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Creative Problem Solving

Lesson Plan
English
9
Finding Justice for Henrietta Laks
90 minutes
Christine Pekatos

Instructional Unit Content

Standard(s)/Element(s)
Content Area Standard
ELACC9-10RI1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly
as well as inferences drawn from the text.
ELACC9-10RI6: Determine an authors point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses
rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
ELACC9-10RI7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a persons life story in
print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
TAG Standard
Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
2. The student designs, applies, evaluates, and adapts a variety of innovative strategies to when problem solving
(e.g., recognizes problems, defines problems, identifies possible solutions, selects optimal solution, implements
solution, and evaluates solution).
3. The student incorporates brainstorming to solve problems or create new products.
Summary/Overview
The focus of this lesson is to creatively solve the problem of bringing justice to the Lacks today, over 50 years after
Henrietta Lacks cells were taken, replicated, bartered, and sold without any kind of informed consent or permission.

Enduring Understanding(s)
At the end of this lesson the student will understand
a. The complexities of the injustice served to Henrietta Lacks and her family have not lessened over time.
Although some believe that the illegal use of Henrietta Lacks cells should be blamed on the time period,
todays modern activists are having difficulty identifying solutions to injustice.
b. There are multiple solutions to many complex problems, but not all solutions will be seen as satisfactory.
Essential Question(s)
Do we have the power to repair previous injustices? Or is the past simply unchangeable?
1

Concept(s) to Maintain

Rebecca Skloots goals as a writer.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a combination of biography, history, and memoir.
The intersection of science and philosophy involves many individuals.

Evidence of Learning
What students should know:
a. Many people are in a position to help the Lacks, if they so choose.
b. There are many other forms of repayment other than money.
What students should be able to do:
a. Read a text with difficult language.
b. Identify bias is a text.
c. Use brainstorming to come up with a variety of possible solutions.
Suggested Vocabulary

Biography
Memoir
Bias
Objective & Subjective

Procedure(s)
Phase 1: Hook
1. Students will complete a brief journal response in reaction to the epigraph of The Immortal Life of Henrietta
Lacks, included here:
Wemustnotseeanypersonasanabstraction.Instead,wemustseeineverypersonauniverse
withitsownsecrets,withitsowntreasures,withitsownsourcesofanguish,andwithsome
measureoftriumph.ElieWiesel
Phase 2: Examine the Content
2. Students will get out their copies of The Immortal Life Henrietta Lacks. Students have already discussed at
length the injustices done to the Lacks family.
3.

Students are giving the following scenario: After the huge success of her first book, the author Rebecca Skloot
decides to act and bring some kind of justice to the Lacks. Who do you advise your friend Rebecca to call for
help? Students will work in small groups to create a list of specific people and occupations that Rebecca Skloot
could enlist to help her. Example individuals: lawyers, activists, professor of bioethics, the

4.

The problem to solve: The Lacks have spent many years impoverished, uneducated, and completely
unrecognized by the scientific and medical communities that have benefitted from the HeLa cells. What action
can be taken to right this wrong? Solutions can be as creative as possible, but should be feasible (i.e. no Aliens
can arrive to use Alien technology to bring Henrietta back from the dead so she can be a celebrity).

5.

Phase 3: Creative Problem Solving

2

6.

Review the Rules of Brainstorming: 1)Go for quantity. 2) Wild and crazy ideas are okay. 3) Piggy-back on the
ideas of others. 4) No judgmentpositive or negative.

7.

Solution-Finding: Each group will brainstorm solutions to remedy the injustice detailed in the texts.

8.

Solution-Finding: Each group will develop criteria to evaluate the five solutions. Examples include: Potential
Financial gain for Lacks, Expense of the solution, and The ability of the solution to help with other medical
ethics injustices. Students can use the decision-making grid to determine the best solution.

9.

Acceptance-Finding: Each group will develop an action plan for implementing the solution. The action plan
should be written into a letter that can be sent to Rebecca Skloot. This allows the opportunity for an
AUTHENTIC AUDIENCE- great proposals can actually be sent to the author!

Phase 4: Synthesis Activity

10.

Each group reads their proposal. Each student is now given $1,000 of Monopoly money to support one of the
`groups proposals. Which do you choose and why? Each student should write on a Ticket Out the Door what
proposal they ultimately chose and why that particular way to solve injustice is the best way to honor Henrietta
and her living family members.

Summarizing Activity
11. The next day, instructor will share the top three proposals as determined by financial backing from class. Class
will have the opportunity to discuss as a class the criteria for a solution to past injustices and directly compare the
proposals created the day before.
Resource(s):
Anchor Text:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks books and annotations from previous chapters.
Handouts:
Handout 1: Rules of Brainstorming
Handout 2: Decision Making Grid
Notecard: Ticket Out the Door