The Blind Side

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. How might someone describe football to someone who is unfamiliar with the game? Why might football be important in American culture? How does football impact high schools? What might be some of the benefits for students who have a successful football career?

Teaching Suggestion: The Blind Side is about a socioeconomically disadvantaged student, Michael Oher, who is adopted by a white upper-class family in Memphis. Michael’s prospects change drastically as his adopted family, the Tuohys, ensure Michael receives the tutoring and instruction he needs to become an athlete at Ole Miss. Consider discussing the rules of football and the role of the sport in American culture and schools.

• This 2-minute video describes the basics of understanding American football.
• This 6-minute video makes the case for sports and their benefits in education.

2. What might be the advantages and disadvantages of a career in sports? Do you think success in sports is influenced by social background, wealth, or other factors? What role might coaches, connections, and school choice play in promoting athletes? What might be the probability of any single student becoming a professional athlete?

Teaching Suggestion: Michael always dreamed of becoming a professional athlete, but his background offered him few opportunities to succeed in school. However, he possesses the remarkable physical gifts of speed, stamina, and strength necessary to excel at the highest level of football. Through his association with the Tuohys, he makes the correct connections to play college sports and eventually rises to the ranks of professional football. Consider discussing the advantages of wealth and connections in the sports community and one’s likelihood of becoming a professional athlete.

• This article describes the odds of becoming a professional athlete.
• This article articulates the connection between having a wealthy family and being a successful college athlete.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Describe a time when you felt like the odds were stacked against you as you attempted to achieve a goal. Consider the obstacles in your way and how you strategized to overcome them. What did you do to maintain a positive mindset in achieving your goal? Do you think determination and hard work can help someone overcome seemingly insurmountable odds? Are relationships important in achieving something difficult? How might adversity be beneficial in the long run?

Teaching Suggestion: Michael faces adversity in his early life and continues to face obstacles as he attempts to reach his goal of becoming a college athlete. Consider discussing setbacks, strategies people use to overcome them, and the opportunities adversities offer.

Differentiation Suggestion: Advanced students might further research how wealth, contacts, training, and genetics contribute to athletic success. They might consider athletes who never received widespread acclaim for their athletic abilities due to racial barriers that hindered their progress, or investigate the robust and competitive world of para-athletics, where differently abled athletes of the highest skill compete for medals, prizes, and endorsements. What questions about Nature Versus Nurture arise when considering the staggering achievements of athletes who were born without sight or who never had a chance to play in the big leagues because of their race? An infographic displaying the results of their research might be one potential product.