ENGLISH
SUGGESTED
TEACHING
TIME
20
HOURS
OBJECTIVES
Explore process of reading
and our expectations of
reading
TOPIC
‘FAHRENHEIT 451’ RAY BRADBURY
SUGGESTED TEACHING AND HOMEWORK
ACTIVITIES
SUGGESTED RESOURCES
POINTS TO NOTE
Questionnaire on reading habits (to be re-visited poststudy)
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Variety of books on tables around room; girls to visit each
table deciding what each set of books could have in
common (censorship unites)
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Meet back to discuss findings and explore variety of
statements about what reading is, making links between
various viewpoints. (e.g. “Literature is the question minus
the answer.” Roland Barthes)
Complete own statement about what your perception of
reading is
Taboo connection game for
‘Reading is...’ will stretch and
challenge higher ability
Dependent on time, students
can also work on a project
(good for end of term) that
challenges them to change
young readers’ (within their
school perhaps) perception of
reading.
HOMEWORK: Imagine you are making an essential must
read list for someone who is going to be stranded on a
desert island... what would you put on it and why?
(Maximum of 10 books per person) What have your
choices revealed to you about the type of reader you are
and why might this be the case?
Students will have read the novel over summer holidays.
Understand historical
background to novel
Exploration of background to the novel and biography of
the author; brief overview by teacher (McCarthy period/
Cold War)
Students given variety of pictures/ information/ books etc
that could be useful in their study of Fahrenheit 451. They
YouTube:
Civil defense film (cold war)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V47Q
s9Eyus
1950s documentary about communism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irXVQ
nvc9FQ
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The primary reading of the text
will be as a satire so it is vital
students are aware of the
background to the novel so they
Analyze and synthesize
contextual information
are allowed to collate no more than two sides of A4 notes
to assist their reading.
Zones of proximity exercise; students given 10 pieces of
contextual information about the text. On a piece of paper,
with the name of the text in the middle, they need to place
each piece of information in turn and place it closer
to/further away from the text/title, depending on how useful
they think it is on helping them interpret the text.. They then
need to label the links with evidence from the text.
Homework: Write a 500 word response to the following: ‘If
they give you ruled paper write the other way’ Why does
Bradbury introduce the novel with this quotation? How
does it relate to his life and the era in which he was
writing?
American propaganda for capitalism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VstT
wFxNKk
1950s tv commercials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFbC
GT_AWBI
Extracts from John Milton
‘Areopagitica’
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Introductory PowerPoint
DVD with Bradbury discussing novel
Variety of resources
Images
Interview with Bradbury
Handout on context
Understand the purpose and
focus of study
Share ideas from homework by reading each other’s work
and discussing as a group.
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Students’ homework
Engage with central issues of
text
How is the genre of satire relevant to this novel? Which
aspects of satire are useful/ which aren’t? (e.g. bathos/
irony etc)
Overview of the novel as a satire> what is Bradbury
satirizing?
Difference between satire and science fiction
Cross genre
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Ingredients of satire sheet
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‘Things to consider whilst studying’
sheet
Evaluate importance and
relevance of contextual
information
Justify opinions of novel using
contextual information
Identify elements of satire
within the novel
Evaluate elements of genre
have some way of evaluating
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Students are studying this novel in
preparation for writing 3000 word
extended essay on three texts
which have satire as their link. As
this text both conforms to and
escapes the genre of ‘satire’ this
will need to be discussed prior to
close study and then returned to in
greater detail at end of scheme of
work.
Close study of selected passages:
P1-35 From ‘It was a pleasure to burn...’ to ‘...opened his
mouth...’
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First annotate the extract underlining and commenting on
any aspects of it which you find interesting.
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Take the five Ws as your starting point and then discuss
whether we can predict anything about the themes, genre
and narrator of the novel from reading this extract.
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What is the effect of this chapter as an opening to the
novel? Make a list of questions which it raises for the
reader.
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Copies of the text for all
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Summary of Conan Doyle’s ‘Hound
of the Baskervilles’
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Article on ‘Reading for Pleasure’
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/resear
ch/Reading%20for%20pleasure.pdf
Instances of censorship in world and
subjective news reporting
DVD ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ Michael
Moore (2007)
http://www.fahrenheit911.com
The Hound p39-39
Explore descriptive techniques used in presentation of Hound
and the effect on reader
Parallels between the Hound and the Hound of the Baskervilles>
Bradbury asserted he was a robot version of this
Clarisse p40-44
What is the purpose of Clarisse as a character? What does she
reveal to the reader? Why might she be so appealing to Guy
Montag?
Beatty p70-82
Analyze the psychological complexity of Beatty as a
character
Explore the contradiction regarding the fact that Beatty
appears to have vast knowledge of literature and yet
condemns it so strongly.
Trace Beatty’s explanation of the political and social
causes that led to book burning. Compare this with the
reality of today and find modern examples. Is there any
basis of truth in what he says if we evaluate the world as it
is today?
Link to Michael Moore’s documentary ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’
which takes its title from the novel and presents the idea
that the American media were ‘cheerleaders’ for the Iraq
war, presenting a subjective rationale for the war.
Explore idea that ‘ignorance is bliss’ as suggested by
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Beatty: ‘you must understand that our civilization is so vast
we can’t have our minorities upset and stirred...Let’s not
quibble over individual with memorandums. Forget them.
Burn them all, burn everything.’ (p78)
Respond to Beatty with ‘yes but...’
Apply the key theories of ‘nihilism’ to Beatty’s code
Homework: Essay
P96-119 Montag meets Faber
Purpose of Faber
Explore beginning of Montag’s enlightenment. Compare to
Plato’s allegory of the cave.
Compare Faber’s ideas to Beatty’s
P120-131: Guy, Mildred, Mrs Phelps and Mrs Bowles and
reading of Dover Beach
Compare presentation of characters and the effect of this
using structured chart, focusing on language, imagery,
action, speech
Explore elements of social satire in this passage
Explore significance of poem ‘Dover Beach’ and how
characters respond to it and why
P132-143 Beatty’s warnings
Explore Beatty’s quotations from books and his view of
literature/learning
Examine the effect on the reader
Misuse of Pope’s ‘A little learning is a dangerous thing’>
discuss the ironies of this
Extract from The Republic> Plato’s
allegory
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Analysis chart
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Satire chart
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Dover Beach, Matthew Arnold
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Extracts from ‘Essay on Criticism’
Alexander Pope
http://poetry.eserver.org/essay-oncriticism.html
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P147-158 Death of Beatty
Explore Bradbury’s subversion of the Icarus myth
How is this section a turning point within the novel> genre
shifts from satire to something else?
Montag asserts that Beatty ‘wanted to die’ (p158). Why is
this the case? What does it add to our understanding of the
character?
Icarus myth
P179-186 Montag’s realization
Significance of water imagery
Explore metaphor of the sun
Analyze descriptive language used in this section and the
purpose of it
P187-211 Meeting with Granger and friends
Symbol of the Phoenix
Purpose of Granger
Book of Eccelsiastes
Closure: Significance of ‘Burning Bright’
Analyze and evaluate
Bradbury’s message
Explore the links between
time of publication and
response of reader
What are the lessons we can learn from the book?
Human social organization can too easily become
regimented and oppressive unless it changes its
course of suppressing individual human rights.
Dangerous tendencies at work in society
Freedom of imagination represents most basic
freedom of the individual
Media/ TV/internet are shrinking individual human
knowledge and alienating people
Task:
Imagine you are a critic living at the time the book was first
published. Write a review of it, imagining how you might
respond.
How does this compare as a reader now?
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Extracts from Book of Ecclesiastes
William Blake’s ‘The Tyger’
Analyze and explain the role
of various characters within
the novel
Each student to choose one important character to analyze
focusing on:
Appearance, actions, ideas, manner, reactions of others to
character, feelings, how feelings change over course of
novel, why they are important in the novel, how well the
character fits in a utopian/dystopian novel and within the
genre of satire
Homework: Type up notes for distribution to all
Extra: Follow up/ extra: Balloon debate on importance of
characters
Explain how Guy Montag
develops as a character
throughout the novel
Analyze what influences this
change
Evaluate which events/
people have the most
significant impact on his
‘enlightenment’ and why this
might be the case
The enlightenment of Guy Montag:
Trace steps which lead to Montag’s decision to save books
rather than burn them
Using quotes taken from throughout the novel, students to
stick them in correct order, then annotate them to explain
the context and significance of the quote and what it
reveals about the development of Montag as a character.
Analyze the role of Clarisse, unidentified old woman,
Faber, Beatty and Granger in role of Guy’s re-education
Make links between narrative
perspective and the
enlightenment of the reader
as well as Montag throughout
the course of the novel
How does Bradbury use narrative to re-educate the reader
at the same time as Montag?
Explore and analyze figurative
language within the novel
Symbolism and use of figurative language.
Each student to take responsibility for the following, finding
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Sequencing activity
.
examples from the text and explaining fully:
Fire symbol
Phoenix
The Sun
Significance of section titles
Water
Birds
Use of personification
Repeated phrases
Narrative perspective
Key question: How does Bradbury use language and
narrative to support his message?
Identify and explain the
significance of literary
references within the novel
Role of books within society; literary references
Compile glossary of key literary reference; research
significance
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Identify points of criticism
within novel
Establish whether these are
justified in light of society
today and the society at the
time of publication
Read Bradbury’s afterword on novel
Elements of criticism in novel> what is being criticized by
Bradbury and why?
Technology
Censorship
Politics
American society in 50s
Relevance to today’s society
Find examples from novel
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‘Burning Bright: An Afterword’ Ray
Bradbury
Explore the links between
satire and the conflict
between the individual and
society.
Theme: conformity v individuality
How does this idea link to the genre of satire? Find
examples from Satire anthology and ‘Fahrenheit 451’.
Explore why this might be the case.
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OCR Satire anthology
Explore links between
dystopic fiction and satire.
Compare Fahrenheit 451 with other dystopic fiction
Why is dystopic/ science fiction often associated with
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‘1984’ George Orwell
Glossary of major literary references
in the text and page numbers
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Reading ‘Fahrenheit 451’ as a
satire
satire?
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‘Brave new world’ Aldous Huxley
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Examples of satire from OCR anthology
Modern satire
Critical opinions of satire throughout the
ages
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Extracts from critical essays
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Make judgments about the
novel informed by their critical
reading
Look at some examples of satire (AO3)
Students decide whether this novel is similar.
Apply some critical viewpoints/ judgments of satire to the
novel as a whole
In preparation for coursework, students to come up with
‘readings/ ‘aspects’ of novel as a satire that could form basis
of extended essay question.
How does it both conform to and escape the genre of
satire?
(exploring different readings)
= Learning Support
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= ICT Opportunity
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= Stretch and Challenge
This icon is added at the end of text when there is an explicit opportunity to offer
Stretch and Challenge
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All discussions of issues also
revise the text. Students should
recognize the value of re-reading
with a specific purpose, rather than
simple re-reading.