9/11: Shattering and Rebuilding: September 18, 2017

Focus: What story of 9/11 can we learn from the images and voices from that time?

1. Warming up with three good things and a quick essay check-in

2. Exploring Time Magazine's Photoessay: "Shattered"

• New Google Folder: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (inside 1st Semester)

• New Document: In-Class Thoughts (inside Extremely Loud...folder)

Take your time on these photos; if there are some too difficult to look at, move to the next one.

Get inside a photo: Select one photo that resonates with you. Spend some time describing it, imagining that you are the photographer. What are you trying to capture in this photo? What senses can you use to describe what's happening here? What's the tone, or emotion of this photo?

Step outside the photos: If this photoessay had a written thesis, what do you think it would be? What story do they tell about 9/11?

Face the book: The main narrator of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is Oskar. He's nine years old, and he has just lost his father to the 9/11 attacks. Based on the photos you've just spend time with, what three adjectives might you use to describe Oskar's state of mind?

3. Listening to voices of resilience; click here for their stories, to be followed by small group discussions:

• What were your takeaways from these videos? What specific things struck you?

• What do you make of the cover of this book and the title page? Can you make some connections between what you've learned/seen today and the design of the title?

4. Flipping through the book: Throughout the book, you'll find items from Oskar's journal (photos, business cards, magazine clippings, letters, etc.). As you look through his journal items, try to make inferences about Oskar (you can just do this on your Google doc). In other words, what educated guesses can you make about Oskar based on what he puts in his journal? What questions do you have?

5. Starting to read the first pages ("What the?"): Continue adding to your list of inferences and questions about Oskar. I don't yet recommend going beyond page 15.

HW:
1. Finalize your cultural hysteria essay. Click HERE for the Monday night checklist. Remember that it must be submitted by 3:00 pm Tuesday to www.turnitin.com for full credit (late essays are penalized 3 points a day in your "Focus" grade).

2. By the end of class tomorrow, we will be through page 15 of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. No need to read tonight unless you fell behind in class today or were absent.