Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States (2021)

Lesson 11
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ELA

Unit 6

7th Grade

Lesson 11 of 20

Objective


Analyze the way that Slater develops the reader’s understanding of the fire on the bus and compare news reports about the incident with facts and details Slater includes in The 57 Bus

Readings and Materials


  • Book: The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater  pp. 105 – 133

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

What details about the incident on the 57 bus does Slater include that are not included in the news report "Oakland California Victim in Bus Burning Fire"? What details are the same in both accounts? Select two differences and two similarities in these two accounts.

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Close Read Questions

  • Does Slater seem to believe that the fire was entirely Richard’s fault? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from pages 105 through 113 to support your answer.

  • What does Richard’s behavior directly after the incident suggest about how he is feeling or thinking about what happened? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from pages 113 through 118 and 126–127 to support your answer.

  • The video "Oakland Police Seek Witnesses, Good Samaritans" describes the incident on the 57 bus. What basic details about the incident do they include in this report and which details do they leave out? Provide at least one detail that they include and one that they leave out.

Discussion Questions

  • What are your reactions to seeing the videos? Does it change the way you think about the text?

Homework


To ensure that students are prepared for the next lesson, have students complete the following reading for homework. Use guidance from the next lesson to identify any additional language or background support students may need while independently engaging with the text.

  • Book: The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater  pp. 134 – 160

  • Article: “Hate Crimes, Explained” by Swathi Shanmugasundaram  — end after section “What Motivates Hate Offenders”

While reading, answer the following questions.

  • What does Richard do when the police try to interview him without a lawyer or his parents?

  • What does Richard initially say when asked about what happened on the bus?

  • Why does Richard say that he lit Sasha's skirt on fire?

  • What is Richard officially charged with?

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Common Core Standards


  • RI.7.7 — Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium's portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
  • RI.7.9 — Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.

Supporting Standards

L.7.6
RI.7.1
RI.7.2
RI.7.4
RI.7.10
SL.7.1
SL.7.2
SL.7.6
W.7.1
W.7.1.a
W.7.1.b
W.7.4
W.7.9
W.7.9.b
W.7.10

Next

Make connections between larger legal concepts and events in The 57 Bus, drawing evidence from both texts to support ideas.

Lesson 12
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