American Sniper Unit Plan

American Sniper Unit Plan
Arisa Leahy
Table of Contents
Rationale 3
Calendar 7
Daily Lesson Plans:
Week 1 9
Week 2 36
Week 3 51
Week 4 68
Detailed Procedure:
Day 12 – “The Iraqi Face” 91
Works Cited 94
Rationale
2
The film American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood, was received by some audiences
as a patriotic homage to American forces while others criticized the racist undertones and
questioned the mental stability of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. The book upon which the film was
based contains stories that confirm both of these ideas; the narrator and author Chris Kyle is both
patriotic and racist against the individuals the United States fought during the conflict often
mislabeled as the War on Terror. By having students read Chris Kyle’s American Sniper: the
Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. History, the goal is not necessarily to pass
judgment upon the man like many have already done, but to examine the ideas and concepts of
what makes an individual good or evil.
The primary outcome of this unit is for students to have a better understanding of
personal and societal ideas concerning moral rights and wrongs. Because this unit is designed
around upperclassmen in high school, specifically seniors, it is important to address personal
ideals and morals as students approach post-high school careers. Introspection and self-reflection
are critical components of growth and development as individuals, and students must be
informed about critical aspects of society and morals in order to thrive outside the classroom. By
reading Chris Kyle’s story, students will be exposed to the narrator’s ideas, while the addition of
external sources will provide further external analysis and offer secondary opinions. Combining
these experiences with reflection and identification of personal ideals will assist students not
only in learning about themselves and developing awareness of metacognition, but assist in
generating empathy and understanding for others.
As time passes, history is created; while there are many conflicts in the Middle East, it is
important for students to understand current events by first understanding the history behind
them. The United States’ role in the Middle East has been tumultuous and a source of debate, but
3
it is important to understand the history and facts of the United States’ presence and the effects
the country has to this day. The story of American Sniper includes 9/11 and continues through
the second election of President Bush in 2004, when armed forces were focused in Iraq. This
setting encourages discussion about United States history that may not yet be in history books,
but is important to current day events. Students therefore will be educated on key events from the
2000s and their effects on Middle Eastern conflicts that continue to this day. The story and
connections to modern times is relevant to students and their futures.
In addition to the history and facts about the United States and the Middle East, students
will be introduced to the evolution of warfare. Touching and reflecting upon styles from the Civil
War and the two World Wars, to gureilla tactics and urban warfare in modern times, students
will not only be introduced to the mechanics, but to the perceptions of these changes as time
passes. Students will again be connected with the ethics of war, and how ethics have been
challenged and changed over time in response to the rapid development of technology and
warfare.
This source in particular introduces students to the narrative type of autobiographical
narratives. It is important to introduce different types of books to students because they engage
individuals in different manners; autobiographical narratives offer retellings of true events,
where students are able to envision the stories in their minds. In Jim Burke’s Reading
Reminders: Tools, Tips, and Techniques, he states that “narrative fiction often provides students
their only encounter with the imagination during the course of the school day; in this one respect,
teaching such texts is vital” (137). It is important to engage students and allow their brains to
function in different ways than other academic classes. Because Chris Kyle’s story is real,
exciting, dramatic, and controversial, students are given a break to imagine the sniper’s stories.
4
Chris Kyle’s life and book are both controversial topics, primarily because of the
language used to describe both his actions and the actions of others during his tours in the
Middle East. While the topics addressed in the book are often morbid or appear inappropriate,
they are important to address upfront so that students are able to critically analyze real life
situations, instead of unconsciously and immediately accepting them as truth. The primary focus
while reading this text is to address ethical and moral dilemmas and have students critically think
about both their own ideas and address the ideas and actions of others. After this focus, it then
becomes natural that the history and setting of the book are integrated with learning, along with
other information and insights.
While I consciously realize that implementing the book American Sniper by Chris Kyle
into the classroom is highly unlikely, the learning outcomes and supplemental information can be
easily transferred to other texts. Although it is difficult to find texts that relate to the “War on
Terror” as of the time that this rationale is being completed, there are other books that stem from
multicultural perspectives that can integrate Middle Eastern history and conflict, such as
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. The change and development of warfare over time can be related
to multiple books, as autobiographical narratives and memoirs are becoming increasingly
commonplace. However, the book American Sniper is unique in the fact that there are few texts
that can unite all of these topics, however controversial the content may be.
The daily measures of progress and student understanding will be through journal entries
and discussions about all readings, whether assigned for homework or in class. The largest
measures and checks for understanding will be through a final group discussion and a multigenre
final project. The group discussion will follow the format of a fishbowl, and students will be
5
discussing prompts that include activities and topics covered in the unit. Students will
demonstrate their knowledge in a verbal manner.
The multigenre project builds off assignments and activities from the class and asks
students to pursue them further. There are four components to this project, as follows: an
autobiographical narrative, a persuasive essay, a creative writing component, and a creative
visual or audible component. This final project therefore addresses writing aspects while include
artistic outlets for students who learn through these manners, creating a holistic project that
engages students with the material.
Louise Rosenblatt is often credited for emphasizing reading for pleasure; the hope of
introducing American Sniper to students is that they will engage in the text because of its appeals
to current and complex events. The United States and the world are feeling the effects of the Iraq
War, seen through aggressive attacks of terrorist organizations such as ISIL, and the explanations
for current events are both complex and simple. By introducing this text as a way to connect,
explore, and explain current world events that are relevant to students’ lives and the world
around them, the hope is to engage students in reading a book that interests them.
American Sniper
6
Projected Calendar
Arisa Leahy, May 2017
DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5

 Journals  History: Pre-  Read Aloud  Journals  Journals
 Ethical 9/11 topics (pgs. 45-50)  Overview:  Discussion:
Dilemmas  History: 9/11 Islam & Evil (pg. 86)
 American Foundations
Sniper Trailer
 Prologue
 HW: Ch 1 (1-  HW: Ch 2 (22-  HW: Ch 3 (58-  HW: Ch 4 (74-  HW: Ch 5 (92-
21) 45) 73) 91) 98, 105-116)

 Group  Group Activity:  Read  Group  Autobiographic-
Activity: The Strategies: Activity: al Narrative
“Mapping it Developments Drawing Notes “Mapping it introductions
Out” of War and  Read Aloud: Out – Part 2”  Language
Ethics pgs. 151, 170, choice
174
 HW: Ch 6  HW: Ch 6 (143-  HW: Ch 7  HW: Ch 7  HW: Ch 8

(117-122, 131- 150) (150-175) (175-200) (210-218, 223-
143) 232), autobio
narratives
draft 1
7
 Autobio.  Iraqi  Character  The American  Writing
revisions representation Sketch Front and Seminar
 Critics on in American introduction Popularity
American Media  Multigenre  “Evil”
Sniper introduction Revisited
 HW: Ch 9 (232-  HW: Ch 10  HW: Ch 10  HW: Ch 12  HW: Ch 13

249) (256-272) (273-279) Ch (307-329), (330-355),
11 (280-294 multigenre multigenre

 Read Aloud  Read Aloud and  Fishbowl/  “On a Positive  Film/
(pgs. 353-355) Discussion: Discussion Note” Documentary
 PTSD and 376-377  Perspective  Projects due
Trauma  Epilogue Discussion
 HW: Ch 14  HW:  HW: multigenre  HW: multigenre

(356-End), Discussion
multigenre prep,
multigenre
Scalar Link: http://scalar.usc.edu/works/american-sniper-unit-project/index
8
Daily Lesson Plans
Week 1
Day 1: Introduction and Moral/ Ethical Dilemmas
9
TIME ACTIVITY MATERIALS CCSS
CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Trolley Problem Scalar: Trolley LITERACY.W.11-
journals Problem website 12.1
CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Discussion of Trolley LITERACY.SL.11-
Problem 12.1
CCSS.ELA-
Class Discussion: Scalar: Casebriefs, LITERACY.SL.11-
20 min. Regina V. Dudley and “Regina V. Dudley 12.1, CCSS.ELA-
Stephens and Stephens” LITERACY.W.11-
12.9.B
5 min. American Sniper Scalar: American CCSS.ELA-

trailer Sniper Official Trailer LITERACY.RL.11-
12.7
CCSS.ELA-
5 min. Read Aloud: Prologue American Sniper text LITERACY.RL.11-
12.2, .4, .5, .6
Homework: Finish prologue, read chapter 1 (pgs. 1-21)
Agenda
 Trolley Dilemma Journal (10 min.)
o Have students take out a piece of paper and writing utensil
o Read aloud the background, problem, and potential answers to the students
o Prompt the students to respond to the question posed. (Scalar: “Read the
following situation and respond on a piece of paper. What decision would you
make, and why? Do you identify with multiple reasons? Do you think there are
any other answers that are not listed?”)
o Allow students to silently respond on their own time; give the remaining time of
the ten minutes for students to silently write
 Remember to give a one minute warning, then prompt students when to
wrap up their final sentences
 Trolley Dilemma Discussion (10 min.)
o Have students partner or group up (2-3 people/ group)
o Have students discuss what they wrote with the group. (5 min.)
 Direct them to focus on why they selected what they did, what similarities
or differences they have with their partners/ group
10
 If discussion dies down before 5 min., bring class back together for next
step
o Ask one or two students to explain to the class what their answer was
o Through the website, select the link matching their explanation and show the
ethical reasoning behind it. Continue to explain for the rest of the 5 min., time
permitting
 Class Discussion: Regina V. Dudley and Stephens (20 min.)
o Read aloud the summary and facts (Scalar: Casebriefs, “Regina v. Dudley and
Stephens”)
 Review both pages
o Prompt students to discuss with the full class:
 Do you agree with the ruling? Why?
 Is it ever right to kill someone? Explain.
o In final 7 minutes OR if discussion dies out:
 Have students respond to the prompt below the Casebriefs link in Scalar
on the same paper used from the first journal (Scalar: “Have you ever
found yourself in a situation where your options were limited, or you did
not agree with any of your options? How did you respond? Take a few
moments to write down your thoughts. If you are unable to think of a time,
consider this court case and how you would respond in the situation (jury
or the men), and why.”)
 Remember to give a one-minute warning, followed by prompting them to
finish their sentences
 American Sniper – Official Trailer (5 min.)
o Introduce the trailer for American Sniper
 Identify that this trailer reflects the opening scene of the book
o Play trailer (Scalar: American Sniper – Official Trailer)
o After the trailer, prompt the discussion again: Is it ever right to kill someone?
 American Sniper – Prologue (5 min./ remaining time)
o With the time remaining, read aloud the prologue of the book American Sniper.
Have students follow along in their books.
Materials:
 Scalar (Introduction)
 Paper
 Writing Utensils
 Textbooks: American Sniper
Day 2: History (Pre-9/11)
11
CCSS.ELA-
5 min. Talk about reading, LITERACY.SL.11-
questions 12.1.A
Scalar: Day 2 CCSS.ELA-

7 min. Group break up, Print copies of LITERACY.SL.11-
Timeline explanation articles, timeline 12.1
outline
CCSS.ELA-
25 min. Group work LITERACY.RL.11-
12.1, .2, .4;
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1.B, .2
CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Group presentation to LITERACY.SL.11-
class, discussion 12.4
3 min. Wrap up, collect

timelines
Homework: Read Chapter 2 (pgs. 22-45)
Agenda:
 Settling in/ Review HW reading (5 min.)
o Ask for any questions
 Timeline Project (7 min. explain, 25 min. group work)
o Break class into three groups
o Read instructions for activity: Timeline Project
 Scalar: “Each group will be assigned an event or person. Working with
your group, create a timeline for your event/ person. At the end of class,
we will talk about our timelines and each group will give a summary of
what they learned. Make sure that your timeline is neat and organized;
timelines will be uploaded after they are finished for the entire class to
reference later.”
o Show example of timeline (Scalar)
o Assign groups subjects and distribute materials (articles and blank timeline
worksheet)
12
 Group 1: Saddam Hussein
 Group 2: Persian Gulf War
 Group 3: Osama Bin Laden
o Allow groups to work. Walk around and assess each team, answer questions.
o Time allotted for work is 25 min.; give ten-minute, five-minute, and one-minute
warnings. If students are finished earlier, proceed to the discussion.
 Group Discussion (10 min.)
o Have each group present an oral summary of their findings and show the timeline
to the class. After each, open up discussion for questions from the rest of class.
 Wrap up, collect timelines/ buffer time (3 min.)
o Collect timelines to scan to Scalar or whichever website is most available to
students
o If extra time remains, open for discussion of material learned, questions about the
book, etc.
Materials:
 Scalar website
 Printed Articles (Saddam Hussein, Encyclopædia Britannica; Persian Gulf War,
History.com; Osama Bin Laden, Encyclopædia Britannica)
 Example of a timeline
 Blank timelines
 Pens, pencils, markers
13
Saddam Hussein
PRESIDENT OF IRAQ
WRITTEN BY:
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica
LAST UPDATED:
12-21-2016 See Article History
Alternative Titles: Ṣaddām Ḥusayn, Saddam Hussein Al-Tikriti
Saddam Hussein
PRESIDENT OF IRAQ
ALSO KNOWN AS
 Saddam Hussein Al-Tikriti

 Ṣaddām Ḥusayn
BORN
April 28, 1937
Al-ʿAwjah, Iraq
DIED
December 30, 2006 (aged 69)
Baghdad, Iraq
TITLE / OFFICE
 President, Iraq (1979-2003)
POLITICAL AFFILIATION
 Baʿth Party
Saddam Hussein, also spelled Ṣaddām Ḥusayn, in full Saddam Hussein al-

Tikriti (born April 28, 1937, Al-ʿAwjah, Iraq—died December 30, 2006,
Baghdad), president of Iraq (1979–2003) whose brutal rule was marked by
costly and unsuccessful wars against neighbouring countries.
Early Life
14
Saddam, the son of peasants, was born in a village near the city of Tikrīt in
northern Iraq. The area was one of the poorest in the country, and Saddam
himself grew up in poverty. His father died before he was born, and he went at
an early age to live with an uncle in Baghdad.
He joined the Baʿth Party in 1957. In 1959 he participated in an unsuccessful
attempt by Baʿthists to assassinate the Iraqi prime minister, ʿAbd al-Karīm
Qāsim; Saddam was wounded in the attempt and escaped first to Syria and
then to Egypt. He attended Cairo Law School (1962–63) and continued his
studies at Baghdad Law College after the Baʿthists took power in Iraq in 1963.
The Baʿthists were overthrown that same year, however, and Saddam spent
several years in prison in Iraq. He escaped, becoming a leader of the Baʿth
Party, and was instrumental in the coup that brought the party back to power
in 1968. Saddam effectively held power in Iraq along with the head of state,
Pres. Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr, and in 1972 he directed the nationalization of
Iraq’s oil industry.
Presidency
https://www.britannica.com/place/Iraq/Iraq-under-Saddam-Hussein - ref793758Saddam
began to assert open control of the government in 1979 and became
president upon Bakr’s resignation. He then became chairman of the
Revolutionary Command Council and prime minister, among other positions.
He used an extensive secret-police establishment to suppress any internal
opposition to his rule, and he made himself the object of an extensive
personality cult among the Iraqi public. His goals as president were to
supplant Egypt as leader of the Arab world and to achieve hegemony over
the Persian Gulf.
Saddam launched an invasion of Iran’s oil fields in September 1980, but the

campaign bogged down in a war of attrition. The cost of the war and the
interruption of Iraq’s oil exports caused Saddam to scale down his ambitious
programs for economic development. The Iran-Iraq War dragged on in a
stalemate until 1988, when both countries accepted a cease-fire that ended
the fighting. Despite the large foreign debt with which Iraq found itself saddled
by war’s end, Saddam continued to build up his armed forces.

Saddam Hussein, 1983.
J. Pavlovsky/Sygma
BRITANNICA STORIES
15
In August 1990 the Iraqi army overran neighbouring Kuwait. Saddam
apparently intended to use that nation’s vast oil revenues to bolster Iraq’s
economy, but his occupation of Kuwait quickly triggered a worldwide trade
embargo against Iraq. He ignored appeals to withdraw his forces from Kuwait,
despite the buildup of a large U.S.-led military force in Saudi Arabia and the
passage of United Nations (UN) resolutions condemning the occupation and
authorizing the use of force to end it. The Persian Gulf War began on January
16, 1991, and ended six weeks later when the allied military coalition drove
Iraq’s armies out of Kuwait. Iraq’s crushing defeat triggered internal rebellions
by both Shīʿites and Kurds, but Saddam suppressed their uprisings, causing
thousands to flee to refugee camps along the country’s northern border.
Untold thousands more were murdered, many simply disappearing into the
regime’s prisons.
As part of the cease-fire agreement with the UN, Iraq was prohibited from
producing or possessing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.
Numerous sanctions were leveled on the country pending compliance, and
those caused severe disruption of the economy. Saddam’s continued refusal
to cooperate with UN arms inspectors led to a four-day air strike by the United
States and Great Britain in late 1998 (Operation Desert Fox). Both countries
announced that they would support efforts of the Iraqi opposition to unseat
Saddam, whose regime had grown increasingly brutal under UN sanctions,
but the Iraqi leader barred UN weapons inspectors from entering his country.
In the interim it became clear that Saddam was grooming one of his sons—
Uday or Qusay—to succeed him. Both were elevated to senior positions, and
both mirrored the brutality of their father. Moreover, Saddam continued to
solidify his control at home, while he struck a profoundly defiant and anti-
American stance in his rhetoric. Though increasingly feared at home, Saddam
was viewed by many in the Arab world as the only regional leader willing
to stand up to what they saw as American aggression.
In the wake of the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, the U.S.
government, asserting that Saddam might provide terrorist groups with
chemical or biological weapons, sought to renew the disarmament process.
Though Saddam allowed UN weapons inspectors to return to Iraq in
November 2002, his failure to cooperate fully with the investigations frustrated
the United States and Great Britain and led them to declare an end to
diplomacy. On March 17, 2003, U.S. Pres. George W. Bush ordered Saddam
to step down from office and leave Iraq within 48 hours or face war; he also
indicated that, even if Saddam left the country, U.S. forces might be needed to
stabilize the new government and search for weapons of mass destruction.
16
When Saddam refused to leave, U.S. and allied forces launched an attack on
Iraq on March 20.
The opening salvo of the Iraq War was an assault by U.S. aircraft on a bunker

complex in which Saddam was thought to be meeting with subordinates.
Although the attack failed to kill the Iraqi leader, subsequent attacks directed
against Saddam made it clear that eliminating him was a major goal of the
invasion. Always obstinate in his tone, Saddam exhorted Iraqis to lay down
their lives to stop U.S. and British forces, but resistance to the invasion soon
crumbled, and on April 9, the day Baghdad fell to U.S. soldiers, Saddam fled
into hiding. He took with him the bulk of the national treasury and was initially
able to evade capture by U.S. troops. His sons, Uday and Qusay, were
cornered and killed in Mosul on July 22, but it was not until December 13 that
Saddam was finally captured. The once dapper leader was pulled, disheveled
and dirty, from a small underground hiding place near a farmhouse in the
vicinity of Tikrīt. Although he was armed, Saddam surrendered to U.S.
soldiers without firing a shot.

Saddam Hussein following his capture by U.S. forces in Tikrīt, Iraq, December 14, 2003.
U.S. Department of Defense
Trial And Execution
CONNECT WITH BRITANNICA
In October 2005 Saddam went on trial before the Iraqi High Tribunal, a panel
court established to try officials of the former Iraqi government. He and
several codefendants were charged with the killing of 148 townspeople in Al-
Dujayl, a mainly Shīʿite town, in 1982. Throughout the nine-month trial,
Saddam interrupted the proceedings with angry outbursts, claiming that the
tribunal was a sham and that U.S. interests were behind it. The tribunal finally
adjourned in July 2006 and handed down its verdicts in November. Saddam
was convicted of crimes against humanity—including willful killing, illegal
imprisonment, deportation, and torture—and was sentenced to death
by hanging. Saddam’s half brother (an intelligence officer) and Iraq’s former
chief judge were also sentenced to death. Days after an Iraqi court upheld his
sentence in December 2006, Saddam was executed.
“Saddam Hussein.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 21 Dec. 2016,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saddam-Hussein. Accessed 5 May 2017.
Osama bin Laden

SAUDI ARABIAN MILITANT
17
WRITTEN BY:
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica
See Article History
Alternative Titles: Osama bin Mohammad bin Laden, Usama bin Laden, Usāmah bin Lādin
Osama bin Laden
SAUDI ARABIAN MILITANT
ALSO KNOWN AS
 Osama bin Mohammad bin Laden

 Usāmah bin Lādin
 Usama bin Laden
BORN
1957
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
DIED
May 2, 2011 (aged 54)
Abbottabad, Pakistan
Osama bin Laden, also spelled Usāmah ibn Lādin (born 1957, Riyadh,

Saudi Arabia—died May 2, 2011, Abbottabad, Pakistan), founder of the
militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda and mastermind of
numerous terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western
powers, including the 2000 suicide bombing of the U.S. warship Cole in the
Yemeni port of Aden and the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade
Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.
Bin Laden was one of more than 50 children of Muhammad bin Laden, a self-
made billionaire who, after emigrating to Saudi Arabia from Yemen as a
labourer, rose to direct major construction projects for the Saudi royal family.
By the time of Muhammad’s death in an airplane accident in 1967, his
company had become one of the largest construction firms in the Middle East,
and the bin Laden family had developed a close relationship with the Saudi
royal family.
Osama bin Laden studied business administration at King Abdul Aziz

University in Jiddah, where it is likely that he also received instruction in
18
religious studies from Muḥammad Quṭb, brother of the Islamic
revivalist Sayyid Quṭb, and Abdullah Azzam, a militant leader. Shortly after
the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, bin Laden, who viewed the
invasion as an act of aggression against Islam, began traveling to meet
Afghan resistance leaders and raise funds for the resistance. By 1984 his
activities were centred mainly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where
he collaborated with Azzam to recruit and organize Arab volunteers to fight
the Soviet occupation. Bin Laden’s financial resources, along with his
reputation for piety and for bravery in combat, enhanced his stature as a
militant leader. A computer database he created in 1988 listing the names of
volunteers for the Afghan War led to the formation that year of a new militant
network named al-Qaeda (Arabic: “the Base”), although the group remained
without clear objectives or an operational agenda for several years.
In 1989, following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, bin Laden returned
to Saudi Arabia, where he was initially welcomed as a hero, but he soon came
to be regarded by the government as a radical and a potential threat. In 1990
the government denied his requests for permission to use his network of
fighters to defend Saudi Arabia against the threat of invasion posed
by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Bin Laden was outraged when Saudi Arabia relied
instead on U.S. troops for protection during the Persian Gulf War, leading to a
growing rift between bin Laden and the country’s leaders, and in 1991 he left
Saudi Arabia, settling in Sudan at the end of the year.
In the early 1990s bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network began to formulate an
agenda of violent struggle against the threat of U.S. dominance in the Muslim
world. Bin Laden publicly praised other groups’ attacks on Americans,
including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York. In 1994,
as bin Laden expanded his group’s infrastructure in Sudan and trained Islamic
militants to participate in conflicts around the world, Saudi Arabia revoked his
citizenship and froze his assets, forcing him to rely on outside sources for
funding.
In 1996, under heavy international pressure, Sudan expelled bin Laden, and
he returned to Afghanistan, where he received protection from its
ruling Taliban militia. Later that year bin Laden issued the first of two fatwās
(Arabic: “religious opinions”) declaring a holy war against the United States,
which he accused, among other things, of looting the natural resources of the
Muslim world, occupying the Arabian Peninsula, including the holy sites of
Islam, and supporting governments servile to U.S. interests in the Middle
East. Bin Laden’s apparent goal was to draw the United States into a large-
19
scale war in the Muslim world that would overthrow moderate Muslim
governments and reestablish the Caliphate (i.e., a single Islamic
state).https://www.britannica.com/quiz/history-buff-quiz
To this end, al-Qaeda trained militants and funded terrorist attacks. In 1998
bin Laden ordered an operation larger than any of al-Qaeda’s previous
operations—simultaneous bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya,
and Dar es Salaam, Tanz., which altogether killed 224 people. The United
States retaliated by launching cruise missiles at sites believed to be bin
Laden’s bases in Afghanistan. Another al-Qaeda bombing in 2000 targeted
the USS Cole, an American warship harboured in Yemen, and killed 17
sailors.
At the end of the 20th century, bin Laden was thought to have had thousands
of militant followers worldwide, in places as diverse as Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
Libya, Bosnia, Chechnya, and the Philippines. In 2001, after 19 militants
associated with al-Qaeda staged the September 11 attacks, the United States
led a coalition that overthrew the Taliban in Afghanistan. In December 2001
bin Laden went into hiding after evading capture by U.S. forces in the Tora
Bora cave complex. In the following years U.S. forces searched for him along
the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, during which time bin Laden remained
absent from the public eye. Then in October 2004—less than a week before
that year’s U.S. presidential election—bin Laden emerged in a videotaped
message in which he claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks.
After that he periodically released audio messages, including in 2008, when
he threatened retaliation for the deaths of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and
in 2009, when he challenged the nerve of the new U.S. president, Barack
Obama, to continue the fight against al-Qaeda.

Osama bin Laden propaganda poster, photographed during a U.S. Navy Seal operation in Zhawar
Kili, …
U.S. Department of Defense
Meanwhile, U.S. forces had continued to hunt for bin Laden, who was still
thought possibly to be hiding either in Afghanistan or in the tribal regions of
Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan. U.S. intelligence eventually located
him in Pakistan, living in a secure compound in Abbottabad, a medium-sized
city near Islamabad. On May 2, 2011, bin Laden was killed when a small U.S.
force transported by helicopters raided the compound. His body, identified
visually at the site of the raid, was taken out of Pakistan by U.S. forces for
examination and DNA identification and soon after was given a sea burial.
20
Hours after its confirmation, bin Laden’s death was announced by Obama in a
televised address. Several days after Obama’s announcement, al-Qaeda
released a statement publicly acknowledging bin Laden’s death and vowing
revenge.
“Osama bin Laden.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 Jun. 2011,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Osama-bin-Laden. Accessed 5 May 2017.
PERSIAN GULF WAR

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of
neighboring Kuwait in early August 1990. Alarmed by these actions, fellow
Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and
other Western nations to intervene. Hussein defied United Nations Security
Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991, and the
21
Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as
Operation Desert Storm. After 42 days of relentless attacks by the allied
coalition in the air and on the ground, U.S. President George H.W. Bush
declared a cease-fire on February 28; by that time, most Iraqi forces in Kuwait
had either surrendered or fled. Though the Persian Gulf War was initially
considered an unqualified success for the international coalition, simmering
conflict in the troubled region led to a second Gulf War–known as the Iraq
War–that began in 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE PERSIAN GULF WAR

Though the long-running war between Iran and Iraq had ended in a United
Nations-brokered ceasefire in August 1988, by mid-1990 the two states had
yet to begin negotiating a permanent peace treaty. When their foreign
ministers met in Geneva that July, prospects for peace suddenly seemed
bright, as it appeared that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was prepared to
dissolve that conflict and return territory that his forces had long occupied.
Two weeks later, however, Hussein delivered a speech in which he accused
neighboring nation Kuwait of siphoning crude oil from the Ar-Rumaylah oil
fields located along their common border. He insisted that Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia and cancel out $30 billion of Iraq’s foreign debt, and accused them of
conspiring to keep oil prices low in an effort to pander to Western oil-buying
nations.
Did You Know?
In justifying his invasion of Kuwait in

August 1990, Saddam Hussein claimed it
was an artificial state carved out of the
Iraqi coast by Western colonialists; in
fact, Kuwait had been internationally
recognized as a separate entity before
Iraq itself was created by Britain under a
22
League of Nations mandate after World
War I.
In addition to Hussein’s incendiary speech, Iraq had begun amassing troops

on Kuwait’s border. Alarmed by these actions, President Hosni Mubarak of
Egypt initiated negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait in an effort to avoid
intervention by the United States or other powers from outside the Gulf region.
Hussein broke off the negotiations after only two hours, and on August 2,
1990 ordered the invasion of Kuwait. Hussein’s assumption that his fellow
Arab states would stand by in the face of his invasion of Kuwait, and not call in
outside help to stop it, proved to be a miscalculation. Two-thirds of the 21
members of the Arab League condemned Iraq’s act of aggression, and Saudi
Arabia’s King Fahd, along with Kuwait’s government-in-exile, turned to the
United States and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) for support.
IRAQI INVASION OF KUWAIT & ALLIED

RESPONSE
U.S. President George H.W. Bush immediately condemned the invasion, as
did the governments of Britain and the Soviet Union. On August 3, the United
Nations Security Council called for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait; three days
later, King Fahd met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney to
request U.S. military assistance. On August 8, the day on which the Iraqi
government formally annexed Kuwait–Hussein called it Iraq’s “19th province”–
the first U.S. Air Force fighter planes began arriving in Saudi Arabia as part of
a military buildup dubbed Operation Desert Shield. The planes were
accompanied by troops sent by NATO allies as well as Egypt and several
other Arab nations, designed to guard against a possible Iraqi attack on Saudi
Arabia.
23
In Kuwait, Iraq increased its occupation forces to some 300,000 troops. In an
effort to garner support from the Muslim world, Hussein declared a jihad, or
holy war, against the coalition; he also attempted to ally himself with the
Palestinian cause by offering to evacuate Kuwait in return for an Israeli
withdrawal from the occupied territories. When these efforts failed, Hussein
concluded a hasty peace with Iran so as to bring his army up to full strength.
THE GULF WAR BEGINS

On November 29, 1990, the U.N. Security Council authorized the use of “all
necessary means” of force against Iraq if it did not withdraw from Kuwait by
the following January 15. By January, the coalition forces prepared to face off
against Iraq numbered some 750,000, including 540,000 U.S. personnel and
smaller forces from Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan, Egypt
and Saudi Arabia, among other nations. Iraq, for its part, had the support of
Jordan (another vulnerable neighbor), Algeria, the Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia
and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
Early on the morning of January 17, 1991, a massive U.S.-led air offensive hit
Iraq’s air defenses, moving swiftly on to its communications networks,
weapons plants, oil refineries and more. The coalition effort, known as
Operation Desert Storm, benefited from the latest military technology,
including Stealth bombers, Cruise missiles, so-called “Smart” bombs with
laser-guidance systems and infrared night-bombing equipment. The Iraqi air
force was either destroyed early on or opted out of combat under the
relentless attack, the objective of which was to win the war in the air and
minimize combat on the ground as much as possible.
WAR ON THE GROUND

By mid-February, the coalition forces had shifted the focus of their air attacks
toward Iraqi ground forces in Kuwait and southern Iraq. A massive allied
24
ground offensive, Operation Desert Sabre, was launched on February 24, with
troops heading from northeastern Saudi Arabia into Kuwait and southern Iraq.
Over the next four days, coalition forces encircled and defeated the Iraqis and
liberated Kuwait. At the same time, U.S. forces stormed into Iraq some 120
miles west of Kuwait, attacking Iraq’s armored reserves from the rear. The
elite Iraqi Republican Guard mounted a defense south of Al-Basrah in
southeastern Iraq, but most were defeated by February 27.
With Iraqi resistance nearing collapse, Bush declared a ceasefire on February

28, ending the Persian Gulf War. According to the peace terms that Hussein
subsequently accepted, Iraq would recognize Kuwait’s sovereignty and get rid
of all its weapons of mass destruction (including nuclear, biological and
chemical weapons). In all, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Iraqi forces were
killed, in comparison with only 300 coalition troops.
AFTERMATH OF THE PERSIAN GULF WAR

Though the Gulf War was recognized as a decisive victory for the coalition,
Kuwait and Iraq suffered enormous damage, and Saddam Hussein was not
forced from power. Intended by coalition leaders to be a “limited” war fought at
minimum cost, it would have lingering effects for years to come, both in the
Persian Gulf region and around the world. In the immediate aftermath of the
war, Hussein’s forces brutally suppressed uprisings by Kurds in the north of
Iraq and Shi’ites in the south. The United States-led coalition failed to support
the uprisings, afraid that the Iraqi state would be dissolved if they
succeeded.In the years that followed, U.S. and British aircraft continued to
patrol skies and mandate a no-fly zone over Iraq, while Iraqi authorities made
every effort to frustrate the carrying out of the peace terms, especially United
Nations weapons inspections. This resulted in a brief resumption of hostilities
in 1998, after which Iraq steadfastly refused to admit weapons inspectors. In
addition, Iraqi force regularly exchanged fire with U.S. and British aircraft over
the no-fly zone.
25
In 2002, the United States (now led by President George W. Bush, son of the
former president) sponsored a new U.N. resolution calling for the return of
weapons inspectors to Iraq; U.N. inspectors reentered Iraq that November.
Amid differences between Security Council member states over how well Iraq
had complied with those inspections, the United States and Britain began
amassing forces on Iraq’s border. Bush (without further U.N. approval) issued
an ultimatum on March 17, 2003, demanding that Saddam Hussein step down
from power and leave Iraq within 48 hours, under threat of war. Hussein
refused, and the second Persian Gulf War–more generally known as the Iraq
War–began three days later.
“Persian Gulf War.” History.com, A+E Networks, 2009, http://www.history.com/topics/persian-

gulf-war. Accessed 5 May 2017.
26
Article Title: _________________________________________________ Class: ________ Date: ___________________
Timeline Assignment
Day 3: 9/11

CCSS.ELA-
5 min. Talk about reading, LITERACY.SL.11-
questions 12.1.A
CCSS.ELA-
5 min. Class Discussion: LITERACY.SL.11-
9/11 Knowledge 12.1
CCSS.ELA-
5 min. Read Aloud: pgs. 45- Textbook American LITERACY.RL.11-
47 Sniper 12.2, .4, .5, .6
Documentary: “9/11: CCSS.ELA-

35 min. Day that Changed the Scalar: Day 3 LITERACY.SL.11-
World” 12.2
Homework: Read Chapter 3 (58-73)
Agenda:
 Warm up, Questions (5 min.)
o Verbally review chapters assigned for homework from previous day (Chapter 2)
o Ask for any student questions
 Pre-activity: 9/11 Discussion (5 min.)
o Ask for student knowledge of the events of 9/11; what they know so far
o Scalar: “What do you know about 9/11? Any facts or general concepts about the
event.”
o If conversation slows, go to the read aloud
 Read Aloud: pgs. 45-47
o Read section aloud as students follow along in the book
o Remind students that some dialogue has been altered; these events may not have
exactly happened this way, but were pretty close (see Author’s Note)
 Documentary: “9/11: Day that Changed the World”
o Trigger warning: shows footage of people jumping out of the buildings, scenes
lasting approx. 3 minutes. Remind students that they are welcome to step outside
the classroom if they find anything disturbing.
o Watch:
 0:00-19:15
 38:16-48:38 (footage of first tower collapse)
 51:32-54:29 (footage of second tower collapse)
o Watch documentary until the end of class (may not finish all segments)
Materials:
 Textbooks (American Sniper)
 Scalar/ Documentary
Day 4: What is Islam?

CCSS.ELA-
Introduction, White board or LITERACY.SL.11-
10 min. brainstorming projector 12.1
CCSS.ELA-
Scalar/ Youtube, LITERACY.SL.11-
3 min. Video: “Introduction handout (“What is 12.2
to Islam” Islam?), writing
utensils
CCSS.ELA-
4 min. Debrief, catch up, LITERACY.SL.11-
questions 12.1.C
CCSS.ELA-
15 min. Video: Crash Course Scalar/ Youtube, LITERACY.SL.11-
handout continued 12.2
5 min. Debrief, catch up
13 min. Discussion
Homework: Read Chapter 4 (pgs. 74-91)
Agenda:
 Introduction and Brainstorming (10 min.)
o Review with students the guidelins for discussion (kindness, don’t let things).
Remember to address the sensitivity of the topic, and encourage students to keep
an open mind; not here to enforce ideas, but to introduce them and give food for
thought
o Ask students for what they know about Islam from previous knowledge
 Keep it to facts and history, not about feelings (eg: It’s bad, evil, etc.)
o Write ideas down on whiteboard/ projector/ somewhere where students can
visibly see ideas throughout the class
o Introduce the videos, distribute handouts
 Video: “Introduction to Islam” (3 min.)
o Warn students that the information passes very quickly; will review information
as a class when the video is over and address any missed questions
 Debrief (4 min.)
o Ask if students missed any of the questions. If a student misses a question, ask the
class what they wrote down. If no one writes down anything/ the entire class
missed the question, ask leading questions or provide information (see “What is
Islam Answers”)
o If time remains, ask if students have questions about the information so far
 Video: Crash Course (15 min.)
o Pause video at 4:36 to check for understanding
 Students may have missed the five pillars; review with students, write
spellings on the board for students who need help
 Catch up on questions students may have missed
o Pause video at 8:36 to check for understanding
 Assist students with spelling; write down on whiteboard or wherever is
visible for students
 Debrief (5 min)
o Address any questions students have concerning questions from the video. If a
student asks for a blank, ask the class for what they wrote
 Discussion (13 min)
o Have students group up (2-3 people). Discuss what they learned, what was new
information, what stood out to them. Approx. 5 minutes or until conversation ends
o Have class discussion about information learned, along with other questions
o If conversation dies down, prompt the following questions:
 In “Introduction to Islam” on OWN, Varun Soni states that there are many
different sections under the Shiia and Sunni types. List similar groups that
you already think of (Democrats and Republicans)
 “There is nothing holy about war.” Explain what Varun Soni might mean
by this.
Materials:
 Scalar
 YouTube
 Handouts (What is Islam?)
 Whiteboard, markers
 Writing utensils
Name: ____________________________________ Class: ________ Date: ______________
What is Islam?
“Introduction to Islam” – OWN
1. What are the two primary groups under Islam?
2. What does Islam mean?
3. What is the Quran?
4. What does Jihad actually represent?
“Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars All Without a Flamewar” – Crash Course
1. Who is Muhammad?
2. What is the difference between the Quran and the Bible?
3. What are the two themes of the Quran?
4. What are Hadiths?

5. What is Ummah?
6. Why are politics and religion fused together in Islam?
7. What is the difference between the Sunni and Shia groups?
8. Why did many people convert to Islam?
Other Notes:
Day 5: Discussion – “Evil”

CCSS.ELA-
Journal: “What is Paper, writing utensil, LITERACY.W.11-
7 min. your definition of Scalar 12.1. CCSS.ELA-
evil?” LITERACY.W.11-
12.10
CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Reading: “Evil” (86- Textbook American LITERACY.RL.11-
87) Sniper 12.4, .5, .6
CCSS.ELA-
18 min. Discussion LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1, .3
CCSS.ELA-
15 min. Writing a Letter Paper, writing utensil LITERACY.W.11-
12.5
Homework: Read Chapter 5 (92-98, 105-116) (gear section optional)
Agenda:
 Journal (7 min.)
o Have the class silently write their ideas down
 Scalar: “What is your definition of evil? What makes someone evil? Give
some examples and explain. Take a few moments to write down your
thoughts and ideas.”
o Give a one-minute warning, followed by encouragement to finish sentences
o After 5 min., open discussion for class to share their ideas.
 Reading: “Evil” (86-87) (10 min.)
o Have students silently read by themselves for five minutes
 Scalar: “Read the section titled ‘Evil’ (pages 86-87) on your own. What is
the narrator trying to say about religion, specifically as they juxtapose
Christianity against Islam? Jot down any ideas that come to your mind”
o After five minutes, reread passage with the students as a class
 Ask for volunteers to read
 Class Discussion (18 min.)
o Remember to address the fact that this section is not easy to discuss; remember
classroom rules and etiquette, treat others with respect
o Open class up to reactions at this section
 Scalar: “In the previous lesson, we learned about the fundamentals of
Islam. In this passage, do you think that the narrator is making a lot of
assumptions? What do you think about his claims when he compares
Christianity to Islam?”
 Writing a Letter (15 min.)
o With the remaining class time, have students write a letter to the narrator
 Scalar: “Let's imagine that the narrator is a civilian acquaintance, and they
have just told you all this information and their opinions. Taking the ideas
and thoughts we have discussed, write a letter to the narrator addressing
his language and opinions toward the insurgents in this section
specifically. What do you think might be a better attitude to use? How can
we differentiate messages and interpretation?”
o Encourage students to practice kindness and appropriate words
o Disclaimer about soldier compartmentalization and civilian understanding about
battle
 Scalar: “Disclaimer: This is not to say that we completely understand the
compartmentalization that soldiers experience in the field; many of us as
civilians will never comprehend what soldiers experience physically and
mentally. In this prompt, let us imagine for a moment that the narrator is a
civilian like you and I.”
Materials:
 Scalar
 Paper
 Textbook American Sniper
Daily Lesson Plans
Week 2
Day 6: Mapping it Out

CCSS.ELA-
5 min. Review reading, LITERACY.SL.11-
questions 12.1.A
5 min. Group break out, Scalar, article

instructions handouts
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.RL.11-
Group Assignment: Large paper, writing 12.1, .2, .4;
25 min. Mapping it Out utensils, textbooks, CCSS.ELA-
cellphones LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1.B, .2
CCSS.ELA-
15 min. Group presentations LITERACY.SL.11-
12.4
Homework: Read Chapter 6 (117-122, 131-143)
Agenda:
 Review reading, questions (5 min.)
o Allow for class to get settled
o Open class up to questions about the reading, verbally check for understanding
o If finished early, move on to next activity
 Group break out, instructions (5 min.)
o Divide class into eight groups. Assign each group an article/ subject.
o Scalar: Break up into 8 groups. Each group will be assigned a place or battle.
Create a poster for your place/ battle and include the following information:
location on a map; create a symbol to represent your item; briefly identify
importance (include dates); connect with the book (include a quote); add at least
one other relevant or fun fact. Make sure that your posters are colorful and well
organized! You will be presenting your poster to the class and giving a brief oral
summary.
o Distribute articles and materials. Remind students that they are allowed to use
their phones to look up additional information or to view the articles on their own
phones.
 Group Assignment: Mapping it Out (25 min.)
o Allow students to work together. Monitor groups to make sure they stay on task,
answer questions, check for understanding.
o Give ten-minute, five-minute, and wrap-up warnings
 Group presentations (15 min.)
o Have each group give a brief summary and display their poster for the class. Open
up opportunities for questions after each group.
Materials:
Scalar (directions, links)
Large paper for posters
Writing Utensils (markers, pens, etc.)
Textbook American Sniper
Cellphones
Handout (Map of the Middle East)
Day 7: Evolution of Warfare

Scalar, Handout: The
5 min. Distribute handout, Evolution of War,
reading directions writing utensils
3 min. Prereading Activity
Introduction and CCSS.ELA-

10 min. Questions LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1, .2, .3, .6
CCSS.ELA-
17 min. Group work LITERACY.RL.11-
12.1, .2, .4;
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1.B, .2
CCSS.ELA-
15 min. Groups present, LITERACY.SL.11-
discussion, reflection 12.4
Agenda:
 Handout and Directions (5 min.)
o Distribute handout to students
o Read directions from Scalar
 Scalar: “Follow along with the handout "The Evolution of War." Answer
the pre-reading activities first. We will read the opening section together
as a class and answer questions. After we have completed the first section,
break up into three groups to tackle the next three sections. You will have
time to read your respective sections as a group and answer the questions
on the handout. Please have your phones ready to look up the answer for
one of your questions. When everyone is done, we will discuss and share
our findings as a class.
 Pre-reading Activity (3 min.)
o Read questions aloud to students. Give them time to answer them by themselves
 Introduction and Questions (10 min.)
o Read the introduction aloud with the class following along.
o Have students fill the portion on the handout “Introductory Segment.”
 Group work (17 min.)
o Divide the class into three sections (if class size is too large, divide into six
sections and give two groups the same topic)
 Group 1: “From the French Revolution to the World Wars”
 Group 2: “From the Cold War to today”
 Group 3: “Present and future threats”
o Have each group read with each other and answer the questions. Be sure to
monitor the groups and answer questions as needed.
 Groups Present, Discussion, Reflection (15 min.)
o Bring class back together. Have each group present a brief oral summary of what
they read, and dictate the answers from their section on the handout to the class.
When each group is done, ask the class if they have any questions for the group.
Repeat until all groups have presented.
o Have students finish the reflection portion at the end of the handout
o Open up class for questions
Materials:
 Scalar
 Handouts: “The Evolution of War”
 Article: “Tactics, Techniques, Tragedies: A Humanitarian Perspective on the Changing
Face of War”
Name: ________________________________ Class: _________ Date: _____________
The Evolution of War
Pre-reading Activity
1) By looking at the title, what do you think this article will be about?
2) What questions do you hope to have answered? What would you like to learn about this
subject?
Introductory Segment
1) Make a personal definition of armed conflict, based on the article’s definition:
2) What sort of rules do you think makes up a “warrior’s code of honour,” according to the
narrator?
3) Now that you have read the introduction, what do you hope to learn from the next
sections?
“From the French Revolution to the World Wars: The age of mass war”
1) What were the “technical ‘progresses’” of the nineteenth century? Identify how weapons
changed from medieval periods to the World Wars.
2) What is the relation of civilians to war during these times? Consider the moral codes of
war relating to soldiers and fighting, especially in the World Wars.
3) Look up and give a brief summary of trench warfare. How is it used? Is it effective?
Provide one example of a war/ battle where it was used.
“From the Cold War to today: The age of the ‘war amongst the people’”
1) What replaced the dominant model of “industrial war?” How?
2) What are some of the characteristics of these “new wars?”

3) Look up and define Guerilla Tactics/ Warfare. What are some of the characteristics?
Where/ how is it used? Identify at least one war/ event where it was used.
“Present and future threats”

1) What is a “forever war?” What factors does the author contribute to this idea?
2) What are the positives and negatives of weapon advancements?
3) Look up and define Urban Warfare. What are its characteristics? Where/ how is it used?
Provide one war/ conflict where it was used.
Reflection
1) Did you have your questions answered? Write down something that stood out to you
from this reading, or draw an image of something you learned.
Day 8: “Runaway” and “Don’t Tell”

CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Discuss readings, LITERACY.SL.11-
explain assignment 12.1.A
Textbook American
10 min. Read Aloud #1: Sniper, writing/
Runaway #1 drawing utensils,
paper
Textbook American
“Don’t Tell” drawing utensils,
paper
Textbook American
Runaway #2 drawing utensils,
paper
CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Pair and Share, LITERACY.SL.11-
Discuss 12.1.4
Agenda:
 Discuss reading homework, explain assignment (10 min.)
o Ask for questions about previous reading
 “Questions, comments, concerns, emotional outbursts”
o Directions for in class project
 Scalar: “We are going to read three sections; have your book open and
follow along. On a piece of paper, draw an image that relates to the
passage we read; it can be a scene, a character, or multiple images like a
comic strip. Feel free to write down words that stand out to you. Your
image should relate to the passage read, and you should have at least one
image for each section. Be prepared to share at least one image with a
friend.”
 Distribute drawing paper, provide markers and drawing materials
 Students should focus on drawing and listening; it is find to not have the
textbook with them unless they want to have it
 Read Aloud (10 min. x 3 = total 30 min.)
o Read aloud to students. When finished with the passage, allow 2-3 minutes for
them to finish up the image before moving on to the next passage. Ask students
when they are ready and alert them when beginning a new passage.
o Runaway #1 (pg. 151)
o “Don’t Tell” (pg. 170)
o Runaway #2 (pg. 174)
 Pair and Share, Discuss (10 min.)
o For the first 5 minutes, have students group together and share their pieces. Have
them explain what everything represents and why they included it on their sheet
o For the last five minutes, ask if students would like to share with the class
o Remind students that note taking is not just limited to words; visuals can help
with memorization
Materials:
 Scalar
 Blank paper (for drawing)
 Art supplies (markers, etc.)
Day 9: Mapping it Out (part 2)

CCSS.ELA-
5 min. Review reading, LITERACY.SL.11-
questions 12.1.A
5 min. Group break out, Scalar, article

instructions handouts
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.RL.11-
Group Assignment: Large paper, writing 12.1, .2, .4;
25 min. Mapping it Out utensils, textbooks, CCSS.ELA-
cellphones LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1.B, .2
CCSS.ELA-
15 min. Group presentations LITERACY.SL.11-
12.4
Agenda:
 Review reading, questions (5 min.)
o Allow for class to get settled
o Open class up to questions about the reading, verbally check for understanding
o If finished early, move on to next activity
 Group break out, instructions (5 min.)
o Divide class into six groups. Assign each group an article/ subject.
o Scalar: Break up into 6 groups. Each group will be assigned a place or battle.
Create a poster for your place/ battle and include the following information:
location on a map; create a symbol to represent your item; briefly identify
importance (include dates); connect with the book (include a quote); add at least
one other relevant or fun fact. Make sure that your posters are colorful and well
organized! You will be presenting your poster to the class and giving a brief oral
summary.
o Distribute articles and materials. Remind students that they are allowed to use
their phones to look up additional information or to view the articles on their own
phones.
 Group Assignment: Mapping it Out (25 min.)
o Allow students to work together. Monitor groups to make sure they stay on task,
answer questions, check for understanding.
o Students may not be as familiar with the chapters, considering they have not read
them yet. Encourage them to look at the material briefly and get a good summary.
Inform them that this activity will help when they go to read the chapters in the
future.
o Give ten-minute, five-minute, and wrap-up warnings
 Group presentations (15 min.)
o Have each group give a brief summary and display their poster for the class. Open
up opportunities for questions after each group.
Materials:
Scalar (directions, links)
Large paper for posters
Writing Utensils (markers, pens, etc.)
Textbook American Sniper
Cellphones
Handout (Map of the Middle East) (see Day 6 for example)
Day 10: Autobiographical Narrative

CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Opening Journals Scalar, paper, writing LITERACY.W.11-
utensil 12.3, .4, .10
10 min. Discussion and

debrief
Scalar/ Website, CCSS.ELA-
20 min. Website, Discussion paper, writing utensil, LITERACY.SL.11-
white board 12.5
5 min. Video: “The Purpose Scalar/ YouTube

of Language”
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-
5 min. Personal brainstorm Paper, writing utensils 12.3, CCSS.ELA-
and beginning HW LITERACY.W.11-
12.4
Homework: Read Chapter 8 (210-218, 223-232), bring 1st draft of autobiographical narrative to
next class
Agenda:
 Opening journals (10 min.)
o Have students journal for 10 minutes about topic
 Scalar: “Journal Prompt: Write about a time in your life when you were
faced with a conflict. Where were you? Who was with you? Do you
remember anything that was said? Alternatively, write about a moment in
time where you were happy, or write about any specific event in time.
This could be a birthday, a class period, a Saturday morning, a vacation,
etc.”
o Make sure to model and write along with students
 Discussion and debrief (10 min.)
o Have students share with one another, if comfortable (5 min.)
o Open class to share. Identify what makes each story interesting/ unique/
memorable (5 min.)
 Website and Discussion (25 min.)
o Ask students what an autobiographical narrative is. Brainstorm ideas on white
board
o View website http://penandthepad.com/difference-between-autobiography-
narrative-10006502.html
 Read opening paragraph, summarize.
 Ask students to read following paragraphs, and have them summarize each
section
 Direct students to take notes (the more notes, the better for later)
o Ask students if they see their pieces of autobiographical narratives. Refer to
definition.
o Ask students if American Sniper is an autobiographical narrative; what makes it
so
o Brainstorm ideas:
 Ask students to list ideas of what makes it fun to read (esp. American
Sniper)
 Write down ideas on white board, add to section on autobiographical
narrative definitions
o Address language
 “What kind of language do you use to write an argumentative essay? What
kind of language does Chris Kyle use? Shakespeare?”
 Students should use language that is close to them
 Video: “The Purpose of Language” (5 min.)
o Watch clip
o Discuss language use
 What was Robin William’s character trying to say? Emphasize the
necessity of finding exact words to describe things
 Personal Brainstorm, Homework (5 min.)
o With the remaining class time, encourage students to start brainstorming ideas
about an autobiographical narrative, or to continue with their journals from
earlier. Expand length, focus on sensory details, use precise language
o Have students print a copy of autobiographical narrative for next class for peer
edits
Materials:
 Scalar
o Autobiographical Narrative site
o YouTube: “The Purpose of Language”
 Paper
 White Board
Daily Lesson Plans
Week 3
Day 11: Peer Edits, Critiques of American Sniper

CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Peer edits: Autobiographical LITERACY.W.11-
Autobiographical Narrative, writing 12.5
Narrative utensils
CCSS.ELA
17 min. Article 1: The New Scalar/ New Yorker LITERACY.SL.11-
Yorker article 12.1, CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-
12.2
CCSS.ELA
Article 2: The Rolling Scalar/ Rolling Stone LITERACY.SL.11-
17 min. Stone article 12.1, CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-
12.2
CCSS.ELA-
6 min. Debrief and LITERACY.SL.11-
Discussion 12.3
Agenda:
 Peer Edits (10 min.)
o Have students pair up, exchange drafts. Read Scalar instructions.
 Scalar: “We will be peer correcting your first drafts of your
autobiographical narratives. Be kind to your peers and focus on the ideas
of the paper; what is the story about, and where is it going? Does the
language stand out and give the reader a sense of who the author
is? Highlight and underline sentences and ideas that stand out in a positive
way, and provide two or three ideas that your peer can consider to improve
their story.”
o Remind them to not correct grammar and spelling, but focus on the plot and ideas
o 5-7 min. editing, remaining time reviewing with peers and explaining what they
wrote
o Give one-minute warnings for both editing and explaining activities
 Article 1: The New Yorker (17 min.)
o Explain activity: read through the articles on Scalar together. Students may take
notes if they desire. Pause every few lines to ask for questions and thoughts.
o If the article is finished early (before 17 min. are up), ask for summarizing
questions and move on to the next article. Give more time for final wrap up
debrief and class discussion
o Moments to ask questions:
 “..saying that there are three kinds of people; wolves, sheep, and
sheepdogs”
 Pause for students; note the difference between the text and the
film. Ask if they think that this scene from the film fits with the
text?
 “For Eastwood, the military makes a man – which war then destroys”
 Note difference from film
 “Do you agree with this quote? Relate with any other wars?”
o Ask students to reflect on the tone of the article. Based on what the article has
said, do you think that the film reflects what we’ve read in the book so far?
 Article 2: Rolling Stone (17 min.)
o Moments to pause:
 “… is both dumber and more arrogant than anything George Bush or Dick
Cheney ever tried.”
 What is this author’s message? What’s he trying to say?d
 “That’s a Hollywood as Hollywood gets.”
 Reflect on what the other article said about Eastwood focusing on
Chris himself instead of the politics that go on behind (the policy
and decision makers, media, etc.). What is the author of this article
trying to say?
 “… about what we’ve done in places like Vietnam and Cambodia and
Laos.”
 What is the author saying about judging soldiers? Do you agree?
Should we even be judging Chris Kyle about his actions, as we are
civilians?
o Ask for reflections on the article alone first
 Debrief and Discussion
o Ask students for responses:
 What did you think of the two articles?
 How does language of the authors play into how we receive messages?
(Does sounding more formal make the message seem more authentic?
Does crude language make the author appear a certain way?)
Materials:
 Autobiographical narrative drafts
 Paper
 Scalar
o Articles
Day 12: “The Iraqi Face”

CCSS.ELA-
7 min. Collect Homework, Paper, writing utensil, LITERACY.W.11-
Opening Journal scalar 12.10
CCSS.ELA-
5 min. Read Aloud: Pages Textbook American LITERACY.RL.11-
251-252 Sniper 12.2, .4, .5, .6
CCSS.ELA-
12 min. Article: Newsweek Scalar: article LITERACY.RL.11-
12.2, .4, .5, .6
CCSS.ELA-
26 min. Discussion, Scalar/ YouTube LITERACY.SL.11-
Video: John Oliver 12.3
Agenda:
 Collect Homework, Opening Journal (7 min.)
o Have students pass in copies of autobiographical narratives (draft #2)
o Read journal prompt
 Scalar: “Has there ever been a time where you did something to make
someone else look good? Write down the details and what you can
remember, along with any feelings and emotions you and other people had
about the experience. If you can't think of any examples, think about a
time where you did something for someone, or were working behind the
scenes and write about that.”
 Read Aloud (5 min.)
o Address the day’s topic: involvement of Iraqi troops in the war, U.S. supposedly
training them to replace American troops eventually
o Read aloud to class; ask for volunteers to read sections
 Article: Newsweek (10 min.)
o Read aloud with students. Discuss similarities with Chris Kyle’s perspective
 Video: John Oliver (20 min.)
o Briefly discuss single stories and multiple perspectives (eg: not all Iraqi and
native individuals were like the people described in the book and in the article;
some are literally risking their lives)
o Watch video until the end of the class. If the discussion is worthwhile, focus on
discussion rather than getting to the video
Day 13: Character Sketch, Multigenre Introduction

CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Journal: Who is Chris Paper, writing utensil, LITERACY.W.11-
Kyle? Scalar 12.10,
CCSS.ELA-
10 min. TIME Interview with Scalar/ YouTube LITERACY.SL.11-
Chris Kyle 12.3
CCSS.ELA-
15 min. Character Sketches Scalar/ Udemy Blog LITERACY.W.11-
(Udemy) 12.9
15 min. Multigenre Project Handout and Rubric

introduction
Homework: Chapter 10 (273-279), Chapter 11 (280-294), decide what pieces for multigenre
Agenda:
 Journal (10 min.)
o Instruct students to journal what they know about Chris Kyle so far (7 min.)
 Scalar: “Based on what we've read so far, how do you feel about Chris
Kyle? Is he humble, quick to anger, or both of these and more? Take a few
minutes to write some physical, emotional, and mental characteristics,
along with any other assumptions you may have.”
o Give a one-minute warning, and warning to wrap up sentences
o Brainstorm ideas on a board (or use something like Wordle)
 Ask students to give as much information as possible
o Differentiate between facts and assumptions
 TIME Interview (10 minutes)
o Watch video (6:02)
o Discuss with students if any of the ideas brainstormed on the board are different
from what was presented in the video, expand the list if needed
 Scalar: “After watching the video, have any of your ideas changed? Take a
few moments to update your list and write a few more characteristics
down.”
 Udemy: Character Sketches (15 min.)
o Read through the website with the class
 Check for questions and understanding
o Distribute blank character sketch handout and have students fill it out
 Scalar: “Take a few minutes and follow the template for the character
sketch. You can continue with using Chris Kyle as your character, or you
could try to create a character sketch for another person in the book.”
o Use the rest of the time for students to fill out the character sketch
 If students finish quickly, have them begin writing paragraph explanations
of the characteristics, modeling the examples from Udemy
 Introduction to the Multigenre Project (15)
o Distribute handout and rubric
o Read through the handout with the class
o Question and answer time with students about the project
o Any remaining time in the class can be devoted to homework or working on the
multigenre pieces
Materials:
 Scalar
o TIME Interview with Chris Kyle
o Udemy Blog: Character Sketches
 Paper
 Handouts
o Character Sketch
o Multigenre Handout and Rubric
Name: ___________________________________________ Class: ______ Date: _________
Character Sketch
(Modeled after “Character Outline” by Natasha Quinonez)
 Character’s Name:
 Physical Description
o Hair:
 Color:
o Eyes:
 Color:
 Glasses or no glasses?:
o Height/Weight
 Height:
 Weight:
 Speech
o A particular accent:
o Certain words or phrases the person might say:
 How Character Feels About Physical Appearance

 Personality
o Mannerisms:
o Bad Habits:
 Strengths/Weaknesses
o Strengths:
o Weaknesses:
 Likes/Dislikes
o Likes:
o Dislikes:
 Family
o Parents
 Mom:
 Dad:
o Siblings:
o Extended Family:
o Marriage:
 Hobbies:
 History
o Childhood:
o Teen Years
o Young Adulthood
o Just Before the Story Begins
 Conflicts
o Inner Conflicts:
o Outer Conflicts:
Final Project: American Sniper
So far in this class, we have explored many ideas and historical facts around the book American
Sniper and Chris Kyle’s life. We have created timelines, character sketches, and discussed the
morals and ethics of what makes a person good or bad. We have looked at real historical events,
and we have considered autobiographical narratives and how they do not necessarily reflect the
entire truth of an event.
Now it’s time to put it all together! In addition to the paper, you will have the opportunity to
showcase your knowledge of the text through creative means. This multigenre project, where
there are different genre pieces being put together for one final project, is your chance to express
your knowledge in your own way.
Overview: There are four components to this project, as follows:

o An argumentative essay
o An autobiographical narrative
o A creative writing section
o A creative visual/ auditory section
While the essay and autobiographical narratives are set pieces, you will have multiple options to
choose from for both creative sections.
The Breakdown:
Argumentative Essay (75 points):
Choose one of the following topics to write about:
o Is Chris Kyle an evil person? Define “evil.” Use the textbook, journals, and class
discussions to support your ideas.
o What has been the evolution of war from a moral standpoint, and where is it going?
What problems exist today?
o Should snipers be held more or less accountable for their kills? Are there too many
regulations or too few regulations to be effective?
o Create your own thesis
Remember to use the textbook and/ or supporting articles to boost your argument, and
properly cite them in MLA format. You must have at least one quote to support each argument,
but the more sources you use, the stronger your argument will be. Make sure that your
paragraphs have good flow and tie back to the thesis. Use proper language, spelling, and
grammar. The paper must have a minimum length of four full pages (not three pages and three
sentences on the fourth). See the rubric for the grade breakdown, or ask for further clarifications
if needed.
Autobiographical Narrative (75):

Edit your autobiographical narrative, or create a new one. Must have two edited copies
before submitting your final draft. Attach all edits when submitting this final project.
Remember to pay attention to the language used, in addition to basic spelling,
punctuation, and grammar. Page length is a minimum of three pages. See the rubric for point
breakdowns.
Creative Writing Section (25 Points):
Please select one of the following options:
News article
 Can address any topic covered in this unit (eg: an editorial about conflict in the
Middle East, an interview, etc.). The content must be your original work. The
appearance must also look like a web or news article, so you may reference them for
visuals. Page length is 1-2 pages.
Poem
 Create an original poem. Must have a minimum of 30 lines; you may create one long
poem or break them up into smaller poems. Get creative with your language if you
choose this one!
Rewrite a Section of the Book
 You may take a portion of a chapter and rewrite it from a different perspective. Use
language appropriate for whatever character you are portraying and pay attention to
their details. Page minimum is 2 pages.
Character Sketch
 Add to the character sketch started in class by describing their attributes in paragraph
form (see Udemy Blog for examples at the end). Flushed out descriptions must be a
minimum of one full page.
Creative Visual/ Auditory Piece (25 points):

Please select one of the following options:
Comic Strip
 Recreate a scene from American Sniper in comic strip form; must have a minimum of
five panels. Please pick a specific scene; do not create a summary of the book. Write
a paragraph explaining why you chose that scene and your artistic decisions (Did you
use color? What perspective is it from?).
Timeline
 Create a timeline of major events from American Sniper, and combine it with one of
the timelines created at the beginning of the unit or your own events. Must be
organized and clear to see the events, and must have a minimum of 20 events on the
timeline. Please write a paragraph describing why you chose your secondary events to
compare with the text.
Book Cover Design
 Create an alternative book cover; you may hand draw or use a graphic design
program. All your work must be original; if any materials are borrowed, please cite
your sources. Write a paragraph explaining why you created your new book cover,
and how it might better reflect the story.
Soundtrack
 Create your own soundtrack to pair with the textbook. You are not allowed to use
music from the American Sniper soundtrack. Select 10-12 tracks, and write a
paragraph (or two) explaining why the songs belong and what they reflect. Create a
playlist on YouTube or Spotify and include the link when writing your paragraph.
Name: ____________________________________ Class: ________ Date: ______________
Multigenre Project Rubric
Paper:
Strong use of supporting evidence and clear analysis/ understanding of the topic /25
Paper flow is unified and clearly articulates each point, relating it back to the thesis
/25
Spelling, punctuation, and grammar /20
Page Req. (4-6 pages)

/5
Total
/75
Comic Strip / Timeline / Cover Design / Soundtrack:
Originality and creativity

/10
Organization and attentiveness to detail
/7
Conveys understanding of the subject (paragraph) /8
Total /25
Select one of the following:

Length/ Quantity (min. 30
lines) /5
News Article: Total

/25
Aesthetics and Formatting

/7
Language use, spelling,
punctuation, grammar /4
Originality
/10
Page Req. (1-2 pages) /4 Rewrite:
Total
/25
Originality
/10
Poem: Use of language (reflects the
character) /12
Originality and Effort

/10 Page Req. (2-3 pages)
/3
Language Use
/10 Total
/25
Character Sketch:
Attention to detail /17
Spelling, punctuation, grammar

/5
Page Req. (1 page, see guide)
/3
Total /25
Autobiographical Narrative:
Originality and Creativity

/30
Word Choice
/20
Spelling, punctuation, and grammar

/10
Page Req. (3-6 Pages)

/5
Multiple Edits (minimum 2 edits + final draft = 3 copies)

/10
Total
/75
Final Score: / 200
Comments:
Day 14: The American Front, Evil Revisited

CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Revisiting “Evil” Scalar link to Activity LITERACY.SL.11-
Discussion 5 12.1
CCSS.ELA-
15 min. Read Aloud: Article Scalar/ Articles LITERACY.SL.11-
Analysis 12.1, .2
25 min. Video: TED Talk Scalar/ Video
Agenda:
 Revisiting “Evil” Discussion (10 min.)
o Remind class of ideas discussed during discussion of “evil” on day 5. Bring up
scalar link if necessary to remind students, encourage review of notes if any
o Segue: “We’ll take a break from evil, but we’ll come back to it for the end of
class”
 Read Aloud: Article Analysis (15 min.)
o Article 1: Pew Research Center
 Ask for student volunteer to read
 Focus on graphs and statistics
 Identify facts that public opinion changed over time
 Ask: “Why do you think it changed?”
o Article 2: The Economist
 Similar article, bring focus to torture section
o If the articles need more time, focus on articles and take time away from the video
o Segue into video
 Video: TED Talk (25 min.)
o Introduce the speaker
 Psychologist and president of the Stanford Prison Experiment
 Will touch on the torture
 Talks more about the concept of evil, which may be useful for arguments
for essay
o Give trigger warning
 Scalar: “Warning: Some of the visuals in this video may be disturbing.
The speaker shows images from the prison where torture and inhumane
acts were committed, containing nudity, gore, and other images of
humiliation. The images last for approximately two minutes or less. Please
feel free to step outside the classroom if you need.”
Materials:
 Scalar
o Articles
o TED Talk
o Link to Day 5 materials
Day 15: Writing Seminar

Debrief on previous
10 min. day’s activities, pass
back materials
CCSS.ELA-
30 min. Writing Seminar White Board LITERACY.W.11-
12.3
10 min. Individual work time,

questions
Agenda:
 Debrief and Materials (10 min.)
o Discussion about previous day
o Hand back autobiographical narrative drafts
 Writing Seminar (30 min.)
o Address issues and general comments made to the class
o Materials for this section will depend on student need
 Could include word choice, structure, dialogue, time, etc.
 Individual Work Time (10 min.)
o Student work time, encourage to make further edits to the autobiographical
narrative
o Open time for students to ask questions about comments received from edits
Materials:
 Whiteboard
 Scalar
Daily Lesson Plans
Week 4
Day 16: PTSD and Trauma
10 min. Read Aloud: pages Textbook American

353-355 Sniper
5 min. Breakup and Handouts, Scalar

Directions links, American
Sniper
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.RL.11-
12.1, .2, .4;
20 min. Group Activity CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1.B, .2
CCSS.ELA-
10 min. Group break ups LITERACY.SL.11-
12.4
5 min. Debrief and

Discussion
Homework: Read Chapter 14 (356 - End), work on multi-genre projects
Agenda:
o Read to students, have them follow along in books
o Pause after first section on 354; ask students what they think is going on
o After reading, open class for discussion
 “What are your thoughts? What do you think is going on?”
o Segue into PTSD
 Breakup and Directions (5 min.)
o Explain instructions first
 Scalar: “You will break up into small groups. Read through the article
together; circle or underline important information, and write any notes or
questions in the margins. Together, create a summary of your article and
include the major points.”
o Warn students that summaries will be different; new groups will be formed, and
the student will become the expert on their article and give a summary to two
other people (see instructions from “group break up”)
o Break class into six groups and give each group articles (two groups per article)
 Group Activity (20 min.)
o Walk around to monitor groups, answer questions, etc. Keep groups focused and
on topic
o Remember to give ten-minute, five-minute, and one-minute warnings
 Group Break Up (10 min.)
o Split class into groups of threes; each group will have one member from each
article (one person from military, one from civilian, and one from 9/11). Each
member will give a summary and talk about their articles
o Once class is done, move to next activity
 Debrief and Discussion (5 min.)
o Open class up for discussion; ask what students learned from their articles, from
other articles
o Emphasize the fact that mental health is important, and people need to be
sensitive to where others come from. PTSD is no longer strictly military related.
Encourage acceptance and understanding among students and peers.
Materials:
 Scalar
 Articles
o PTSD and Military
o PTSD and Civilians
o PTSD and 9/11
PTSD in Military Veterans: Symptoms, Treatment,
and Self-Help
Helping Yourself on the Road to Recovery for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
For all too many veterans, returning from military service means coping with symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). You may be having a hard time readjusting to life out of the military. Or you may constantly be
feeling on edge, emotionally numb and disconnected, or close to panicking or exploding. But no matter how long the
V.A. wait times, or how isolated or emotionally cut off from others you feel, it’s important to know that you’re not
alone and there are plenty of things you can do to start feeling better. These steps can help you learn to deal with
nightmares and flashbacks, cope with feelings of depression, anxiety or guilt, and regain your sense of control.
What causes PTSD in veterans?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sometimes known as shell shock or combat stress, occurs after you
experience severe trauma or a life-threatening event. It’s normal for your mind and body to be in shock after such an
event, but this normal response becomes PTSD when your nervous system gets “stuck.”
Your nervous system has two automatic or reflexive ways of responding to stressful events:
Mobilization, or fight-or-flight, occurs when you need to defend yourself or survive the danger of a combat
situation. Your heart pounds faster, your blood pressure rises, and your muscles tighten, increasing your strength and
reaction speed. Once the danger has passed, your nervous system calms your body, lowering your heart rate and
blood pressure, and winding back down to its normal balance.
Immobilization occurs when you’ve experienced too much stress in a situation and even though the danger has
passed, you find yourself “stuck.” Your nervous system is unable to return to its normal state of balance and you’re
unable to move on from the event. This is PTSD.
Recovering from PTSD involves transitioning out of the mental and emotional war zone you’re still living in and
helping your nervous system become "unstuck."
Symptoms of PTSD in veterans

While you can develop symptoms of PTSD in the hours or days following a traumatic event, sometimes symptoms
don’t surface for months or even years after you return from deployment. While PTSD develops differently from
veteran to veteran, there are four symptom clusters:
1. Recurrent, intrusive reminders of the traumatic event, including distressing thoughts, nightmares, and
flashbacks where you feel like the event is happening again. Experiencing extreme emotional and physical
reactions to reminders of the trauma such as panic attacks, uncontrollable shaking, and heart palpitations.
2. Extreme avoidance of things that remind you of the traumatic event, including people, places,
thoughts, or situations you associate with the bad memories. Withdrawing from friends and family and
losing interest in everyday activities.
3. Negative changes in your thoughts and mood, such as exaggerated negative beliefs about yourself or the
world and persistent feelings of fear, guilt, or shame. Diminished ability to experience positive emotions.
4. Being on guard all the time, jumpy, and emotionally reactive, as indicated by irritability, anger, reckless
behavior, difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, and hypervigilance.
Suicide prevention in veterans with PTSD

It’s common for veterans with PTSD to experience suicidal thoughts. Feeling suicidal is not a character defect, and
it doesn't mean that you are crazy, weak, or flawed.
If you are thinking about taking your own life, seek help immediately. Please read Suicide Help, talk to someone
you trust, or call a suicide helpline:
 In the U.S., call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

 In the UK, call 08457 90 90 90.
 In Australia, call 13 11 14.
 Or visit IASP to find a helpline in your country.
PTSD in veterans recovery step 1: Get moving

As well as helping to burn off adrenaline, exercise can release endorphins and improve your mood.
By really focusing on your body and how it feels as you exercise, you can even help your nervous system become
“unstuck.”
 Exercise that is rhythmic and engages both your arms and legs—such as running, swimming, basketball, or
even dancing—works well if, instead of continuing to focus on your thoughts as you move, you focus on
how your body feels.
 Notice the sensation of your feet hitting the ground, for example, or the rhythm of your breathing, or the
feeling of wind on your skin.
 Rock climbing, boxing, weight training, or martial arts can make it easier to focus on your body
movements—after all, if you don’t, you could get injured.
 Try to exercise for 30 minutes or more each day—or if it’s easier, three 10-minute spurts of exercise are
just as good.
The benefits of the great outdoors
Pursuing outdoor activities in nature like hiking, camping, mountain biking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, and
skiing can help challenge your sense of vulnerability and help you transition back into civilian life.
 Seek out local organizations that offer outdoor recreation opportunities.

 In the U.S., check out Sierra Club Military Outdoors which offers opportunities to get out into nature and
get moving.
Step 2: Self-regulate your nervous system

PTSD can leave you feeling vulnerable and helpless. But you have more control over your nervous system than you
may realize. When you feel agitated, anxious, or out of control, these tips can help you change your arousal system
and calm yourself.
Mindful breathing. To quickly calm yourself in any situation, simply take 60 breaths, focusing your attention on
each out breath.
Sensory input. Just as loud noises, certain smells, or the feel of sand in your clothes can instantly transport you
back to the combat zone, so too can sensory input quickly calm you. Everyone responds a little differently, so
experiment to find what works best for you. Think back to your time on deployment: what brought you comfort at
the end of the day? Perhaps it was looking at photos of your family? Or listening to a favorite song, or smelling a
certain brand of soap? Or maybe petting an animal quickly makes you feel calm?
Reconnect emotionally. By reconnecting to uncomfortable emotions without becoming overwhelmed, you can
make a huge difference in your ability to manage stress, balance your moods, and take back control of your life. See
our Emotional Intelligence Toolkit.
Step 3: Connect with others

Connecting with others face to face doesn’t have to mean a lot of talking. For any veteran with PTSD, it’s important
to find someone who will listen without judging when you want to talk, or just hang out with you when you
don’t. That person may be your significant other, a family member, one of your buddies from the service, or a
civilian friend. Or try:
Volunteering your time or reaching out to someone in need. This is a great way to both connect to others and
reclaim your sense of power.
Joining a PTSD support group. Connecting with other veterans facing similar problems can help you feel less
isolated and provide useful tips on how to cope with symptoms and work towards recovery.
Connecting with civilians

You may feel like the civilians in your life can’t understand you since they haven’t been in the service or seen the
things you have. But people don't have to have gone through the exact same experiences to be able to offer support.
What matters is that the person you're turning to cares about you, is a good listener, and a source of comfort.
 If you're not ready to open up about what happened, that's perfectly okay.
 Instead of going into a blow-by-blow account of events, you can just talk about how you feel.
 You can tell the other person what they can do to help, whether it's just sitting with you, listening, or doing
something practical.
 Remember: people who care about you welcome the opportunity to help; being supportive is not a burden
for them.
If connecting is difficult
No matter how close you are to someone, PTSD can mean that you still don’t feel any better after talking. If that
describes you, there are ways to help the process along.
Exercise or move. Before chatting with a friend, either exercise or move around. Jump up and down, swing your
arms and legs, or just flail around. Your head will feel clearer and you’ll find it easier to connect.
Vocal toning. As strange as it sounds, vocal toning is a great way to open up to social engagement. Sit straight and
simply make “mmmm” sounds. Change the pitch and volume until you experience a pleasant vibration in your face.
Step 4: Take care of your body

Without the rush of still being in a combat zone, you may feel strange or even dead inside and find it difficult to
relax. Many veterans are drawn to things that offer a familiar adrenaline rush, whether it’s caffeine, drugs, violent
video games, driving recklessly, or daredevil sports. However, the symptoms of PTSD can be hard on your body and
mind so it’s important to put a priority on sleep, healthy food, and calming activities.
Healthy habits
Take time to relax with relaxation techniques such as massage, meditation, or yoga.
Avoid alcohol and drugs (including nicotine). It can be tempting to turn to drugs and alcohol to numb painful
feelings and memories and get to sleep. But substance abuse (and cigarettes) can make the symptoms of PTSD
worse.
Find safe ways to blow off steam. Pound on a punching bag, pummel a pillow, sing along to loud music, or find a
secluded place to scream at the top of your lungs.
Support your body with a healthy diet. Omega-3s play a vital role in emotional health so incorporate foods such
as fatty fish, flaxseed, and walnuts into your diet. Limit processed and fried food, sugars, and refined carbs which
can exacerbate mood swings and energy fluctuations.
Get plenty of sleep. Sleep deprivation exacerbates anger, irritability, and moodiness. Aim for 7 to 9 hours of
quality sleep each night.
Step 5: Deal with flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive

thoughts
Flashbacks usually involve visual and auditory memories of combat. It feels as if it’s happening all over again so it’s
vital to reassure yourself that the experience is not occurring in the present.
State to yourself (out loud or in your head) the reality that while you feel as if the trauma is currently happening,
you can look around and recognize that you’re safe.
Use a simple script when you awaken from a nightmare or start to experience a flashback: “I feel [panicked,
overwhelmed, etc.] because I’m remembering [traumatic event], but as I look around I can see that the event isn’t
happening right now and I’m not in danger.”
Describe what you see when look around (name the place where you are, the current date, and three things you see
when you look around).
Try tapping your arms to bring you back to the present.
Tips for grounding yourself during a flashback
Movement - Move around vigorously (run in place, jump up and down, etc.); rub your hands together; shake your
head
Touch - Splash cold water on your face; grip a piece of ice; touch or grab on to a safe object; pinch yourself; play
with worry beads or a stress ball
Sight - Blink rapidly and firmly; look around and take inventory of what you see
Sound - Turn on loud music; clap your hands or stomp your feet; talk to yourself (tell yourself you're safe, you'll be
okay)
Smell - Smell something that links you to the present (coffee, mouthwash, your wife's perfume) or a scent that has
good memories
Taste - Suck on a strong mint or chew a piece of gum; bite into something tart or spicy; drink a glass of cold water
or juice
Step 6: Work through survivor's guilt

Feelings of guilt are very common among veterans with PTSD. You may have seen people injured or killed, often
your friends and comrades.
 You may ask yourself questions such as: Why did I survive when others didn’t?
 You may end up blaming yourself for what happened and believing that your actions (or inability to act)
led to someone else’s death.
 You may feel that you’re the one who should have died. This is survivor’s guilt.
Healing from survivor's guilt

Healing doesn’t mean that you’ll forget what happened or those who died. And it doesn’t mean you’ll have no
regrets. What it does mean is that you’ll look at your role more realistically:
 Is the amount of responsibility you’re assuming reasonable?
 Could you really have prevented or stopped what happened?
 Are you judging your decisions based on full information about the event, or just your emotions?
 Did you do your best at the time, under challenging circumstances?
 Do you truly believe that if you had died, someone else would have survived?
Honestly assessing your responsibility and role can free you to move on and grieve your losses. Instead of punishing
yourself, you can redirect your energy into honoring those you lost and finding ways to keep their memory alive.
Step 7: Seek professional treatment

Professional treatment for PTSD can help you deal with the trauma you’ve experienced and may involve:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or counselling. This involves gradually “exposing” you to reminders of the
event and replacing distorted thoughts with a more balanced picture.
Medication, such as antidepressants. While medication may help you feel less sad or worried, it doesn't treat the
causes of PTSD.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). This incorporates elements of CBT with eye
movements or other rhythmic, left-right stimulation to help you become “unstuck.”
Helping a veteran with PTSD

When a loved one returns from military service with PTSD, it can take a heavy toll on your relationship and family
life. You may have to take on a bigger share of household tasks, deal with the frustration of a loved one who won’t
open up, or even deal with anger or other disturbing behavior.
Don’t take the symptoms of PTSD personally. If your loved one seems distant, irritable, angry, or closed off,
remember that this may not have anything to do with you or your relationship.
Don’t pressure your loved one into talking. Many veterans with PTSD find it difficult to talk about their
experiences. Never try to force your loved one to open up but let him know that you’re there if he wants to talk. It’s
your understanding that provides comfort, not anything you say.
Be patient and understanding. Getting better takes time so be patient with the pace of recovery. Offer support but
don’t try to direct your loved one.
Try to anticipate and prepare for PTSD triggers such as certain sounds, sights, or smells. If you are aware of
what causes an upsetting reaction, you’ll be in a better position to help your loved one calm down.
Take care of yourself. Letting your loved one’s PTSD dominate your life while ignoring your own needs is a
surefire recipe for burnout. Make time for yourself and learn to manage stress. The more calm, relaxed, and focused
you are, the better you’ll be able to help your loved one.
Smith, Melinda, et al. “PTSD in Military Veterans: Symptoms, Treatment, and Self-Help.”
Helpguide.org, Apr. 2007, https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/ptsd-in-
veterans.htm. Accessed 7 May 2017.
Post-traumatic stress disorder in
civilians
Although commonly linked to war, PTSD is not exclusive to the military. Here’s a look at the effects
of the disorder beyond the battlefield.
PUBLISHED: 10/06/2016
2124 LIKES
David Yusko, Psy.D.

from Perelman School of Medicine
Natalie Gay, B.A. , Psychology

from University of Pennsylvania
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following a traumatic
experience. Many people think about PTSD in the context of military combat and war veterans.
However, PTSD symptoms can develop from experiences involving natural disasters, serious
accidents, life-threatening illnesses, physical abuse, and sexual assault during childhood or
adulthood. A traumatic event that precedes the onset of PTSD can be experienced either directly or
indirectly by an individual. Learning how a loved one died a violent death, or watching someone be
assaulted, are examples of indirect trauma exposure. A trauma, whether directly or indirectly
experienced, often threatens a person's sense of self, world, and future, causing trauma-exposed
individuals to experience substantial emotional distress. The prevalence of trauma exposure is
above 50 percent for both men and women in the United States. In fact, 61 percent of men and 51
percent of women have experienced at least one trauma during their lifetime (Perkonigg, et al.,
2000). Fortunately, only 8.1 percent of men and 20.4 percent of women who experience a trauma go
on to develop PTSD (Kessler, et al., 1995).
A person in a car accident who was hit by a blue car might get extremely anxious at the thought of
driving and might pay particular attention to other blue cars on the road. He or she might avoid
driving altogether, especially down the street on which the accident occurred. Nonetheless, with
time, most people reclaim their lives. Although it might be counterintuitive, in the first three months
following a trauma, an adaptive coping strategy involves accepting any negative feelings and
expressions of symptoms as normal and confronting the trauma memories in order to process them.
Being kind to yourself, understanding your symptoms as normal reactions to trauma, and not
avoiding trauma reminders will help the natural recovery process.
As follows from the statistics mentioned earlier, the majority of people naturally recover from a
traumatic experience and its associated symptoms within several months. It is also typical for most
individuals to endorse feelings of acute stress for one to three months after a trauma. Common
reactions following a traumatic event include intense fear and anxiety, re-experiencing the trauma
through intrusive memories and nightmares, avoidance of trauma reminders, irritability and anger,
loss of interest in pleasurable activities, difficulty sleeping, feelings of guilt and shame, disrupted
relationships, decreased interest in sex, impaired concentration, and activation of other traumatic or
negative memories.
Different Traumatic Experiences Yield Different Results

The nature of the trauma and an individual's biology, environment, and life history combine to
predispose an individual to PTSD. For example, individuals who are sexually assaulted develop
PTSD at much higher rates than individuals who experience other types of noncombat traumas
(Kessler, et al., 1995). Moreover, PTSD symptoms are more severe in individuals who experience a
particularly jarring or unexpected event, as shown in a study that collected information on the types
of stressors identified by ambulance workers (Clohessy & Ehlers, 1999). One ambulance worker in
this study reported witnessing dozens of distressing incidents on the job. Yet, his most severe PTSD
symptoms and most frequent intrusive memories occurred after he found a dead baby in a bag. As
part of his job, he reported mentally preparing for "routine" distressing events, but he never
anticipated witnessing something this alarming without warning. He was completely taken off guard,
and began questioning his sense of safety, trust, and fairness in the world. For reasons such as
these, a traumatic event can be a watershed moment that creates a discontinuity between
someone's pre- and post-traumatic life. At its worst, the trauma will cause prolonged symptoms of
PTSD that affect an individual's day-to-day well-being.
The Four Types of PTSD Symptoms

Therapists and researchers organize PTSD symptoms into four distinct subgroups: intrusive
symptoms, avoidance symptoms, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in
arousal and reactivity. At minimum, an individual with PTSD expresses one intrusion symptom, one
avoidance symptom, two cognition and mood symptoms, and two arousal and reactivity symptoms.
PTSD symptoms last longer than one month for affected individuals. Examples of symptoms in the
four subgroups are listed below:
Intrusion Symptoms:
 Unwanted, distressing memories of the traumatic event(s)

 Recurring trauma-related nightmares
 Flashbacks – involuntary and vivid re-experiencing of the traumatic experience(s)
 Intense emotional distress and/or noticeable physiological reactions to trauma reminders
Avoidance Symptoms:
 Persistent avoidance of thoughts and memories related to the trauma

 Persistent avoidance of external reminders of the trauma (e.g. the location at which the
trauma occurred or people that remind you of the trauma)
Negative Alterations in Cognitions and Mood:
 A complete lapse in memory of or a feeling of blacking out for parts of the trauma.
 Perpetual negative expectations of the world
 Continuous, misattributed blame of self or others about the traumatic event
 Persistent negative emotional state and/or the inability to experience positive emotions
 Loss of interest or participation in significant activities or activities once interested in
 Feelings of detachment from others, as well as feeling like others cannot relate or
understand the trauma and emotional burden
Alterations in Arousal and Reactivity:
 Easily irritable or angry

 Reckless or self-destructive behavior (e.g. unprotected sex, reckless driving)
 More alert
 Easily startled
 Problems with concentration
 Difficulties sleeping, including falling asleep and/or staying asleep
It is also common for individuals with PTSD to express symptoms of depression. Several
overlapping symptoms include impaired sleeping, difficulty concentrating, low energy, agitation, and
a loss of interest in things previously found interesting. Moreover, some traumatized individuals turn
to alcohol, drugs, or medication to cope with the distress. While taking substances to cope might
seem effective in relieving some PTSD symptoms, substance abuse actually interferes with an
individual's drive to seek help, cope, and process the trauma in a productive, permanent way.
Treating and Coping With Trauma

Confronting and talking about one of the most shocking, disturbing experiences of an individual's life
is indisputably difficult. Seeking help takes courage and a willingness to be vulnerable. Yet there are
several treatments available, like Prolonged Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy,
that have been shown in research studies to ameliorate PTSD symptoms, making treatment a
worthwhile investment.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) is the gold-standard for PTSD treatment. Generally PE consists
of 10-15 therapy sessions. The two core components of PE are imaginal exposures (repeated
confrontation with the traumatic memories) and in vivo exposures (systematic confrontation with
avoided trauma-related situations). Other components of PE include processing of the imaginal
exposure experience, education about common reactions to trauma, and anxiety management
(controlled breathing).
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is another empirically supported treatment for PTSD. CPT
targets irrational thinking and cognitive distortions in therapy to help patients process their trauma
memories. The four main components of CPT are learning about your PTSD symptoms, becoming
aware of thoughts and feelings, learning skills to manage the thoughts and feelings, and
understanding the changes in beliefs that occur because of the trauma. In CPT, patients will write
out their trauma narrative and work with a therapist to uncover cognitive distortions. Self-blame and
feeling powerless against all danger are two common examples of distorted thinking.
PE and CPT are two of the more frequently used forms of therapy, but there are more treatment
options available. Please visit the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website to learn more about
other treatment options for PTSD. Additional resources include the Center for the Treatment and
Study of Anxiety, the VA's National Center for PTSD, the International Society for Traumatic Stress
Studies, and any rape crisis center near you.
Date of original publication: October 16, 2014

Updated on: October 06, 2016
Yusko, David, and Natalie Gay. “Post-traumatic stress disorder in civilians.” Anxiety.org, 6 Oct.
2016, https://www.anxiety.org/ptsd-non-veteran-ptsd-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-
civilians. Accessed 7 May 2017.
9/11 attacks lead to more study of post-traumatic stress
disorder
There are widespread symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder among those connected to the
attacks. Mental-health professionals have a greater understanding of the disorder from studying
them.
September 05, 2011|By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times
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For New York City resident Esperanza Muñoz, the attack on the World Trade Centers is not over 10 years later
— not by a long shot. At odd moments, the stench of death still rises to her nose, and the 55-year-old woman
slides into a haze of nausea and tears. She suffers headaches and is awakened several times a week by
nightmares of headless bodies and shoes with bits of feet left inside. She dreads the sound of sirens or a
passing plane.
Muñoz lives in the New York City borough of Queens, and can't — or won't — go into Manhattan, even to
attend her support group for Latinas still scarred by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. She went to a meeting a few
blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center once, six or seven years ago, but she became so
panicked she had to leave.
Muñoz has a classic case of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, even though she is not a classic victim of
the disorder. She has not survived a violent crime, warfare or even a clear sense that her life was threatened.
She watched the fiery collapse of the World Trade Center towers from the roof of her apartment building in
Queens, horrified but safe.
Two days later, the office and residential cleaning company that employed Muñoz assigned her to the blocks
surrounding ground zero, where she picked up office mementos, charred debris and body parts from the
ground almost every day for nearly four years. By 2009, the woman who had left a peaceful life in Colombia
so she could send her son to college had twice attempted suicide.
When Al Qaeda terrorists violently seized control of four U.S. jetliners and crashed them, post-traumatic stress
disorder was a diagnosis that had been in psychiatry's diagnostic manual for just 11 years. Most American
mental-health professionals would rarely come across the disorder. Cases typically involved isolated patients
— survivors of rape, child abuse, home fires or horrific automobile crashes. If soldiers, police officers and
others whose jobs revolve around mayhem complained of nightmares, flashbacks and disabling anxiety, they
were more likely to be accused of malingering than they were to be ushered into therapy.
But the events of Sept. 11 set in motion dramatic changes on all those fronts. Within months, PTSD was a
widely observed condition. Afflicted firefighters, police and recovery workers were hailed as haunted heroes,
not slackers. And a new generation of victims — military personnel deployed to two wars sparked by the
terrorist attack — would soon bring the disorder home to nearly every community in America.
The sudden abundance of sufferers from the condition, and of research on them, has prompted the nation's
psychiatrists to broaden their criteria for diagnosing the disorder in ways that would make room for people like
Muñoz, whose exposure to the twin towers' fall was distant and whose symptoms took time to materialize. In
the process, psychiatric leaders pondered for the first time how factors such as community cohesion, poverty
and media coverage can affect the public's mental health when mass disaster strikes.
"9/11 changed the picture of PTSD, and transformed it from being simply a mental disorder that psychiatrists
deal with to a public health issue," says Charles Figley, a pioneer in the study of the disorder who directs
Tulane University's Traumatology Institute and Psychological Stress Research Program. Researchers have
come to realize how well communities recover from mass violence or disaster is a barometer of their overall
mental health, he adds.
Many traumatized
For clinicians and researchers who had labored through the 1980s to understand PTSD, those affected by the
events of Sept. 11 were a grim windfall — a population large and diverse enough to reveal important truths
about the disorder.
The disaster gave researchers opportunities to study how trauma scrambles the brain (in medical terms, the
onset of the disease). They could measure how often it appears in a typical population exposed to trauma (the
disorder's prevalence) and how long it causes disruption and disability (disease progression). For the first time,
the size of the population affected by a single trauma allowed researchers to discern which attributes or
experiences make some people more vulnerable to the disorder (the term they use is risk factors) and which
may be a source of resilience for others (protective factors).
"Before we had the current notion of PTSD, we tended to think that those who developed it were people with
character disorders — there was a sort of 'blame the victim' quality to our thinking," says Dr. David Spiegel,
director of Stanford University's Center on Stress and Health. Sept. 11, he says, has challenged much of that
thinking.
Researchers have followed populations of cleanup workers like Muñoz, emergency responders, family
members of those who perished and Manhattan residents (including children) affected by the coordinated
attacks. Experts hope that if they can find a way to predict who is at greatest risk of developing PTSD and
identify ways to protect against it, they could fortify vulnerable populations to withstand future disasters.
Here's what a decade of research on those whose lives were changed on Sept. 11, 2001, has taught us about the
disorder.
How common is PTSD?
In the first few months following Sept. 11, surveys revealed that more than one in 10 Manhattan residents
showed symptoms suggestive of the disorder. Their sleep was fitful; they had nightmares; they were edgy,
irritable and easily rattled, and were bothered by the unpredictable return of frightening memories; and they
took active efforts to avoid places, people and activities that reminded them of their trauma.
Among those living within close range of the twin towers' debris cloud, one in five reported a level of stress
high enough to satisfy a PTSD diagnosis.
For most people, such symptoms weakened within weeks or months, as New Yorkers regained their
psychological balance. Researchers found that six months after the attacks, 2% to 5% of New York City
residents still could be said to suffer from the condition, and rates remained high among those who lived or
worked in Lower Manhattan at the time of the attack.
What factors make people more vulnerable to PTSD?

In at least 34 studies, researchers plumbed the distress symptoms of people directly affected by the Sept. 11
attacks, including evacuees from the World Trade Center and workers at the Pentagon.
Those studies found consistent evidence that certain demographic factors could predict higher rates of the
disorder — often twice as high, said psychologist Yuval Neria, director of trauma and PTSD at the New York
State Psychiatric Institute. Among the attributes that make people more vulnerable are low income, immigrant
status, being female and having a history of depression or other mental illness.
Dr. Carol North, a professor of crisis psychiatry at University of Texas' Southwestern Medical Center in
Dallas, says that many of those factors clearly overlap. Low income, says North, "makes everything worse,"
including higher rates of victimization, more chronic health problems and fewer resources — including money,
education and access to medical care and social support — to escape trauma or its psychological toll.
Finally, shame, guilt and a sense of responsibility or blame can be powerful accelerators of the disorder,
Spiegel says. In the face of helplessness, many victims of trauma would rather believe they could have done
more to stop the crime or save the wounded, and they assume blame for events beyond their control. "That
inappropriate shame or guilt is a big part of PTSD," he says.
Are there things that protect against PTSD?

An emerging line of research made possible by Sept. 11 is finding that people who weathered the tragic events
in the midst of families, close friends and strong communities were much less likely to develop stress
symptoms than those who said they felt lonely or lacked social networks as they dealt with the stress of the
attacks. Open discussion of the events, social connectedness and mutual help act like fresh air and disinfectant
— they build immunity, prevent infection and promote healing.
"One of the healing factors was the community," says Spiegel, who lived and worked in New York at the time.
"People really, genuinely helped one another, and that's a key factor in healing from the bottom up."
Healy, Melissa. “9/11 attacks lead to more study of post-traumatic stress disorder.” Los Angeles
Times, 5 Sept. 2011, http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/05/health/la-he-911-ptsd-
20110905/3. Accessed 7 May 2017.
Day 17: Epilogue

CCSS.ELA-
7 min. + 15 min. Read Aloud: pages Textbook American LITERACY.RL.11-
376-377, debrief Sniper 12.1, .2, .3, .4, .5, .6
CCSS.ELA-
15 min. Article: Chris Kyle’s Scalar/ Article LITERACY.RL.11-
Death 12.1, .2, .4;
CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1, .2
7 min. Discuss format for

next class
6 min. Work on multigenre,

questions
Homework: Work on multigenre projects, prepare for final discussion
Agenda:
 Read Aloud and Debrief (7 + 15 min.)
o Read aloud with class (last two pages of the book)
o Debrief on feeling about the book
 Article: Chris Kyle’s Death (15 min.)
o Read aloud with class the article. Ask students to read sections.
o Ask for questions
 Eddie Ray Routh is in prison with a life sentence
 Discuss format for next class (7 min.)
o Discuss the fishbowl style discussion
o Have students come prepared to answer and discuss any questions prompted.
Material will cover knowledge of the book; will be useful to recall lessons and
activities done in class, along with ethical dilemmas that have been discussed.
 Work on multigenre, questions (6 min.)
o For the rest of class, have students work on multigenre projects. Encourage
students to ask for feedback or to ask any clarifying questions.
Materials
 Scalar
o Articles
Day 18: Fishbowl Discussion
5 min. Directions for Scalar, paper, writing

Discussion utensils
CCSS.ELA-
40 min. Fishbowl Discussion LITERACY.SL.11-
12.1, .2, .3, .4
5 min. Wrap Up
Homework: [Multigenre Project]
Agenda:
 Directions (5 min.)
o Read directions on Scalar
 Scalar: “There are four seats in the center, with the rest of the class sitting
on the outside. The only people that are allowed to talk are the people
sitting in the center. If you have something to say, you can tap someone on
the shoulder who isn't talking and has already said something in the
conversation, in order to replace them. In order to get credit for
participating, everyone must say something or contribute one thing to the
discussion. While you are outside the circle, take notes on what is going
on, what information or quotes that you enjoy, or anything that makes you
think. Try to focus on the question at hand. Be respectful of your peers,
and use kind language.”
o Have four students volunteer to start the discussion. Have everyone take out paper
and writing utensils to take notes on the discussion.
 Fishbowl Discussion (40 min.)
o Use the following questions to start discussions:
 What makes someone evil? Is Chris Kyle evil?
 Is “Runaway” a coward? Should we show sympathy?
 The book title claims that Chris Kyle is “the most lethal sniper in U.S.
History.” Does Chris agree? Do you agree? What makes someone lethal?
Is there a better title?
 Should the United States have “gone to war?”
 President Bush once labeled this war as the “War on Terror,” but many
people disagree with this labeling. Why/ why shouldn’t we call it the “War
on Terror?”
o Moderate language used, and guide students back to the question when they get
too off topic. Watch for students who have not yet gotten inside the circle and
remind the class to contribute.
 Wrap Up (5 min.)
o Thank the class for keeping the conversation civilized and for contributing to the
conversation
o Ask for questions that students may have
Materials:
 Desk set up: four desks facing each other in the center, the rest of the desks forming a
circle around the four
 Scalar
 Questions for prompting discussion
Day 19: On a Positive Note
5 min. Discussion of
previous class
CCSS.ELA
LITERACY.SL.11-
15 min. Article: Chris Kyle Scalar/ Article 12.1, CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.SL.11-
12.2
10 min. Final thoughts about

the book, wrap up
20 min. Work on multigenre

projects
Homework: Multigenre projects due next class
Agenda:
 Discussion of previous class (5 min.)
o Debrief of previous day (how was it, was anything difficult, did you learn
anything new, what was challenging, what was fun, etc.)
 Article: Chris Kyle (15 min.)
o Address the fact that most of the unit has been very critical of everything,
skeptical, and dark
o Article: skip to section titled “Covering Fire and Refusing to Quit”
o Read aloud with class, ask for volunteers to read
 Wrap up (10 min.)
o Closing thoughts about the book (likes, dislikes, what was hard, etc.)
o “Questions, comments, concerns, emotional outbursts”
 Work on multigenre projects (20 min.)
o Emphasize fact that projects are due next day. Ask any last minute questions, etc.
Day 20: Film/ Documentary
10 min. Collect projects,

debrief
40 min. Watch film Scalar/ Film
Homework: N/A
Agenda:
 Collect projects, debrief (10 min.)
o Talk about project (what was difficult, fun, etc.)
o Final words on book
 Watch film (40 min.)
o Option: American Sniper, other Iraq War documentaries; finish 9/11 segment
Materials:
 Scalar/ Videos
Danielson Aligned Lesson Plan Template for Formal Observations
American Sniper, Day 12: “The Iraqi Face”
Primary Subject Area and Grade Level:

English Language Arts
Grade 12
Interdisciplinary Connections: History
Lesson Duration: 50 min.
Relevance/ Rationale:
The current political climate of the United States rides upon a deficit of understanding
and having appropriate/ sufficient information. It is important for individuals to recognize and
learn the dangers of stereotyping and preemptive assumptions about other individuals in order to
become more empathetic and emotionally intelligent. This lesson specifically explores and
addresses stereotypes of individuals who live in Iraq, specifically relating to characters and
individuals noted in the book American Sniper.
Outcomes/ Objectives:
o Students will explore the relation between the content of the text (American
Sniper) and historical articles (Article: Newsweek)
o SWBAT identify the dangers of grouping and stereotyping
o SWBAT empathize with individuals and see the importance of understanding an
individual’s story before making assumptions
Common Core Learning Standards:

 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.10
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3
 Reading Strategies: Read Aloud (Jim Burke, Reading Reminders)
Use of Formative Assessment to Inform Planning:

Students have learned about the fundamentals of Islam, the history of Iraq, and have
looked at Chris Kyle’s manner of describing terrorist cells and insurgents in relation to
stereotyping and assumptive thinking. Students should be skeptical about information read, and
while much information is true, students may be skeptical about the sections read in this class
activity. After reading from the text, ask students for what they think about Chris Kyle’s
assumptions.
Overview:
Begin with homework turn in and silent journaling about the given prompt. After five
minutes, have students share with their peers briefly. Read aloud from the text for the given
pages, relate information to the online article for a transition. Another read aloud for the article to
check for student understanding and guide comprehension and discussion of how it relates to the
text and student’s perceptions. End with the video, which emphasizes a more positive outlook on
individuals, contrasted with the negative view of a group of individuals.
Prerequisite knowledge includes that of the events up to and through 9/11, and basic
knowledge about the Iraq War. Students already provided with background knowledge about
ethical decisions, exaggerations of narrative, and Islam.
Technologies and Other Materials:

 Paper
 Scalar
o YouTube: John Oliver, Last Week Tonight – Translators
o Article: Newsweek, “Inside the Training of Iraqi Troops”
Grouping Strategy:
Class will begin with a journal; students will journal silently by themselves for the
duration given. Discussion of the journals will be in partners. The remainder of the class will be
spent as a collective group; both the book and the article will be read as a group in order to check
for understanding collectively and to ensure that all students are on the same page. By having
most of the class period spent as a collective, it provides students a way to listen and respond to
their peers in a respectful manner while the instructor can moderate and guide the discussion to
meet the objective.
Academic Vocabulary:
o Insurgent(s)/ Insurgency
o Other military terms and terminology used during the Iraq War (almost all
language has been covered at this point)
Lesson Procedures:
 Collect Homework, Opening Journal (7 min.)
o Have students pass in copies of autobiographical narratives (draft #2) and take out
paper for journal prompt. Provide scrap paper and pencils if necessary.
o Read journal prompt, and display on the screen through Scalar
 Scalar: “Has there ever been a time where you did something to make
someone else look good? Write down the details and what you can
remember, along with any feelings and emotions you and other people had
about the experience. If you can't think of any examples, think about a
time where you did something for someone, or were working behind the
scenes and write about that.”
o Silent journal for approx. 4 min. Instructor should model writing and write along
with the students
o Have students share with a partner (1-2 min.)
o Address the day’s topic: involvement of Iraqi troops in the war, U.S. supposedly
training them to replace American troops eventually
o Read aloud to class for the first section; ask for volunteers to read afterward
o Briefly debrief: “How accurate do you think Chris Kyle is being? We know that
he has exaggerated in the past.”
 Article: Newsweek (10 min.)
o Provide the article through Scalar, projected from a screen.
 If desired, print copies of the article for students to have as an aide (eg:
students with vision difficulties)
o Read aloud with students. Pause along the way and discuss similarities with Chris
Kyle’s perspective
o Model summarization techniques verbally as reading
o Ask students to read
 Video: John Oliver (20 min.)
o Briefly discuss single stories and multiple perspectives (eg: not all Iraqi and
native individuals were like the people described in the book and in the article;
some are literally risking their lives)
o Watch video until the end of the class. If the discussion is worthwhile, focus on
discussion rather than getting to the video
Assessment Criteria for Success:

Students will be verbally assessed throughout the activities, primarily through
comprehension checks and asking for students to summarize or ask further questions. Similarly,
students will successfully meet the outcomes by demonstrating empathy for individuals and
expressing skepticism for general assessments and assumptions provided by singular sources.
Anticipated Difficulties:
This lesson relies heavily on student verbal response and interaction with the text. If
students are unwilling to speak, continue to ask questions and rephrase, or have students discuss
in small groups amongst each other before sharing ideas as a whole again.
Works Cited
9/11: Day That Changed the World. Directed by Leslie Woodhead, performances by Laura Bush,
Dick Cheney, Richard Clarke, Brook Lapping Productions, 2011.
Beith, Malcom. "Inside the Training of Iraqi Troops." Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2006,
http://www.newsweek.com/inside-training-iraqi-troops-109071. Accessed 8 May 2017.
Bernard, Vincent. “Tactics, Techniques, Tragedies: A Humanitarian Perspective on the Changing

Face of War.” International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 97, no. 900, 2015, pp. 959-
968, https://www.icrc.org/en/international-review/article/editorial-tactics-techniques-
tragedies-humanitarian-perspective. Accessed 7 May 2017.
"Big Mistake: How America's Opinion of the Iraq War has Changed." The Economist, 31 Aug.
2010. Accessed 8 May 2017.
Burke, Jim. Reading Reminders: Tools, Tips, and Techniques. Boyton/ Cook Publishers, 2000.
Print.
Coconi, Angeliki. "What is the Difference Between Autobiography and Narrative?" The Pen and
the Pad, Leaf Group Ltd, n.d., Web. Accessed 7 May 2017.
Dean, Josh. The Trolley Dilemma and How it Relates to Ethical Communication. N.d.,
http://www.trolleydilemma.com/references.html. Web. 4 May 2017.
Eastwood, Clint. “American Sniper – Official Trailer [HD].” YouTube, uploaded by Warner
Bros. Pictures, 3 Oct. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k3u9ay1gs.
Green, John. “Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars All Without a Flamewar: Crash Course
World History #13.” YouTube, uploaded by CrashCourse, 19 Apr. 2012,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpcbfxtdoI8.
Greenblatt, Mark Lee. "Two Chris Kyle Stories You Won't See in 'American Sniper.'"
Military.com, http://www.military.com/special-operations/two-chris-kyle-stories-you-
wont-see-in-american-sniper.html. Accessed 8 May 2017.
Healy, Melissa. “9/11 attacks lead to more study of post-traumatic stress disorder.” Los Angeles
Times, 5 Sept. 2011, http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/05/health/la-he-911-ptsd-
20110905/3. Accessed 7 May 2017.
Luscombe, Belinda. “Chris Kyle: American Sniper | 10 Questions | TIME.” YouTube, uploaded
by TIME, 7 Jan. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ12PN81xnI.
“Osama bin Laden.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 Jun. 2011,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Osama-bin-Laden. Accessed 5 May 2017.
Otterman, Sharon. "IRAQ: Training Iraqi Forces." Council on Foreign Relations, 8 Feb. 2005,
http://www.cfr.org/iraq/iraq-training-iraqi-forces/p7633. Accessed 8 May 2017.
“Persian Gulf War.” History.com, A+E Networks, 2009, http://www.history.com/topics/persian-

gulf-war. Accessed 5 May 2017.
"Public Attitudes Toward the War in 2003-2008." Pew Research Center, 19 Mar. 2008. Accessed
8 May 2017.
Quinonez, Natasha. "Character Sketch Examples for Creative Writers." Udemy Blog, 12 May
2014. Accessed 5 May 2017.
“Regina V. Dudley and Stephens.” Casebriefs, n.d.

http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/criminal-law/criminal-law-keyed-to-kadish/the-
justification-of-punishment/regina-v-dudley-and-stephens/. Web. 4 May 2017.
“Saddam Hussein.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 21 Dec. 2016,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saddam-Hussein. Accessed 5 May 2017.
Smith, Melinda, et al. “PTSD in Military Veterans: Symptoms, Treatment, and Self-Help.”
Helpguide.org, Apr. 2007, https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/ptsd-in-
veterans.htm. Accessed 7 May 2017.
“Translators: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).” YouTube, uploaded by
LastWeekTonight, 19 Oct. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QplQL5eAxlY.
Weir, Peter. “The Purpose of Language.” YouTube, uploaded by Argumentics, 12 Jan. 2012,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh79iPi-y-c.
Winfrey, Oprah. “Introduction to Islam | Belief | Oprah Winfrey Network.” YouTube, uploaded
by OWN, 26 Oct. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgP_OSOS3IA.
Yusko, David, and Natalie Gay. “Post-traumatic stress disorder in civilians.” Anxiety.org, 6 Oct.
2016, https://www.anxiety.org/ptsd-non-veteran-ptsd-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-
civilians. Accessed 7 May 2017.

American Sniper Unit Plan

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American Sniper Unit Plan

Daily Lesson Plans:

Day 12 – “The Iraqi Face” 91

what makes an individual good or evil.

around upperclassmen in high school, specifically seniors, it is important to address personal

generating empathy and understanding for others.

connections to modern times is relevant to students and their futures.

This source in particular introduces students to the narrative type of autobiographical

individuals in different manners; autobiographical narratives offer retellings of true events,

other information and insights.

to multiple books, as autobiographical narratives and memoirs are becoming increasingly

demonstrate their knowledge in a verbal manner.

autobiographical narrative, a persuasive essay, a creative writing component, and a creative

engages students with the material.

DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5

DAY 6 DAY 7 DAY 8 DAY 9 DAY 10

 HW: Ch 6  HW: Ch 6 (143-  HW: Ch 7  HW: Ch 7  HW: Ch 8

 HW: Ch 9 (232-  HW: Ch 10  HW: Ch 10  HW: Ch 12  HW: Ch 13

DAY 16 DAY 17 DAY 18 DAY 19 DAY 20

 HW: Ch 14  HW:  HW: multigenre  HW: multigenre

Scalar Link: http://scalar.usc.edu/works/american-sniper-unit-project/index

Day 1: Introduction and Moral/ Ethical Dilemmas

5 min. American Sniper Scalar: American CCSS.ELA-

Homework: Finish prologue, read chapter 1 (pgs. 1-21)

Day 2: History (Pre-9/11)

Scalar: Day 2 CCSS.ELA-

3 min. Wrap up, collect

Homework: Read Chapter 2 (pgs. 22-45)

 Saddam Hussein Al-Tikriti

April 28, 1937

December 30, 2006 (aged 69)

Saddam Hussein, also spelled Ṣaddām Ḥusayn, in full Saddam Hussein al-

Saddam launched an invasion of Iran’s oil fields in September 1980, but the

The opening salvo of the Iraq War was an assault by U.S. aircraft on a bunker

“Saddam Hussein.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 21 Dec. 2016,

Osama bin Laden

 Osama bin Mohammad bin Laden

May 2, 2011 (aged 54)

Osama bin Laden, also spelled Usāmah ibn Lādin (born 1957, Riyadh,

Osama bin Laden studied business administration at King Abdul Aziz

“Osama bin Laden.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 Jun. 2011,

PERSIAN GULF WAR

BACKGROUND OF THE PERSIAN GULF WAR

Did You Know?

In justifying his invasion of Kuwait in

In addition to Hussein’s incendiary speech, Iraq had begun amassing troops

IRAQI INVASION OF KUWAIT & ALLIED

THE GULF WAR BEGINS

WAR ON THE GROUND

With Iraqi resistance nearing collapse, Bush declared a ceasefire on February

AFTERMATH OF THE PERSIAN GULF WAR

“Persian Gulf War.” History.com, A+E Networks, 2009, http://www.history.com/topics/persian-

TIME ACTIVITY MATERIALS CCSS

Documentary: “9/11: CCSS.ELA-

Homework: Read Chapter 3 (58-73)

TIME ACTIVITY MATERIALS CCSS

5 min. Debrief, catch up

Homework: Read Chapter 4 (pgs. 74-91)

1. What are the two primary groups under Islam?

2. What does Islam mean?

3. What is the Quran?

4. What does Jihad actually represent?

Name: ______________________ Class: Date: