Unit 1­ Dystopian Literature (Ray Bradbury) Mr. George Eleftheriades Eighth Grade English Literature and Composition Duration: Five Weeks Essential Questions: ● How do themes in literature simultaneously function as social critiques? ● How do authors use literary devices to build larger ideas in a text? ● In what ways is humanity regressing? ● Is humankind inherently good or evil? ● How are many of the norms in modern society highly problematic? ● How can technology be seen as both an asset and a detriment? ● What are the elements of an effective argument? Objectives: ​
Students will… ● Assess the ways in which authors employ literary devices common to narrative fiction to develop themes that function as a social critique. ● Define the elements of dystopian literature. ● Dissect the texts of and identify the elements of dystopian literature. ● Create dystopian literature through emulation. ● Analyze larger themes at work in a story. Essential Texts: ● Fahrenheit 451 ­ ​
Ray Bradbury ● “All Summer in a Day” – Ray Bradbury ● “The Veldt” – Ray Bradbury ● “Harrison Bergeron”­ Kurt Vonnegut Assessments: ● Quizzes on class notes, literary devices and vocabulary ● Original dystopian short story ● In­class and take home expository writing assessments Unit 1­ Dystopian Literature (Ray Bradbury) Links to Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA­Literacy.RL.8.1​
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.RL.8.2​
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. ​
CCSS.ELA­Literacy.RL.8.6​
Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.1a​
Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.1b​
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.2a​
Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.2b​
Develop the topic with relevant, well­chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.2c​
Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.2d​
Use precise language and domain­specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.2e​
Establish and maintain a formal style. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.2f​
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.3b​
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. CCSS.ELA­Literacy.W.8.3c​
Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events. Unit 1­ Dystopian Literature (Ray Bradbury) 9/14 No School Rosh Hashanah 9/15 Review of Fahrenheit 451 Turn in banned books worksheet How can fiction be a valuable tool for historical analysis? Homework: None 9/22 Writing Workshop Homework: Find a quote to support each of your topic sentences 9/29 Do You Realize? Homework: None 9/16 Homework:How does the character you were assigned lead Montag toward self­ realization? How does Montag’s relationship to the character change? Have textual support. 9/23 NO SCHOOL: Yom Kippur 9/17 Homework: How does the technology within the novel compare to our current technology? 9/30 The Veldt Homework: Inference worksheet 10/2 Writing Workshop Homework:Topic Sentence and quotations 10/5 Writing Workshop Homework: Developing Idea and analysis 10/6 Gallery Walk and conclusions Homework: Complete Paragraphs 10/7 Fulcrum 10/1 The Veldt Homework: List and explain three social criticisms in ​
The Veldt? 10/8 Fulcrum 10/9 Fulcrum 10/12 No School Indigenous People Day 10/13 Gallery Walk Homework: Final Drafts 10/14 Harrison Bergeron Homework: In what ways does this story connect to ​
Fahrenheit 451​
? 10/15 Ray Bradbury Writing Competition Homework: Create a setting for your story and pick a theme (Elaborate on a problematic issue in modern society) 10/16 Ray Bradbury Writing Competition Homework: Write your piece of short fiction 9/21 Writing Workshop Homework: Come up with three topic sentences 9/28 Gallery Walk and peer editing Homework: Revise Papers 9/24 Writing Workshop Homework: Integrate quotations and add analysis to to each paragraph. 9/18 Homework:Analyz
e modern society in relation to the text. Does our society have similar problems? How so? Are we in danger of becoming like the society in Fahrenheit 451​
? How can we avoid this pitfall? 9/25 Writing Workshop Homework: Complete papers.