The Blind Side

The Blind Side

• Genre: Nonfiction; narrative; sports journalism
• Originally Published: 2006
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 980L; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 12 chapters; approx. 352 pages; approx. 11 hours, 47 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: The author traces the story of Michael Oher, a young Black man from an impoverished background who has the physical gifts to be a successful left tackle protecting a quarterback’s blind side. Oher is helped by a wealthy white family involved with the small Evangelical Christian high school he attends.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racial slurs; violence

Michael Lewis, Author

• Bio: Born in 1960 in New Orleans; earned his bachelor’s degree in art history from Princeton University and his master’s degree in economics from the London School of Economics; his early career on Wall Street inspired his first book, Liar’s Poker; has received several Gerald Loeb Awards for his magazine feature writing, much of which focuses on business and economics; his book The Blind Side was made into a feature film in 2009
• Other Works: Liar’s Poker (1989); Moneyball (2003); The Big Short (2010); The Undoing Project (2016); The Fifth Risk (2018); The Premonition (2021)
• Awards: Alex Award (2007); New York Times Notable Selection

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Complexity of Forces and Motives
• Nature Versus Nurture
• Institutional Racism

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the social and cultural contexts regarding football that incite Michael’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The Complexity of Forces and Motives, Nature Versus Nurture, and Institutional Racism.
• Research and construct a text-based report like Michael Lewis’s exploring the influence of Nature Versus Nurture on a professional athlete.
• Analyze and evaluate the author’s purpose and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding Lewis’s writing style, Sean and Leigh Ann’s motivations, and other topics.