Introduction

Have you ever been surprised, put in a dangerous situation, or forced to make an important decision? These situations are stressful, and the first thought that pops into people's head is: What should I do? When something unexpected happens, that question can be very difficult to answer. In fact, there is no right answer. Everyone responds differently to frightening scenarios. In this lesson, you will read about two people who had to figure out what to do in life and death situations.

Experiencing War: Veterans History Project (http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/courage.html)
Tsunami: Shilpa's Story (http://googolplex.cuna.org/1/cnote/story.html?doc_id=890)

Start with the Veterans History Project by clicking the link above. Read the interview given by Rhona Marie Prescott, an American nurse who cared for wounded soldiers in the Vietnam War. Pay special attention to what Prescott did when she did not have the supplies, training, or people that she needed to do her job. Next, read the story about surviving the tsunami that destroyed parts of Asia and Africa in December of 2004. Think about how the two stories are similar and how they are different.

Once you have explored both websites, you will draw two overlapping circles, a Venn diagram, that compares the stories. One circle will be for Rhona Marie Prescott, and the other will be for Shilpa Natarajan. In each author's circle, you should list objects, events, and emotions that apply to that author only. In the shared space between the circles, you should write objects, events, and emotions that the authors share.

1.	Sample Venn diagram: <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0078764300/432409/G8_U4_WQ.jpg','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (21.0K)</a>