Student Timeline Worksheet: Group Four

"Hurricane Katrina and the Blame Game"

Directions:
Your group will be covering a portion of the timeline "Katrina: What Happened When" and answering questions based on the reading. Your job is to analyze how events or individuals might have been responsible for the poor response to Hurricane Katrina. You will be reporting your findings to the class.

Group Four (Sept. 3, 2005 ­ Sept. 15, 2005):

1. Read the summaries of the articles that cover your time period at: http://www.factcheck.org/article348.html. As a group, answer the following questions:
   • What issues came up as the dead were removed from the streets of New Orleans?
   • What responsibility does the federal government have for the failures in New Orleans according to President George W. Bush?
   • What does FEMA director Michael Brown say about the actions of the Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco?
2. Read the transcript found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050915-8.html. As a group, answer the following questions:
   • What responsibility does President Bush say local communities must assume for future planning?
   • What promises does President Bush make to minorities and lower-income citizens?
   • Why does President Bush say he is taking responsibility for the breakdown in the government response to Hurricane Katrina?
3. Using information from your reading, take a stand on whom you would blame for the poor response to Hurricane Katrina. Explain your answer and provide supporting information.
4. Using supporting information, organize a short presentation that covers your group's findings on who is to blame for the devastation. Include a recommendation on how this problem could be avoided in the future. Summarize what you will be presenting here.