Historical Background
In 1919, Irish Republican Army launched guerilla warfare to liberate Ireland from the British. London could not control the rebels and agreed to the following provisions (which not all Irishmen agreed with):
After reading The Sniper in class, we will consider the essential question, "How does war distort human relationships?"
Lesson 1: Reading and Reflecting
In small groups, discuss the questions below and be prepared to discuss them as a class:
Lesson 2: Making Connections
Read the article about Pat Tillman's death in the Iraq War. This article was written days after his death. You need to only read the first section of the article.
As a class, we will watch the 60 Minutes episode, "What Happened to Pat Tillman?" that aired 4 years after Tillman's death in 2008.
What connection can you make between The Sniper and "What Happened to Pat Tillman?" Write your response in a blog post entitled The Sniper. (We discussed this instead of writing it)
Resources:
Is war murder?
Lesson 3:
Think of a song or a poem that you know which connects to the essential question in this story. Continue the post you began and write one paragraph that explains the connection you made between the song/poem and the story.
Find an example from the news that connects to the essential question in some way. Create a link to that news item (video or article) and write a brief paragraph explaining the connection.
Do you think that war distorts human relationships? Why or why not? A very good post will draw examples from the story, your article or any other text.
In 1919, Irish Republican Army launched guerilla warfare to liberate Ireland from the British. London could not control the rebels and agreed to the following provisions (which not all Irishmen agreed with):
- create an Irish Free State but only within the British Commonwealth of Nations
- allow six counties in northern Ireland to withdraw from the Free State
- allow the British to maintain ports in the south
- require the Free State to pay part of the debt Britain incurred in waging the war.
After reading The Sniper in class, we will consider the essential question, "How does war distort human relationships?"
Lesson 1: Reading and Reflecting
In small groups, discuss the questions below and be prepared to discuss them as a class:
- How does the knowledge or lack of knowledge of the characters skew your perspective of the story?
- Discuss the concept of irony and how it affects the reader at the end of the story and leaves them with questions about war and conflict.
- How does the street separate the two snipers? What does the street represent?
- Is there any resolution at the end of the story? How is this representative of real life?
- Why does the Sniper want to see his victim?
- Consider the following statement: It is said that in war, no side really wins. Decide if this statement is true or false and support your answer with examples from the text.
Lesson 2: Making Connections
Read the article about Pat Tillman's death in the Iraq War. This article was written days after his death. You need to only read the first section of the article.
As a class, we will watch the 60 Minutes episode, "What Happened to Pat Tillman?" that aired 4 years after Tillman's death in 2008.
What connection can you make between The Sniper and "What Happened to Pat Tillman?" Write your response in a blog post entitled The Sniper. (We discussed this instead of writing it)
Resources:
Is war murder?
Lesson 3:
Think of a song or a poem that you know which connects to the essential question in this story. Continue the post you began and write one paragraph that explains the connection you made between the song/poem and the story.
Find an example from the news that connects to the essential question in some way. Create a link to that news item (video or article) and write a brief paragraph explaining the connection.
Do you think that war distorts human relationships? Why or why not? A very good post will draw examples from the story, your article or any other text.