Because this is creative nonfiction, you have an opportunity to grip students who don't normally gravitate to literature. This is an exciting story, and a true one, and that combination tends to take hold of the imagination. It also allows you to use relevant current events as a way of teaching students not only about ways of relating true stories without sacrificing fact or atmosphere, but about the world around them.
The thought questions in this lesson plan provide material and ideas that students can use to write short original essays. For the sake of improving the power of expression, teachers should encourage students to write on topics that have been discussed in class, this time...
