! 2002 Beltway Sniper

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1 Common Core Standards 2002 Beltway Sniper Concept: 2002 D.C. Sniper Attacks Primary Subject Area: English Secondary Subject Areas: History Common Core Standards Addressed: Grades 9-10 Grades Key Ideas and Details Key Ideas and Details o Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. o Analyze the impact of the author s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g. where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed). Craft and Structure o Analyze how an author s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g. the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or traffic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. Culture & History: Common Core Standards 1

2 Lesson Plan 2002 Beltway Sniper Overview: The class will explore the setting and mood of the novel through the lens of the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks. Objectives: Students will be able to: - Discuss the importance and effects of the sniper attacks - Draw connections between the sniper attacks and the overall mood of the novel - Identify the differences between this alternate D.C. reality and contemporary D.C. - Understand the importance of the setting of the novel and how it contributes to the attitudes of the characters Materials: Copies of A Student of Living Things Washington Post Interactive Map Washington Post Video FBI report Whiteboard/Chalkboard Notebook paper Other Resources: Key Vocabulary Terms General Discussion/Comprehension Questions Text References Warm-Up Activity: The students (anywhere from 14 to 18) all will have been alive at the time of the sniper attacks, but not many will remember how they affected the city and its citizens. Ask the students to talk about the attacks the floor is open to discuss any reactions. Do they remember what happened? Were they scared? Did they ever talk to their parents about it? Not many will remember, which is the point of the activity and the lesson in general; by the end of the class, they should have a much better understanding of the attacks and how they influenced Shreve s novel. Short Lecture & Partner Activities: - Give the students the FBI article describing the shootings and the timeline of the events, just so that they have a basic grip on the events that transpired. - Have the students break into groups of two and access the interactive map of the sniper attacks. Students should complete the Beltway Sniper worksheet. - Have students come together as a whole and discuss their responses to the something to think about section. - Once the students have hopefully come to the conclusion that the attacks were random (apart from the location), ask the students how this aspect of the attacks would have influenced the population of the area. Culture & History: Lesson Plan 2

3 Lesson Plan 2002 Beltway Sniper Discussion Wrap-Up: Now that the students have a basic understanding of the sniper attacks, the final discussion activity will help them relate this new information to Shreve s novel. - In groups of three or four, have the students discuss the differences between the D.C. in the novel and the D.C. they live in. - How does the 2002 sniper attack relate to Shreve s setting and the attitude of her characters? - What do you think of this alternate reality? Why is the D.C. area not infested with paranoia like it is in the novel? - At one point, Claire says: For months before Steven was killed, there had been a silent civil war, fear creeping under the skin, a menacing suspicion of one group of people for another, a distrust of the outsider in a city of outsiders (2). What does she mean by a city of outsiders? Do you think this is how citizens felt during the sniper attacks? Writing Activities/Evaluations: Analytical: Analyze Shreve s choice to set her novel in post-2002 (and post-9/11) D.C. What effect does this setting and time period have on the events of the novel? Creative: Write a paragraph in which you put yourself in the shoes of Claire, or any other D.C. citizen in Shreve s alternate reality. How would life be different for you? Culture & History: Lesson Plan 3

4 Discussion & Comprehension Questions 2002 Beltway Sniper Why did Shreve choose Washington, DC as the setting for her novel? What does Steven believe in? Why does he face issues when he speaks publicly about his beliefs? What role does the government play in this alternate reality? What are some of the terrorist attacks that have been occurring in the novel? Are they random? Strategic? Do you think Steven s death was related to these past terrorist attacks? Are the 2002 sniper shootings mentioned? If not, why do you think a class discussion is devoted to them? How does family play a role in the beginning of the novel? Are they a united front? Do you think they feel the way the rest of society does? What is the general mood of the novel? How does Claire talk about the city in which she lives? Does she want to live there? Is she scared all the time? Why do you think she feels the way she does? Culture & History: Discussion & Comprehension Questions 4

5 Key Vocabulary 2002 Beltway Sniper Word: Setting Definition: The place and time at which a play, novel, or film is represented as taking place. Transience The state or quality of passing with time or being ephemeral or fleeting. Conviction The state or appearance of being convinced; a fixed or firmly held belief, opinion, etc. Immortality Endless life or existence; enduring fame. Maroon To put ashore on a deserted island or coast and intentionally abandon; to abandon or isolate with little hope of ready rescue or escape. Pallid bat A species of bat that ranges from western Canada to central Mexico. Pallid bats have larger eyes than most other species of bats in North America, as well as, pale, long and wide ears. Whimsy Playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor; caprice; fancy; whim. Obstruct To block or fill (a passage) with obstacles or an obstacle; to impede, retard, or interfere with; hinder. Assimilation The state of being assimilated; people of different backgrounds come to see themselves as part of a larger national family. Culture & History: Key Vocabulary 5

6 Text References 2002 Beltway Sniper (Page 3): Who to trust? my mother asked at a recent Sunday dinner, turning the front page of the newspaper facedown. It s as if everyone is the enemy or could be. (Page 4): But then the violence was personal, drugs or guns or gang warfare or domestic quarrels, and in the last few months it s a random bomb or arson or a staged accident, and several are injured or die at once. (Page 10): Since 9/11, people have been uneasy, and then a plane carrying a highschool baseball team on its way to spring practice in Florida falls for no reason into the Potomac River, and fatal; levels of mercury are discovered at Cardozo High School, and a law student is assassinated on the steps of a university library. (Page 11): Now I have a kind of low-grade fever of anxiety all the time. I start at loud noises or high-pitched ones, at screeching of brakes or a door slamming. Culture & History: Text References 6

7 Title Field: Class Handout Name: The Beltway Sniper Use the interactive map provided by the Washington Post and create a chart of the victims. Name Location Gender Race Circumstance "#$%&'()*%"*%&'(+*,-".%* /"*0".*("%'1$*,(0%&'()*%&,%*1"(($1%2* %&$2$*34*5'1%'#26*7&0*8$9$*%&$0* 1&"2$(6** Culture & History: Class Handout

8 Title Field: Supplementary Materials Chart Category of Resource Video Photo Gallery/ Map Article Description of Resource Citizens of Fairfax County discuss the sniper attacks nearly ten years later and the horror it instilled in the population. The Washington Post provides an interactive map so that readers can view the locations of the attack and the photos/names/circu mstances of the sniper s victims. The FBI provides a brief description of the Beltway Sniper attacks, including a timeline of the shootings and the convicted felons. Potential Educational Uses of Resource Because students were too young to understand the true horror of the sniper attacks as they were taking place, this video will provide the attitudes of the older generation; students can explore the emotion that generated Shreve s novel. Students can use this map to explore the magnitude and randomness of the attacks. These are two important details because much of Shreve s novel revolves around a certain amount of paranoia. The article can be used to provide the students with a basic knowledge of what transpired in Link to Resource