Kelly Rueda & Amy Cooley
READ 435
Fall 2006
THEMES
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Conformity vs. Individuality
Beauty
Friendship/Betrayal
Environmental Conservation
Nature vs. Technology
BEFORE-READING Writing and/or
Discussion
• If you could have an operation to change your
appearance, what would you have done and why? If you
wouldn’t have the operation, explain why.
• What do you think is pretty?
• Do you consider yourself pretty?
• What are the costs and benefits of being pretty?
• How do you know what pretty is?
MINILESSONS
• Book Genre: Dystopic, Science Fiction
• Vocabulary author uses: interface ring (p. 4),
river skimmer (p. 5), belly ring, hoverboard, ping
(p. 94), scudding (p. 1), cacophony (p.9),
impervious,
• Advertisements/Propaganda on images of
beauty
• Symmetry (p.16 & 41-42)
MINILESSONS
• Inference: Tally calls her parents by their first names.
What can we infer about Tally’s relationship with her
family
• Cause and Effect (Tally not being honest)
• Explore poetic forms (directions to Smoke)
• The Rusty Ruins (p. 61-68) contrasted with our current
society
• Compare/Contrast Shay before and after the operation
• Compare/Contrast Tally before and after going to the
Smoke
SMALL PROJECTS
• Create two collages: One of images you consider “pretty” and the
other with images you consider “ugly”. Explain your two collages in
writing.
• Survey your peers and see if they consider themselves to be
conformists or independent individuals? Graph results according to
answers.
• The following movie interviews young girls and their experiences
with peer pressure to be beautiful. Write about your experiences.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li3mg1GrKe0
• Research a local environmental issue and write a letter to a
politician explaining your concerns and possible solutions
BIG PROJECTS
• Create your ideal society: include government,
education, urban planning, etc. This can be presented
as a PowerPoint or essay. You may also create a model
to show your ideal society.
• Research one type of plastic surgery. What are the
costs, risks, consequences and benefits? Write a letter
to someone who may undergo this surgery to give them
this information.
BIG PROJECTS
• Tally’s trip to the Smoke gave her a sense of
appreciation for the “wilderness” and nature. Research
different ecotourism expeditions or adventure travel
packages to find one you would like to do. Money is not
an issue. Make a poster board illustrating your perfect
outdoor adventure and how it would help you appreciate
nature.
• In Uglies, the government is trying to control the minds of
its citizens. How does our government use
propaganda/media/laws to influence or track what
American citizens are doing? Create a newsletter
explaining your findings.
SHORT ACTIVITIES
• Write a response to the following article discusses ugly
as the new pretty:
http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/news/red-111406-uglymain,0,5419736.story
• Tally and Shay use a computer program that lets them
see themselves symmetrically. Tally believes people just
naturally see beauty in symmetry. Shay disagrees.
Read the article at
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060213_attrac
tion_rules.html or research work from anthropologist
Helen Fisher on symmetry. Do you think that attraction
to symmetry is natural or learned?
SHORT ACTIVITIES
• Choose a character from Uglies and create a character
hoverboard that shows the character’s traits (Art
Project). You may also compare yourself with the
character.
• Draw pictures comparing and contrasting: Uglyville, New
Pretty Town, and the Smoke
• Pretend you are David write a letter to Tally explaining
how you feel after you find out about her betrayal
DRAMA & ROLE-PLAY
• Write a dialogue between Tally and Az. What would she
say to him? How would he react?
• On p. 419, Tally is upset because she cannot have one
last conversation with David. Imagine you are Tally, what
would you say?
• Imagine that something has happened to Shay that
reverses the damage done by Dr. Cable, what would she
say to Tally? What would Tally’s response be?
EXTENDED WRITING
• Write about a time that you kept a secret from a friend and regretted
it later.
• The Rusties used their knowledge about the past to make decisions
about the present. As a result, they have a different lifestyle than
the Rusties. Do you think people tend to learn from their mistakes
or does history keep repeating itself? Write a persuasive essay and
use real life examples to support your answer.
• The society in Uglies think we were barbaric. Do you agree or
disagree? Why or why not?
• How important is beauty in our society? What kinds of images do
you find about women/men in the media? What kind of impact do
these images have on you as an adolescent?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION &
JOURNAL WRITING
• Turning pretty is a rite of passage. What are
some rites of passages teens go through today?
• Was Tally really concerned about Shay when
she went to the Smoke or was she only doing it
to secure her chances of getting the operation?
• If you could have an operation at the age of 16
and be “pretty” forever, would you? Why or why
not?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION &
JOURNAL WRITING
• Uglies call each other insulting names like squinty. Why
do they do this? Tell about a time that someone called
you a hurtful name or a time you have hurt someone
else. How do you feel about it now?
• The Rusties’ society was destroyed by a virus in
petroleum. What kinds of reasons do we have
to be concerned about our dependency on
natural resources? What are our alternatives?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION &
JOURNAL WRITING
• Tally describes her hoverboard as something “more
solid, something that obeyed its own rules and that could
be dangerous too.” Are there any connections between
the description of the hoverboard and Tally or Shay later
in the book? (p. 74)
• Tally believes Shay doesn’t want the operation because
she is afraid to grow up. Shay feels that she is content
with her appearance and lifestyle as an “ugly”. What do
you think? Is Shay afraid of growing up or does she
have a valid argument? (p. 84)
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION &
JOURNAL WRITING
• Tally doesn’t question society’s decision to make
everyone “pretty” because everyone becomes
equal and nonjudgmental. Tally doesn’t question
it because it is “normal”. What is seen as being
“normal” or the “truth” in our society that we
should question?
• How do we judge people that are different from
us?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION &
JOURNAL WRITING
• Shay tells Tally that she chickened out when her friends
ran away. She decided to stay in “Uglyville”. Write about
a time when your friends or family tried to persuade you
to do something. How did it feel to confront peer
pressure? Were you convinced to go along or did you
stand your ground? (p. 90)
• David is very upset with Tally at the end of the book. Do
you think David will be the one who brings Tally back?
(p. 419)
• Make a prediction for the sequel, Pretties. What do you
think will happen? What do you hope will happen?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION &
JOURNAL
• When is it good to conform? When is it wrong to
conform? When does conformity become a bad thing?
• Define “pretty”. What is “pretty” to you? Is “pretty” just
what’s on the outside? What about inward beauty?
TEXT SET
• Newspaper article from TimesOnline
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2445974.html
• Movie showing the process used for magazine pics of
models http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
• Newsweek articleThe Biology of Beauty
http://hss.fullerton.edu/sociology/orleans/symmetry.txt
• Teen Video review of Uglies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC3ptE6ka_I
• Activist website that challenges images of women in
media http://www.mediawatch.com/