Lesson Plan: Haiti’s Recovery, Ten Years After the 2010 Earthquake

Posted by The Pulitzer Center on January 21, 2020

On January 12, 2010, a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Haiti’s capital. Ten years and 4.4 billion dollars in aid from the United States later, Pulitzer Center grantees report that many promises for recovery went unfulfilled. This short lesson explores the situation in Haiti, and the power of persuasive writing.

Warm-up: 

1. Scroll through these images from photojournalist Allison Shelley’s 2015 reporting in Haiti and read the captions: https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/haiti-then-and-now#slideshow-0?utm_source=email&utm_medium=educationnewsletter&utm_campaign=1152020
2. These photos show Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the 2010 earthquake and five years later. What stands out to you about the images? Did you learn anything that surprised you?
3. What do you think Haiti is like today, ten years after the earthquake?

Explore the Text: Read “The Pernicious Power of American Promises” by Jacob Kushner, an opinion piece on how well-intentioned U.S. aid efforts have largely failed Haiti.

Discussion Questions:

1. How did Fabienne become “famous”?
2. The journalist calls American promises to help Haiti “pernicious.” What evidence does he provide to support that characterization? (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/pernicious?utm_source=email&utm_medium=educationnewsletter&utm_campaign=1152020)
3. This article is an opinion piece. How can you tell that it is an opinion piece? How does Kushner structure the article to persuade?

Extension Activities:

1. The journalist writes, “The solution is not to promise less. Rather, it’s to see those promises through.” Using what you learned from this article and your own research, write a letter to your representative in Congress that addresses the question: What do you think could be done to improve U.S. efforts to support Haiti’s recovery?
2. Conduct a research project on an aspect of how Haiti has recovered since 2010 that has gone under-reported. Write an opinion piece, or prepare a presentation in order to persuade your classmates that they should care about your topic.

See reporting used in this lesson: https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/pernicious-power-american-promises?utm_source=email&utm_medium=educationnewsletter&utm_campaign=1152020