Subject Covered:  Language Arts
 

Grade Range:  9-12
 

Learning Objectives:
 
Students will have the opportunity to:

• Use their descriptive writing skills to create a first-person essay.
   

Standards List:
 
(From McRel Standards, www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp)
 
Language Arts Standards - Writing:

• Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
• Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing
• Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions

Language Arts Standards - Reading:

• Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
• Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of literary texts
   

Tools and Materials:

• A copy of the program "Chasing the Sun," a television, and a VCR
• Copies of selected literary passages
• Computers with Internet access
   

Time Needed:
 
It is recommended that two 45-minute class periods be scheduled to complete this lesson.
 

Teaching Strategy:
 
Most of the aviators featured within "Chasing the Sun" have written first-person accounts of events in their lives. Many of these literary passages are woven throughout the documentary. Begin this lesson by screening for the class a couple of segments which incorporate these literary excerpts. Suggested segments include:

After screening a couple of these segments for the class, pass out copies of a chapter or selected passages written by the corresponding aviator(s) just viewed. Autobiographical accounts written by the above aviators include:

• Dean C. Smith - "By the Seat of My Pants"
• Charles Lindbergh - "Spirit of St. Louis"
• Anne Morrow Lindbergh - "North to the Orient"
• Antoine de Saint-Exupery - "Wind, Sand and Stars"

You may also choose an aviator not specifically profiled in the series. Additional aviators and their memoirs include:

• Amelia Earhart - "Last Flight"
• Ernest K. Gann - "Fate Is the Hunter"
• Chuck Yeager - "Yeager: An Autobiography"

Knowing more about the life and events in the aviator's life will help students put the autobiographical excerpt in its proper historical context. Before reading the passages, have the students learn more about the background of the aviator/author through the Internet. The Innovators section of the "Chasing the Sun" web site would be an excellent resource for students to begin their research.
 
After completing research about the aviator/writer, give students the time to read the excerpt in the classroom, or have them take the material home to read. After the students have digested the material, begin a discussion with them about the excerpt they've read. Suggested questions to begin a discussion with students include:

• What was their overall reaction to the material?
• Did the author communicate effectively the events he or she was trying to describe?
• What literary techniques does the author employ to describe his or her story?
• How does the excerpt reflect the historical context in which it was written?
• How might the passage reflect the author's own background or bias?
• How do students relate events or motives in the author's life to events in their own lives? Can any parallels be drawn?

After the discussion, assign the students to write their own autobiographical essay describing a momentous event in their own lives. Unlike the pilots' excerpts, the personal events the students are writing about need not be aviation-related. They should, however, involve the student working towards a well-defined goal. As with any piece of compelling writing, their essay should include moments of conflict and resolution.
 

Extensions/Adaptations:
 
Before turning in their essays, you may wish to have each of the students read aloud their essays in class. Encourage class discussion about each essay. Make sure students offer constructive criticism about each other's work.
 
Rather than having the students write an autobiographical essay, your class could write a biographical piece instead. Assign students to interview an older relative or friend of the family about an event in their life. Again, the essay need not be aviation-related, but it should be a momentous event in the subject's life. Make sure students compile a list of specific questions beforehand. They will need to conduct a pre-interview with their subject so that they know what event their interviewee will be discussing. A pre-interview is really helpful for students so they can prepare relevant follow-up questions for the actual interview.