during this unit. Students will have time in class but are expected to do work outside school as well.

Week 4 Focus: Final Projects