Embedded Files
Unit Overview
Unit Overview
In this unit, students will explore what happens when groups create societies where one group’s definition of perfect is another group’s oppressive nightmare. Students will begin by reading the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and watching the short film adaptation “2081”. Students will be assessed in a preliminary fashion on the skills of this unit during these classes. Students will also read Animal Farm by George Orwell. After this shared literary experience and assessments regarding theme and symbolism, students will read companion texts in literature circle groups. Students will apply their understanding of key ideas and craft/structure as they analyze their novels, while also practicing speaking and listening skills. Students will be called upon to independently recognize and analyze the literary concepts scaffolded earlier in the unit at this time. Finally, students will create a propaganda poster for the society from their companion novel to show evidence of learned skills from the duration of the unit. A gallery walk will be the culmination of the speaking and listening skills practiced throughout the unit. This final component will serve as a synthesis assessment.
Unit Vocabulary
Unit Vocabulary
Dystopia
Utopia
Allegory
Satire
Irony (dramatic and verbal)
Tone
Mood
Characterization (direct and indirect)
Theme
Symbol/Symbolism
Form
Setting
Impact
Connotation
Denotation
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
Who am I as a reader, as a writer, as a speaker, and as a thinker?
Why are reading, writing, and storytelling essential components of the human experience?
How does English Language Arts expand our perspective?
What is justice? What role do individuals play in creating justice?
What is your vision or idea of a perfect world?
What do we value in our leaders?
Unit Standards
Unit Standards
Students will learn...
Reading for Literature
Key Ideas and Details
Theme/main ideas: How to determine a central idea or theme
Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film)
Craft/Structure
How to analyze contrasting POV through audience and author to determine the dramatic irony and its effect
How to identify and analyze the use of figurative language in a text (symbolism)
How to determine a literary form (allegory, satire)
How to identify and explain the parts of a literary work (setting)
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
How to compare and contrast how a fictional portrayal of a time, place, and character draws from myths, folklore, traditional stories, or religious texts including describing how the original influences the new text.
Speaking and Listening
What discussion rules are and how to apply them
How to set and track goals for speaking and for listening
What roles in collaborative work are and how to apply them
How to elaborate and keep discussion on track
How to connect one person’s ideas to another
Language
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
How to identify the negative, positive, or neutral impact of a word
How to determine a word’s meaning by analyzing its placement in a sentence
Core Text
Core Text
Animal Farm
George Orwell
Texts:
Texts:
Scythe
Neal Shusterman
The Giver
Lois Lowry
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Patrick Ness
The Maze Runner
James Dashner
The Hunger Games
City of Ember
Jeanne DuPrau
Divergent
Veronica Roth
The Living
Matt de la Pena
Legend
Marie Lu
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