Reading and Writing Workshop
Workshop Title: Historical Fiction--The Failure of Disaster Response
Resources:
Historical Thinking Guide
Era: Modern Era
Resources:
Historical Thinking Guide
Era: Modern Era
Reading and Writing Workshop: “Levees and Ladders”
Workshop Objective:
By the end of this workshop, students will:
SESSION 1: The Levees Break – Systemic Inequality and Infrastructure Collapse
1. Novel Excerpt Review:
Read Prologue and Part I: Storm Brewing from Levees and Ladders, focusing on the description of the Lower Ninth Ward, pre-existing poverty, and the warning signs before Katrina struck.
2. Primary Source Exploration:
Excerpts from Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared – U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (2006)
URL: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-109srpt322/html/CRPT-109srpt322.htm
3. Group Discussion & Activity:
Discussion Prompt: “How did segregation, redlining, and infrastructural neglect make the Lower Ninth Ward especially vulnerable?”
Activity: Have students analyze FEMA’s delay and the Army Corps of Engineers’ role in levee failure using quotes from the Senate report. Create a cause-and-effect flowchart linking pre-existing inequality to disaster severity.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection:
Prompt: “Imagine you are Mia or her mother writing a journal entry the night before Katrina. What are you afraid of? What injustices do you feel already exist before the storm arrives?”
SESSION 2: Government in Crisis – The Response Breakdown
1. Novel Excerpt Review:
Read Part II: The Storm Hits and Part III: Loss and Displacement. Focus on the delays in rescue, confusion over responsibilities, and life on the overpass.
2. Primary Source Exploration:
The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned (White House, 2006)
URL: https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned.pdf
3. Group Discussion & Activity:
Discussion Prompt: “What caused confusion between local, state, and federal agencies during the response to Katrina?”
Activity: Use a timeline to map what the city of New Orleans, Louisiana state government, and FEMA each did—or failed to do—in the first 7 days. Assign small groups to analyze and report on a different agency’s timeline.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection:
Prompt: “Write a letter from Latasha to a government official describing the chaos on the overpass and what her family needed most—but didn’t receive.”
SESSION 3: Displacement and Diaspora – Evacuation and Resettlement
1. Novel Excerpt Review:
Read Part IV: Arrival in Houston and Part V: The Power of Kindness. Focus on the trauma of displacement, starting over, and community response.
2. Primary Source Exploration:
Oral histories from Katrina evacuees archived by the Library of Congress:
“Voices from the Storm”
URL: https://www.loc.gov/collections/hurricane-katrina-oral-history-project/about-this-collection/
3. Group Discussion & Activity:
Discussion Prompt: “What are the long-term effects of forced migration caused by natural disaster and government failure?”
Activity: Students listen to one evacuee’s oral history and compare their experience to Mia’s. Chart the emotional, social, and logistical challenges of resettlement.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection:
Prompt: “How does kindness from strangers reshape someone’s sense of identity and belonging in a new place?”
SESSION 4: Rebuilding, Responsibility, and Resilience
1. Novel Excerpt Review:
Read Part VI: Turning Point, Part VII: Triumph, and Part VIII: Epilogue: Hope Renewed. Focus on Mia’s academic growth and her return to New Orleans as an engineer.
2. Primary Source Exploration:
FEMA’s Strategic Plan (2008–2013): Goals of rebuilding with equity and resilience
URL: https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/strategic_plan.pdf (archived version)
Additionally, review sections of President Obama’s remarks on Katrina's 10th anniversary (2015)
URL: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/27/remarks-president-hurricane-katrina-10th-anniversary
3. Group Discussion & Activity:
Discussion Prompt: “What does it mean to ‘rebuild right’? How can communities ensure the future is more just than the past?”
Activity: Role-play a city planning meeting. Students act as engineers, former residents, and local leaders deciding how to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward. Use real maps or blueprints of post-Katrina development plans.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection:
Prompt: “Mia dreams of becoming an engineer to rebuild her city stronger. What profession would you choose to fix an injustice you’ve witnessed or learned about?”
CLOSING PROJECT OPTIONS
Conclusion:
This workshop reveals the intersection of personal trauma, structural racism, and governmental failure in one of the nation’s most devastating disasters. Through Levees and Ladders, public records, and survivor voices, students will examine how history is not just made by storms, but by the decisions and failures of those in power—and the resilience of those left behind.
Workshop Objective:
By the end of this workshop, students will:
- Analyze the historical context surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its impact on vulnerable communities.
- Understand how systemic inequality, environmental racism, and mismanagement contributed to the disaster.
- Examine the roles and responsibilities of state and federal governments during emergencies.
- Evaluate the novella’s use of historical fiction to portray trauma, resilience, and recovery.
- Engage critically with public domain sources, media, and personal narratives to explore themes of poverty, displacement, and rebuilding.
- Express insights through discussion, analytical essays, and creative reflection.
SESSION 1: The Levees Break – Systemic Inequality and Infrastructure Collapse
1. Novel Excerpt Review:
Read Prologue and Part I: Storm Brewing from Levees and Ladders, focusing on the description of the Lower Ninth Ward, pre-existing poverty, and the warning signs before Katrina struck.
2. Primary Source Exploration:
Excerpts from Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared – U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (2006)
URL: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-109srpt322/html/CRPT-109srpt322.htm
3. Group Discussion & Activity:
Discussion Prompt: “How did segregation, redlining, and infrastructural neglect make the Lower Ninth Ward especially vulnerable?”
Activity: Have students analyze FEMA’s delay and the Army Corps of Engineers’ role in levee failure using quotes from the Senate report. Create a cause-and-effect flowchart linking pre-existing inequality to disaster severity.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection:
Prompt: “Imagine you are Mia or her mother writing a journal entry the night before Katrina. What are you afraid of? What injustices do you feel already exist before the storm arrives?”
SESSION 2: Government in Crisis – The Response Breakdown
1. Novel Excerpt Review:
Read Part II: The Storm Hits and Part III: Loss and Displacement. Focus on the delays in rescue, confusion over responsibilities, and life on the overpass.
2. Primary Source Exploration:
The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned (White House, 2006)
URL: https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned.pdf
3. Group Discussion & Activity:
Discussion Prompt: “What caused confusion between local, state, and federal agencies during the response to Katrina?”
Activity: Use a timeline to map what the city of New Orleans, Louisiana state government, and FEMA each did—or failed to do—in the first 7 days. Assign small groups to analyze and report on a different agency’s timeline.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection:
Prompt: “Write a letter from Latasha to a government official describing the chaos on the overpass and what her family needed most—but didn’t receive.”
SESSION 3: Displacement and Diaspora – Evacuation and Resettlement
1. Novel Excerpt Review:
Read Part IV: Arrival in Houston and Part V: The Power of Kindness. Focus on the trauma of displacement, starting over, and community response.
2. Primary Source Exploration:
Oral histories from Katrina evacuees archived by the Library of Congress:
“Voices from the Storm”
URL: https://www.loc.gov/collections/hurricane-katrina-oral-history-project/about-this-collection/
3. Group Discussion & Activity:
Discussion Prompt: “What are the long-term effects of forced migration caused by natural disaster and government failure?”
Activity: Students listen to one evacuee’s oral history and compare their experience to Mia’s. Chart the emotional, social, and logistical challenges of resettlement.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection:
Prompt: “How does kindness from strangers reshape someone’s sense of identity and belonging in a new place?”
SESSION 4: Rebuilding, Responsibility, and Resilience
1. Novel Excerpt Review:
Read Part VI: Turning Point, Part VII: Triumph, and Part VIII: Epilogue: Hope Renewed. Focus on Mia’s academic growth and her return to New Orleans as an engineer.
2. Primary Source Exploration:
FEMA’s Strategic Plan (2008–2013): Goals of rebuilding with equity and resilience
URL: https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/strategic_plan.pdf (archived version)
Additionally, review sections of President Obama’s remarks on Katrina's 10th anniversary (2015)
URL: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/27/remarks-president-hurricane-katrina-10th-anniversary
3. Group Discussion & Activity:
Discussion Prompt: “What does it mean to ‘rebuild right’? How can communities ensure the future is more just than the past?”
Activity: Role-play a city planning meeting. Students act as engineers, former residents, and local leaders deciding how to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward. Use real maps or blueprints of post-Katrina development plans.
4. Independent Writing & Reflection:
Prompt: “Mia dreams of becoming an engineer to rebuild her city stronger. What profession would you choose to fix an injustice you’ve witnessed or learned about?”
CLOSING PROJECT OPTIONS
- Historical Research Paper: Investigate FEMA’s role during Katrina or the legal and political conflicts between Louisiana’s governor and the federal government.
- Creative Extension: Write an original historical fiction short story about a young survivor of another U.S. disaster (e.g., the Dust Bowl, 9/11, or COVID-19).
- Visual Exhibit: Create a digital or physical poster linking events from Levees and Ladders with real headlines, oral histories, and maps of New Orleans before and after Katrina.
Conclusion:
This workshop reveals the intersection of personal trauma, structural racism, and governmental failure in one of the nation’s most devastating disasters. Through Levees and Ladders, public records, and survivor voices, students will examine how history is not just made by storms, but by the decisions and failures of those in power—and the resilience of those left behind.