Day 13: Informational Texts – Abby Teacher: Coleman, Kayla

Sunderland & “Worst Mom Ever”

Jigsaw Activity School: West Prep High School

Subject: English 10H Students will engage in:

Semester: 2 __Independent activities __ Pairing __ Centers __ Cooperative learning
Time: 55 minutes __ Hands-on __ Lecture __ Peer tutoring __ Whole group instruction
__ Visuals __ Technology integrations __ Simulations __ Project __ Other

Incorporates WICOR:
Writing to Learn Inquiry Collaboration Organization Reading to Learn

Standards Met (CCSS):

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3
Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made,
how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of
view or purpose.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and
persuasively.

Class Objective:
-Students will be able to read and analyze one of the 3 assigned articles.
-Students will be able to participate in a small group discussion in which they explain their assigned article.
-Students will be able to understand the subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, and tone of their article.

Time Procedures Followed: Materials/

Text References

Minutes Class Starter: -PPT w/ warm-up

5/5 Think of a time when your parents didn’t let you do something you really wanted to prompt
do? What were the circumstances? What was the reason for the disagreement?
**Teacher should complete housekeeping procedures while students respond** -Warm-up handout

Minutes Directions and Initial Set up: Today, students will be participating in a Jigsaw -3 different articles
12/17 activity. Teacher will start by explaining the following directions and expectations (Abby Sunderland
for the activity: Students will form groups of three, where they will each choose an Articles & “Worst
article numbered 1-3. Once each group member has selected an article, students in the Mom Ever”).
class with the same article numbers will form a second, larger group (i.e. all students
will article number one will meet in a group and so on).
Once in the large groups, students will work together to read and annotate the article. -highlighters
They will discuss as they read and fill out their SOAPSTone article, finding textual
evidence for each response (*Note: students have done SOAPSTone before).

Minutes -Students in larger groups will read and annotate their selected article together. -Articles
13/30
-highlighters
 Minutes -Students will go back through the article and fill in each area of their SOAPSTone -SOAPSTone
20/50 graphic organizers (Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Speaker, Tone). Students handout.
must choose a section of the text for evidence of each response and add it to their
organizer.

Minutes -Write a brief objective summary of your article. Be prepared to explain your article -Journal
5/55 to your original group tomorrow.
-Clean-up for dismissal.

Homework Given: Students will read pages 235-241 & Journal #7.

Lesson Notes/Reflection: I really love the concept of Jigsaw but being that this was the students’ first time utilizing the
strategy in my class, it was a little chaotic. I need to do a better job modeling the strategy for the students, so they
understand the full process/purpose. It was also difficult because students were reading the different articles aloud in
their new groups which caused the volume in the room to rise and made it difficult to hear. I’ll need to adjust this moving
forward. I did find that students were more concerned about filling in their SOAPSTone more thoroughly since they
knew they would have to return to their home groups and teach them. The strategy also helped students to work on their
communication and collaboration skills. Overall, I think it’s a great strategy for improving literacy and just needs a little
more practice on the part the students and myself.

Worst Mom Ever? (Article #1)

'America's Worst Mom?'
By LENORE SKENAZY | April 8, 2008
http://www.nysun.com/opinion/americas-worst-mom/74347/

When I wrote a column in this paper last week, "Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Take The Subway Alone," I figured
I'd get some emails — pro and con.

Two days later I was on the "Today Show," MSNBC, Fox News, and all manner of talk radio with a new title
under my smiling face: "America's Worst Mom?"

Yes, that's all it took for me to learn just what a hot-button issue this is — whether good parents ever let their
kids out of their sight. But even as the stations (and Web sites and Web logs) were having a field day with the
story, people kept pulling me aside to say that they had been allowed to get around by themselves as kids, and
boy were they glad.

They relished those memories — and thanked their parents! — and then in the next breath they admitted: They
would never let their kids do the same.

Why not? Has the world really become so much more dangerous in just one generation?

No, not in the way that most parents are fearing. Locally, our murder rate is back where it was in 1963, when a
kid could take a ride on the subway and it wouldn't make the "Today Show." Of 182 American cities with a
population of more than 100,000, New York City ranks no. 136 in crime — right down there with Boise, Idaho.

Nationally, Justice Department statistics show that the number of kids getting abducted by strangers actually
holds pretty steady over the years. In 2006, that number was 115, and 40% of them were killed.
The killing of any child is a horrible tragedy. It makes my stomach plunge to even think about it. But when the
number is about 50 kids killed in a country of 300 million, it's also a very random, rare event. Far more people
die from falling off the bed or other furniture. So for safety's sake, should we all start sleeping on the floor?

Well, upon reading that, I'm sure some people will. I'm also sure that pretty soon you'll see some "expert" on
TV talking about the hidden dangers of furniture. Behind her, a huge photo of a bed will be captioned:
"WORTH THE RISK?"

Everything has its 15 minutes of fear. We get so rattled by it all, we can't think straight.

Now, of course life is risky. That's why we always end up dead. Some things are even particularly risky, like
driving, which kills more than 10 times the number of kids abducted and murdered every year. Still, we drive.
And, if you're like me, you always use seat belts and car seats. Safety first! I'm all about safety! I'm just not
about paranoia.

It's crazy to limit our lives based on wildy remote dangers. And yet, this past week, as I morphed into the poster
mom for sane or insane parenting, depending on your point of view, I started hearing stories that strike me as
completely bizarre.

One lawyer in an upscale suburb of New York, for instance, "lets" his 11-year-old walk one block to her best
friend's house — but she has to call the minute she arrives safely, as if she's been dodging sniper fire.

A mom in Atlanta proudly said that she doesn't let her daughter walk down the block to the mailbox, because
there's just too much "opportunity" for her to be snatched and killed. She's keeping her kid prisoner, but to her,
I'm the nutty mom.

People who want me arrested for child abuse were sure that my son had dodged crowds of drug dealers, bullies,
flashers, and psychopaths on that afternoon subway ride home by himself.

All of which might have happened, if we lived in Grand Theft Auto-ville. But we don't. See the stats, above.

Not that statistics and facts make any difference. Somehow, a whole lot of parents have become convinced that
nothing outside the home is safe. At the same time, many also have become convinced that their children are
helpless to fend for themselves. They write their kids off as "dreamers," when they've never given them a real
chance to wake up and develop some self-sufficiency.

These parents have lost confidence in everything: Their neighborhood. Their kids. And their own ability to
teach their children how to get by in the world. As a result, they batten down the hatches.

And then there are those who don't.

I'm relieved to report that plenty of emails — hundreds — poured in with exactly the opposite viewpoint. There
were more of these, in fact, than the naysayers. Parents from as far away as Japan wrote, "Bravo!" "Thank you!"
And, "Good for your son!"

I loved hearing what these parents (and grandparents and friends and relatives) let their young ones do, but they
still face a phalanx of disapproval.

Another suburban dad wrote to say he let his eight-year-old ride her bike two blocks away and afterward, "my
wife let me know how vehemently she disagreed. In addition, all the parents in the neighborhood also thought I
was crazy."
This dad is an emergency room doctor so he knows better than most what terrible things can happen out of the
blue. And yet, as he put it so well, "I choose, to the best of my ability, to allow my children the same freedoms
that I had as a child." We all want our kids to be safe. But they deserve a life, too. Despite what you hear on the
news, these things are not mutually exclusive. And I'm not America's Worst Mom.

Ms. Skenazy, lskenazy@yahoo.com, is now founder of Free Range Kids, www.freerangekids.wordpress.com.

Abby Sunderland (Article #2)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/13/abby-sunderland-lone-sailor-rescued/print

Parents of rescued teenage sailor Abby Sunderland accused of risking her life

Sailing experts condemn family for allowing 16-year-old American girl to attempt a solo round-the-world
voyage

• Paul Harris, New York

• The Observer, Saturday 12 June 2010

A teenage girl attempting to sail solo around the world was rescued yesterday in a remote spot of the Indian
Ocean, bringing to a successful conclusion the dramatic bid to save her life.

Sixteen-year-old American Abby Sunderland was picked up from her stricken vessel by a dinghy launched from
the French fishing boat Ile de la Reunion.

Her father, Laurence Sunderland, speaking to reporters outside their California home, said his daughter was safe
and well: "She got out of her vessel with the clothes on her back, and we are just really excited and ecstatic that
Abigail is in safe hands. She was in good spirits… she talked to her mother."

However, the same cannot be said of Sunderland's yacht, Wild Eyes. The vessel was apparently pounded by
gigantic waves that had destroyed its mast, which in turn knocked out her satellite communications equipment.
The yacht was then effectively left floundering midway between Africa and Australia. It is likely to be allowed
to sink.

Sunderland had activated an emergency beacon which started a huge search and rescue operation involving
Australia, America and France. Numerous ships became involved in the hunt, as well as a chartered jet which
spotted the teenager late on Thursday. Sunderland was able to radio the plane and say report that was fit and had
food and water supplies.

The rescue itself was not without incident as rough seas saw the captain of the French boat fall into the water.
"He was fished out in difficult conditions," said a statement from the French territory of Reunion Island.

Though the search for Sunderland ended happily, it has caused a debate on the wisdom of such young sailors
making dramatic and dangerous journeys. Sunderland was following the achievement of her brother, Zac, who
had made the solo journey around the world at the age of 17, becoming the youngest person in the world to do
so.
Many critics of Sunderland – and her parents – have criticized the decision to let her go on such a journey. "It's
not something that a 16-year-old should be able to decide whether they're capable of doing it. It's potentially
irresponsible for the parents," Michael Kalin, junior director of San Francisco's St Francis Yacht Club, told the
Associated Press.

Other top figures from the world of sailing joined in the criticism. "In Abby's case she was lucky. It's only a
matter of time until we end up with a tragedy on our hands," said Derrick Fries, a world sailing champion and
author of Learn to Sail.

Such opinions by professionals have been echoed on blogs and comments on news articles as members of the
public have called the Sunderlands irresponsible and careless. One commentator on the Los Angeles Times
website summed up the view of many: "Abby Sunderland was on the wrong type of boat (a racing yacht) in the
wrong location (the southern Indian Ocean) at the wrong time of year (winter in the southern hemisphere).
Other than those minor details it was a well-planned voyage."

But the family have robustly defended themselves. They have pointed out that Abby is a highly experienced and
highly skilled sailor. They have even used the debate to criticize the too-careful tendency of much modern
parenting advice and said that a certain amount of risky challenge was healthy for an adventurous child.

"I never questioned my decision in letting her go. In this day and age we get overprotective with our children,"
Laurence Sunderland said. "Look at how many teenagers die in cars every year. Should we let teenagers drive
cars? I think it'd be silly if we didn't.”
 Abby Sunderland (Article #3)
The Guardian/Observer
Abridged article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7820621/Sailing-experts-criticise-
Abby-Sunderlands-circumnavigation-attempt.html

Sailing experts criticize Abby Sunderland's circumnavigation

attempt
Sailing experts have sharply criticized US mariner Abby Sunderland, calling her attempt cross the
treacherous Indian Ocean during winter "ridiculous and insane".

Abby Sunderland, 16, looks out from her sailboat, Wild Eyes Photo: AP

By Nick Allen in Los Angeles

11:46AM BST 11 Jun 2010

While her family and support team in America are relieved that she is safe and well, the incident has sparked
furious debate over the wisdom of allowing teenage sailors to attempt dangerous solo missions.

Last year a court acted against the wishes of the parents of a 13 year old Dutch girl by preventing her from
setting off on a solo voyage around the world.

Sailing experts have warned that Abby should not have been in the dangerous southern seas at all.

Ian Kiernan, an Australian sailor who has circumnavigated the globe, said her voyage had not been planned
properly and that she had been "foolhardy" to enter the Indian Ocean during winter when weather conditions
could deteriorate swiftly and present a mortal danger.

Marty Still, an Australian who built the boat used by teenage sailor Jessica Watson to successfully sail round
the world earlier this year, said that Abby's team had chosen the wrong type of craft for the perilous crossing.
He said that her boat had been built for speed, not safety, and would be extremely difficult for one person to
sail.

But the harshest criticism came from America. A columnist in the Los Angeles Times accused Abby's parents
of "child abuse" for allowing their daughter to go ahead with her voyage and described the mission as
"outrageous, ridiculous, incomprehensible insanity".

TJ Simers wrote: "Why is any 16-year-old allowed to place herself in harm's way? Why would any parent allow
such a thing?

"I just don't understand the idea of risking life. This kid's going to be out there all by herself. Death is a
possibility. Bad weather. Are you kidding me? Who's responsible for this? She's a kid."

However, the Sunderlands defended the decision to let Abby go.

"Could there be a tragedy?" Marianne Sunderland said in an interview with the ABC before she set off.

"Yeah, there could be. But there could be a tragedy on the way home tonight, you know, or driving with her
friends in a car at 16. You minimize the risks."

Abby's attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, beating Watson's record, is now
over.

After she triggered her emergency beacons in huge seas and losing satellite phone communication with her
team in the US, an expensive international search and rescue operation swung into action to find her…

After having to abandon her non-stop attempt she said: "I will definitely keep going and whether or not I will
make any more stops after this I don't know yet.

"I admit I was pretty upset at first, but there is no point in getting upset. What's done is done and there is

nothing I can do about it."