Module 2 Challenges: Courage and Leadership - An excerpt from She Should Talk: Conversations with Exceptional Young Women About Life, Dreams and Success

Before Reading or Listening

Big Questions
With the students discuss the following BIG Questions (write these questions on the board): What qualities do leaders possess? What does it mean to give your best? What role does persistence play in achieving your best? In their journals, students could write about a time they did something that required leadership, giving their best, or persistence.

Background Information
Tell them that today they will read or listen to (Sightlines 10 Audio Pack, Unit 4, Track 5) an interview conducted by Erica Ehm, the author of She Should Talk: Conversations with Exceptional Young Women About Life, Dreams and Success. Ehm was invited to write the book as a response to the allegation that her generation, Generation X, is characterized as a group of unmotivated slackers. Ehm selected ten outstanding women to refute the uncomplimentary description about her generation. In this interview (an excerpt from Ehm's book), Ehm talks with fighter pilot Kim Reid.

Ask students what they know about fighter pilots and the training fighter pilots must undergo. Ask them where they got their information about fighter pilots. Many may cite television programs, movies, and stories about aviators. Ask students if they think it requires courage and leadership to be a fighter pilot. Another option would be to use a KWL chart (RTF/PDF/Word) with students.

Preview the Text
Ask students to preview the text. What do they notice? They should notice the picture, the picture's caption, the title, a series of paragraphs appearing before the bolded questions, the bold print used for the questions, the regular print used for the answers, and the varied length of questions and responses. Ask students to decide why the author included a picture of Kim Reid and what the inclusion of the picture adds to students' understanding of the text.

Purpose of Interviews
You may also want to consider the purpose of interviews and ask students why people conduct interviews. Most students will recognize that interviews are an effective method of getting information about a wide variety of topics. Journalists use interviews to share information with the public. Since interviews are a useful means of gathering information, interviews are a highly effective research technique. As they read the interview, tell students to evaluate how effective this interview is as a means of gathering information about what it takes to become a fighter pilot.

If you do not have access to the compact disc, students could read the interview with a partner. One student takes the role of Erica Ehm and the other student takes the role of Kim Reid.