Flight: A Novel

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. In the beginning of Flight, Zits, the protagonist, mentions the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). What is the ICWA, and what does it show about the complicated interactions between the United States government and Native communities?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to define and give context to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and residential boarding schools before exploring the second half of the Short Answer prompt. You might guide the class through a reading and exploration of the last two resources below to promote discussion around these topics.

• “Understanding the Indian Child Welfare Act” from the ICWA Law Center introduces the Indian Child Welfare Act and discusses the history of Native children being removed from their families and tribal communities.
• This website from the US Department of the Interior includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ mission statement as well as its history and services.
• This article from the Indigenous Foundation discusses the history of Native American Boarding Schools and includes relevant photographs, documentary links, and related literature.

2. Why did Sherman Alexie write Flight? What influenced or inspired him? What did he set out to accomplish with this novel?

Teaching Suggestion: You may consider providing students with the unit’s main themes prior to listening to (or reading) the segment below and encourage students to anticipate how these themes might be explored in the novel.

• “Author Sherman Alexie Talks ‘Flight’” from NPR’s Talk of the Nation features a conversation between Rebecca Roberts and Sherman Alexie and focuses on Alexie’s inspiration and intention for Flight.

Short Activity

This activity will help you understand the importance of the theme of Ancestry and Identity in Alexie’s novel through another contemporary indigenous voice, Joy Harjo. Read and annotate the poem carefully. How does the poet’s choices, such as repetition and figurative language, convey meaning? What is the role of identity in Harjo’s poem? What does it mean to remember, and why is memory important?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider having students write their own answers to the question in a journal and then engage in a think-pair-share with a partner or small group before facilitating a larger class discussion.

• “Remember” by Joy Harjo explores the role of memory in crafting one’s identity and sense of self.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

In Flight, Sherman Alexie explores how various historical events impact a person’s lived experience in the present. What historical events have impacted you the most? In what ways has your life been shaped by the past?

Teaching Suggestion: You may consider helping students brainstorm historical events that are generally significant to a society (i.e., 9/11) and then prompt students to consider other events that may be more personally relevant to them as individuals. This Personal Connection Prompt may serve well as a take-home assignment in which students discuss important events with close family members.