This activity directs students to write first hand journal entries in the shoes of survivors and justify their actions.

This will be a powerful assignment for tenth graders.  Journaling about catastrophic events will help students identify survival characteristics and see how such actions could apply in their own lives, thereby building grit and determination. In addition, ranking the survival actions and discussing their decisions in groups forces students to support their decisions with evidence. The unit ends with a final written rationalization where students explain their rankings with concrete support, giving much needed practice in providing evidence for stated opinions.