Riviere UNIT PLAN
Spring, 2011
UNIT PLAN: WHERE ARE THEY TAKING US?
OUTLINE & TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT GOAL: To give students a better understanding of the changing world they are living in using media,
technology, and futuristic and dystopian literature.
UNIT OBJECTIVES: Students will broaden their awareness of their surroundings and shape reason for
where the world is headed related to the above main topics. Students will be able to create meaning from
popular culture media, manipulate technology to their academic advantage, and develop understanding of
literature from a futuristic perspective using classic or traditional reading and writing techniques with a
modern twist.
I.
MEDIA LITERACY: Integrating current events and mass media tools in the English classroom
(about three to four weeks). …p.2-12
a. Advertising…p.2-11
b. Photography…p.2-11
c. News writing…p.2-11
*Assessment—ongoing classroom “beats”
d. Social Networking (Segway into technology)…p.12
*Assessment—Resume Writing & reflection
II.
TECHNOLOGY & FUTURISTIC/DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE: Integrating technological tools
in the English classroom (about three weeks). …p.13-44
a. Introduction to Science Fiction…p.13
b. Blogging & literature circle discussion…p.16-23
c. Bookmarks & QAR…p.24-26
d. Web posters and Wikis & vocabulary (literature related)…p.27-31
e. Post-It notes/state testing & grammar (literature related)…p.32-40
f. Close reading of a short story…p.41-49
g. Modernize this text: short story exercise …p.50-51
h. Manipulating Sparknotes—study and review…p.52
i. Assessment—UJAM/Playlist project & character development/Plot diagram…p.53-54
j. Assessment—Game creating group project…p.55-end
Literature, Short Story, and Poetry List:
 The Giver Lois Lowry
 The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins
 “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
 The Barcode Tattoo Suzanne Weyn
 “The Lottery” Shirly Jackson
 The Maze Runner James Dashner
 “September 1, 1939” W.H. Auden
 Runny Babbit Shel Silverstein
 Where are you going where have you been? Joyce Carol Oates
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Media Literacy—Integrating current events and mass media tools in the English classroom
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction
Lesson Goal
Students will identify legitimate news sources and expand media literacy in the areas of social networking and
news media.
*This is part of a three to four lesson plan, stretching out to the ideas of mass media and journalism. Students
will learn most of the aspects of the media including photography, videography, advertising and maybe public
relations (if time allows). Each component will first be related to the novel we are studying and then come back
to real life with the opportunity for students to get real reporter experience. I will work with local businesses to
see if students may help them form advertisements for potential use. Students will have to go out into their
towns, neighborhoods and workplaces to find actual news stories that the media has not yet picked up. For the
remainder of the year, I will offer students a chance to write for a classroom newspaper that we can publish
online for free on a blog or something like it. I will also assign “beats” to each student so each day, they can be
prepared to share what is going on with their school “beat” these things might be like sports (could get teamspecific), clubs (club-specific), music (band, chorus, what students are listening to), classes, teachers
(appropriately), parents, after school programs, entertainment (around school and in the media), lunch meat, etc.
All of this is to promote the accuracy of sources and expand their writing abilities. They will often be called to
work together as a team of journalists to report their findings. This will also be offered as an alternative to essay
writing on frequent assessments. If they wish, instead of writing a four page essay, students may submit a 1,200
article that is ready for publication, or a 3-4 minute b-roll ready for airing, or a collection of photographs that
are print and Web ready, or a sample of a public relations portfolio including press releases, Web clips,
brochures, flyers, etc.
Lesson Objectives (Days 1-3 are repeated for each of the three sections: Advertising,
Photography/Videography, and Writing).
 Day 1 & 2: Students will identify the difference between a real and fake insert section (advertisement,
photograph/video, news article) using print and electronic content in an activity called “spot the fake”.
 Day 3: Students will construct their own insert section based on the novel they are reading
 Day 10-15: Students will write their own news story using proper AP Style with at least one photo. This
story will be completed for print and Web format and posted to the class online newspaper.
 Day 16: Assignment of classroom beats, practice for a few days, and assign alternative assessment that
allows students to construct a video to accompany the news story due on or around day 20.
Materials
 Examples of fake news stories, poorly written news stories, a sample from the NY Times
 Examples of fake photos, poorly constructed photos, a sample of a news photo
 Pieces of a news story & AP Style handout
 Advertisement handout
 Advertisement slide show
 Assignment sheet for writing a news story based on the novel
 Assignment sheet for writing an advertisement based on the novel
 Assignment sheet for writing a real news story
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 Assignment sheet for writing a real advertisement
 Assignment sheet for alternative assessment
Anticipatory Set
**EXAMPLE FOR “WRITING” PORTION OF LESSON
How many of you read the news daily? Weekly? Where do you get your news? Write responses on the board
(paper, T.V., online, in the hallways). Which of these would you consider the most valid form of news
reporting? For example, if you heard the same story in all of these venues, which would you trust as having the
most accurate information? Wait for student responses. Could you get misinformation from these sources? Wait
for student responses. The answer is yes, anyone can claim themselves a reporter and therefore, all information
must be double and triple checked. This may sound like a tedious way of processing and presenting information,
but I went to school to be a reporter and that is what they taught us to do. Tell students story of internships and
fact checking. Think about it this way, would you want to flip on the television and watch a news story that
hadn’t been verified. Say that the reporter working on tonight’s top news stories talked to one person and
therefore got one side of a story, then failed to follow up with anyone to make sure it was true. OK, now I’m
going to test your filtering skills to see if you can tell the difference between a fake news story, and a real one.
You all remember how to play that game where you spot the fake out of three options? I will give you three
news stories and you will need to identify which one is real and which ones are fake.
Purpose
The purpose of our lesson today is to learn the importance of having legitimate sources. Whether you are trying
to get updated on current events, or researching for your next book report, you need to be sure that your
sources are reliable.
Body of the lesson
Hand out the first story and read out loud with students. Then, discuss whether or not they think it is a true news
story. Discuss the different reasons why they think it is or is not true. Repeat this for the second and third
stories. When you are finished reading all three stories, say Who thinks they know which one is true? Discuss
the reasons why they are right or wrong, probing to see what the characteristics of a real news story are. Hand
out the “Pieces of a news story and
AP Style” handout. Go through the true news story and identify the different pieces of a news story, as well as
examples of the commonly used AP Style guide words. Pass around a copy of my AP Style book a.k.a. the
Journalist’s Bible.  Go through the news story that is fake and identify where the mistakes in AP style and
structure are.
Guided Practice
Introduce the idea of a brainstorming session in journalism. Now, let’s talk brainstorming. Often times reporters
and their boss’s need to come up with story ideas when news isn’t happening in order to fill in the rest of the
paper. What I want to talk about are events that occurred in the story that we might write a news article about.
Explain that students may choose one of the events to write a news article about. They will write headlines for
each other tomorrow after swapping and reading an article that was written by a peer.
Give students the assignment handout for writing their own news story based on the novel. Give them the rest of
class to work on it.
Closure
Let’s review quickly the steps to writing a news article. While we do this, I want you to label what you have so
far. If you are missing something, please label where it needs to be and add it in tonight for homework. Lead
graph (who, what, when, where, how), Why, other people involved, quote, explanation, another source, quote,
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information, another source, quote. Can you see how there are many steps to writing a news article? Reporters
don’t just go out in the field and come back and type up their notes. They have to think about a lot of different
things when writing a story. If they miss something, they have to go back out and get that information. This
process of checking and re-checking is what makes reporting an accuracy-based career. Often times, we find
articles online that maybe didn’t go through this process. Like we mentioned before, with online publication,
anyone could technically be a reporter of information. It is through the training and professional demeanor of
journalism, however that information is presented accurately and formally, delivering truth in all aspects of the
word. Does anyone have any questions about the assignment? Do you understand what is expected by
tomorrow? Please finish this news article for homework. I need it typed and printed with a “by: line” only—no
headline yet. Tomorrow, we will briefly talk about journalism bias and see if there is any bias in your articles.
We will also write headlines for your articles and have a headline-writing contest.
Assessment
Students will be given a homework grade based on the completion of this activity, using the grading rubric
based on AP style and structure in conjunction with the headline. The headline will indicate whether or not the
student captured the essence of the event in the novel. Each student will get an additional 3 points for the
headline they write with a headline contest (voting) for a subsequent first place prize (candy or something).
Students will earn essay credit for the final article piece following the same rubric, with more points allotted.
Adaptations handouts with for each assignment, study sheet of words, step-by-step instructions, rubric for
grading, writing on the board, reading out loud
Technology media tools such as wikis, online photography, power point technology for advertising slide show
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Rubric for both the article based on events in the novel and real news article
Your assignment is to come up with a news article based on an event that has occurred in the novel we are
reading. Please choose only one event to write about. Use your steps to writing and AP style guide to help as
you write. Report only on what you are given in the book. You may not make up quotes or fabricate any
information. If the information is missing in the book, I will know that and you must work with what you have.
In order to earn full credit for this assignment, you must follow the rubric and do not leave out any information
that you could have used. Please do not use more than two sources. This should be about 300-400 words
(roughly a little less than one page, single spaced). Remember, paragraphs in news stories are short and to the
point.
3 points
All there, clearly
communicated
with structure
2 points
All there, clearly
communicated
1 points
Not all there (23/5), unclear, no
structure
AP Style
Used correctly
with no mistakes
Used correctly
with few
mistakes
Inconsistent
Flow
Do ideas flow
into one another
in a logical way?
Ideas are there,
some flowing
and some not
Use of Quotes
Two sources
with titles, name
spelling correct
and proper AP
Style, related to
the story
Two sources,
with titles, name
spelling correct,
AP Style
inconsistent but
related to the
story
Ideas are just
floating and
broken up like a
bulleted list
One source with
all elements
correct, perhaps a
few quotes
irrelevant
Pieces of a news
story
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0 points
Only one piece
or none, no clear
structure or ways
of
communicating
main idea
Non-existent or
too many
mistakes to read
clearly
Ideas are
incomplete and
broken up
Unreliable source
of information
(made up or
misspelled with
no title), Style
errors, unrelated
to the story
Riviere UNIT PLAN
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Steps to writing a news piece handout
1. Find your angle: is it strictly news, what approach are you going to take to the topic. For example, if it is
a story about a stabbing downtown, will you focus on the victim’s family, the victim’s past, the charges,
statistics in the city, in the county, the person who did the stabbing’s family, their past, the future, law
enforcement on the scene, etc…
2. Find your lead paragraph information: Who, what, when, where—jam it all into the least amount of
sentences as possible.
3. Find your why & how (this is the body of the article in most cases)
4. Get your sources—if the stabbing was in public, were there any witnesses who will talk to you? Talk to
officials (police, sheriffs, deputies, firemen, court officials, etc.) Talk to the families—this gets tricky! If
a family has recently had a death, let’s say the stabbing led to an unfortunate death of the victim, they
may not want to talk to reporters right away or at all. If the family does agree to comply, you must get
information, but do so in a sensitive manner.
5. TAKE NOTES! As reporters, if anything at all comes back to you by a source saying, “I never said
that” you must provide proof that the person really did say what he/she said at the time of the reporting.
Your notes are justifiable in the court room if the person wishes to take it that far. As a reporter, your
notes are confidential until called upon, which hopefully you never will have to use them in this way,
but at least you will be backed up if not by your editor, then by your notes.
6. Write it up! Sentences should be no longer than 16 words and you should have no more than three
sentences in a paragraph. Quotes should be summative and relevant to the rest of the piece. It is
typically good to end with a quote, but don’t make it habit. Experiment with different types of leads and
closings, but always keep your structure flowing—one idea to the next.
7. Revise—all names, titles, names of businesses should be 100% correct, or you will be hung out to dry
by your editor. Stories do not go to print until they are edited thoroughly by a team of copy editors and
finally the editor in chief. Please, make their lives easier by proof reading and editing your own work. It
may be sent back to you if they can tell you haven’t proof read at all. They should be able to find no
more than ten ways to tweak your piece to make it either shorter or make more sense, or correct a few
AP style errors. This doesn’t mean you try to leave them work. Copy editors and the editor in chief have
a lot of work to do and do not often have time to comb through your story all day. For this class, you
will be required to show proof of four revisions. Print out each copy and hand-write revision notes
in the margins. Then go back and correct the errors. You must repeat this three more times in
order to receive full credit for this class.
8. Give yourself some credit! Add your byline.
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AP Style Guide handout
AP Style is a form of writing used universally by reporters. It serves as a journalist’s bible throughout the
writing process. Many of the terms are modified concepts of everyday words. It aides in the accuracy of writing
and eliminates ambiguity among readers. For example, the distress signal SOS would be written as you see
here. The Stylebook says that S.O.S (no final period) is a trademark of a brand of soap pad. As you see here,
something as small as a period can throw off an entire concept. You wouldn’t want readers to think that a
missing ship signaled for dish scrubbers when they are in need of survival! This sheet is a quick reference for
common AP Style usage.
1. Said vs. says: you may use either, but stay consistent. It always comes after the pronoun.
 “I love summer,” Smith said.
2. Names: after first use, use only last name. Always introduce with title if applicable. After introduction,
no title is necessary.
 Chief Meteorologist Suzie Smith said it will be hot this week. “I love summer,” Smith said.
3. Numbers: one through nine are spelled out, 10 and on use numerals.
 Smith said the heat will continue on for the next two weeks. This will make her 40th accurate forecast in
her career.
4. Ages: Hyphens are used when aging first, they are not used when aging comes after.
 Smith, 50, has been a meteorologist for five years. Her five-year-old son will be so proud!
5. 8th grade reading level rule: Use simple words that are concise and to the point. A good rule of thumb
is keeping the reading at an 8th grade level. Avoid words that can be interpreted in other ways.
6. Clichés: DO NOT USE THEM! They are an editor’s worst nightmare. Often they are redundant and
could even be misleading. We want something that the entire country can understand, so little rittles are
inappropriate and often culture sensitive.
7. Redundancy: If you already said it, don’t say it again. If someone else said it, don’t say it again. If it
has already been said in one way, don’t try to say it in another. Is this sounding redundant? Annoying
right?
8. Proper use of quotes includes where to put quotations and commas. Commas are always found before
the quote if there is a lead in and after the quote, before quotation marks are closed off. See number 1.
Quotes should also be in dialogue format, standing alone only when they are a separate idea.
9. Dates: the month of December. Dec. 15, 2011
10. States: Smith has lived in New York for 30 years. She lives in Rochester, NY.
11. AM, PM or a.m. p.m. never A.M. or pm.
12. Point of view: always use third person. Never use I, We, You unless you are quoting someone.
If you have any other questions, please consult the classroom stylebooks that are available to you at all times, or
ask me for a quick reference—I may not know it though!
AP Style is always changing.
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Article 1:
2011-03-18
Canine Genetic Wrinkle Has Potential for Humans
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
Shar-peis are an ancient Chinese dog breed characterized by two singular traits: thick, wrinkly skin and frequent
bouts of fever.
Researchers are now reporting that the same gene mutation is responsible for both the wrinkles and the fever.
“All shar-pei dogs have this mutation that causes the wrinkles, but the more copies they have, the higher the risk
to have this fever,” said Mia Olsson, a doctoral student at Uppsala University in Sweden who worked on the
study. The research appears in the journal PLoS Genetics.
It was already known that the wrinkles were a result of excess production of a substance called hyaluronic acid
distributed throughout the dogs’ skin. That excess is likely caused by to the overactivation of a gene called
hyaluronan synthase 2.
Dogs that carry multiple mutations of the gene seem predisposed to periodic fever, Ms. Olsson and her
colleagues reported. Although the fever is short-lived, it can be intense and frequent, and cause inflammation.
With more information, breeders might be able to avoid breeding shar-peis that have duplications of the gene
mutation, Ms. Olsson said.
“Our highest priority right now is to see if there’s some way to create some kind of test or tool to reduce the
number of dogs with the fevers,” she said.
The research was conducted with the help and support of breeders in the United States, Sweden and Spain, who
have an interest in improving shar-peis’ health.
The fever closely resembles certain periodic fevers that humans inherit, and studying the mutation in the dogs
could help human geneticists develop treatments.
The most common periodic fever among humans is known as familial Mediterranean fever. It tends to affect
people of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern descent, and there is no cure for the disorder.
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Article 2:
2011-02-20
People Experiencing Panic Syndrome
In Health and Fitness
Known commonly as panic disorder, panic syndrome is a type of anxious disorder that involves repeated, severe
panicking attacks. These also cause a very significant behavioral change in the sufferer and last about a month.
Worrying about panicking once again is one characteristic that you have panic syndrome as well.
Usually interchanged or mistaken for agoraphobia, panic disorder patients sometimes also have agoraphobia but
these two disorders are not the same thing.
Panicking syndrome patients feel very anxious during a panic attack. These last for a maximum of ten minutes
and a minimum of five minutes. Feelings of panic can also last in varying degrees for hours.
The symptoms of panic disorder include feeling like you are panicking, tingling, sweating, having shortness of
breath, sensations of choking, chills, hot flashes, feeling like everything feels unreal and numbness.
Thoughts of paranoia or impending danger are also symptoms. Usually, people who have this type of disorder
feel as if the world is ending and try to avoid people or circumstances in which they feel an attack would be
provoked.
When compared to GAD or general anxiousness disorder, panic syndrome sufferers feel much more anxious
and situations which can induce attacks include seeing the dentists or seeing a cockroach or insect.
People who have this syndrome need to deal with sometimes unpredictable panic occurrences on a daily and
even at times, a weekly basis. Sufferers usually go through embarrassing socializing situations, social isolation
and stigma because of the condition they are suffering from.
Syndromes of panic can be triggered by life transitions, stress and factors in the environment including certain
types of medications. People who say yes to more responsibility than they could handle often get a panic attack.
Also, people who have post traumatic stressful disorders also tend to develop a panic disorder.
The true cause of this syndrome is unknown. Assuredly hereditary, if one member of your clan has this
syndrome, you and all the other members of your family will also tend to develop it. People who have bipolar
and alcoholism in their family also tend to develop panic type disorders.
Information just like this will help you stop panic syndrome. It’ll change your life, and also learn more about
anxiety and symptoms.
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Article 3:
2010-11-24
The Real Story Behind Getting a Free iPad
In Computers and Technology
It becomes quite frustrating when you find a tempting new piece of technology on the market but don’t have
enough funds to just buy it. Well this is a very common situation that many of us face every now and then.
What if you could get some of these new technologies for free? What about a free iPad?
Recently, I came across a site offering a brand new free iPad from Apple. But before getting a hand on it I had
to pass over several trial tests and surveys. Trust me, it was not at all a bad or difficult experience. All you have
to make sure of is that the website you are going to is legitimate. Well, there might be several questions popping
into your mind regarding the trustworthiness of these sites. Let me make it clear — if the sites are legitimate,
you will get your iPad free of cost. Wouldn’t you like to get yourself a free iPad?
A typical question that people always ask is why these expensive products are given away for free just for
taking some trial offers and surveys? The answer is that it is really an easy way for the big giants like Apple to
get their product tested. They know that they can survive your trial and impress you a lot. They clearly have two
motives, one being that they have their marketing research done for them, plus they have made a good, loyal
customer for life. Smart move, right?
So, what are you waiting for? Get ready to find one of these offers. Wouldn’t you love to grab a free iPad
without paying hundreds of dollars?
CLICK HERE To Get A FREE Apple iPAD Now!
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Optional Handout for the beginning of unit, adapted from Greece Central School District’s
Online Curriculum http://web001.greece.k12.ny.us/academics.cfm?subpage=319
Dear Parents,
From our understanding of current events and popular culture to our preferences as consumers, the
media plays a powerful role in shaping the way adolescents interpret the world. This lesson will engage students
in a critical examination of various forms of media to understand how they are constructed, and to critique the
effects they have on culture and society.
Enduring Understandings
1. Audiences actively interpret media
Meaning does not reside in the media text itself, but is a product of the interaction between text and
audience. Audiences interpret meaning based on situational elements such as geography, culture, age, class,
gender, time of day, and the context in which they interact with the medium. Various media forms resonate
in different ways, depending upon the experiences, values and knowledge that audiences bring to it.
Although audiences differ in their perceptions, understandings and reactions to media, the key to media
literacy is to educate them to be aware of their own subjectivity as well as that of others.
2. All media are constructions
Media are neither reality nor windows to the world. Instead, they are carefully constructed products –
from newspaper headlines to nature documentaries. A media literate person is aware that many decisions
are made in the construction of each media product and that even the most realistic images represent
someone’s interpretation of reality. By critiquing and constructing media, it becomes possible to analyze
and produce different interpretations of reality.
3. All media are owned
All media are owned by individuals or institutions that have historical-social contexts that may be
concealed from the general public. Institutional elements from production to distribution influence the
content as well as audience perceptions of the content. It is important to call attention to the idea that
commercial institutions are owned and ultimately operated according to principles that will generate the
highest profit. Therefore, media representations are carefully constructed to achieve this goal.
4. All media express values
Media are carefully constructed products that represent a particular view of actual people, places, events,
and ideas. These values are oftentimes hidden from the audience, and a critical consumer of media needs
to be able to decode the media messages to uncover these values. Questions to ask of each medium are:
"Whose story is told?" "Whose interests are served by this representation?" "Whose story is left out?"
and "To what extent is this representative of reality?"
5. All media adhere to specific codes and conventions
Whether it be through editing, narration, sequencing, camera angles, soundtrack or timing – each media
form has a language of its own and uses different conventions to achieve specific rhetorical effects.
Magazine editors use different codes and convention as compared to video producers as compared to
web designers. The languages used influence the constructed meaning of the media text and are intended
to control the audience’s response.
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Social networking
**Still in the making, this lesson will address issues with professionalism and online networking sites. Students
will differentiate between what is appropriate and what is not to put online, the main idea being that once
something is put on the internet, it can never be taken back. The final assessment will be to build a professional
online, electronic resume using wordpress.com. Students will familiarize themselves with this site because it
will be used later in the unit for blogging literature circles. Students will reflect on the resume writing
experience. Students with special needs may use this for transitional purposes upon graduation, depending on
IEPs, etc.
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Introduction to Science Fiction
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will listen and speak for information and understanding
 Students will listen and speak for social interaction
Lesson Objectives
Students will identify with science fiction literature and its many components using a handout/worksheet on
themes and reflective questions.
Materials
 Elements of Science fiction handout
Set
Ask students about their experiences with science fiction literature and what they consider to be science fiction.
Have them come to the board to write down examples of science fiction movies to start with, then lead in to
literature.
Body
Pass out the worksheet of elements of science fiction and read the first part (definition aloud).
Have students read the elements aloud one-by-one on a volunteer basis. Discuss each idea briefly, asking
students their opinions on each element.
Guided Practice
Flip to the other side of the sheet and open up a class discussion on the questions on the back. Give them 3-5
minutes to complete the questions independently before the discussion. Allow students to openly debate the
topics on the back of the page. (Questions range from knowledge to synthesis in Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Closure
Hand in the sheets to get an idea of where the students are in terms of experience in reading science fiction.
Assessment
There is no formal assessment for this opening activity. This worksheet will gauge students’ experience with
science fiction and their overall opinions with controversial topics in emerging technology and science.
Students will refer back to this paper at the end of the unit, filling out another one and reflecting on how their
opinions have changed after dystopian literature discussions.
Adaptations
Students with special needs will have a hard copy of the information we are about to be learning about. This
will give them a good idea of where the unit is going and something to refer back to for themes throughout. The
questions are opinion-based and fun.
Technology
No technology is necessary for this discussion.
**Worksheet provided by Mrs. Henry—Holley High School Holley, NY: Spring, 2011**
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
a. Blogging & literature circle discussion: Integrating technological tools in the English classroom using a
classroom blog for literature circles.
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction
Lesson Objectives
Students will use a blog forum to respond to various forms of literature. The blogs will be created and kept by
groups of 3-5 students each. They will take turns with their roles in the literature circles to experience each form
of assessment and by the end they will use their blogs to post the final project interpreting a poem. The final
assessment will be the final post, however the students will be assessed along the way based on blogging skills
along with their understanding of the text and ability to respond in a literature circle format. The teacher will
continue to respond online throughout the unit. By the time of assessment (end of marking period), 100% of
students will pass the lesson with a 75% or better.
Materials
 Handouts on how to create blogs
 Note Journals
 Lap tops/computer lab
Anticipatory Set
Who here has ever heard of a blog? How often do you read others’ blogs? Who has a blog? Who wants to share
what a blog is? Right, a blog is an online public forum where people discuss what is important to them. Blogs
are also used by companies to keep track of their business and advertise to prospective clients. Blogs can be
used by political figures and celebrities. Pull up links to famous blogs and local ones.
Purpose
The purpose of our lesson today is to learn how to use a blog for literature circles. I know you all know what a
literature circle is and are familiar with the different roles in a literature circle, so we are going to skip right to
creating blogs.
Body of the lesson
For this lesson, we will create a blog first by using a Wordpress which is a free blog site. When you have
discussions in your literature circles, instead of typing up your responses to hand in a paper copy and talking
about them in class, you will use the blog to do your job online and respond to others ideas online also. You
should keep all of these responses positive and comment respectfully. This means that you will give detailed
descriptions based on what you think but also about what others have to say. You will read everyone else’s
responses just like you would in class, but they are conveniently entered in the online forum. In addition to
reading each other’s blogs within your group, you are also required to link to other groups’ blogs and keep up
with what the rest of the group is doing. We will get to that after the first week of responses. I will show you
blogs from past semesters first. Please take out your note journals and take notes on what I’m about to show
you.
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Pull up link to past lit circles online and show examples of good and bad posts. Use chalk board/smart board to
take notes on strategies to keeping an efficient blog.
We will talk more about the blogs and how to keep up with efficient blogging later. But does anyone have
questions so far?
Guided Practice
Go to computer lab/library/laptops to begin blogging.
First, we all need to have an e-mail account to keep track of the blog. If you do not have one yet, please see me
and we will set one up on yahoo.com.
Follow the directions on the handout to creating a Wordpress account and a new blog. I will be coming around
to the different groups to help out.
When you are done with this, please logout of the blog and discuss your first role in the group. Your choices are
the Quote Keeper, Summarizer, Connector, and Web Weaver. Please ask me for a handout with each role’s task
description if you need it.
Closure
Tonight, you each need to login to the account for a practice post. The title of the post should be your first and
last name and the body of the post should show which role you have chosen to take on first in your lit. circle.
Tomorrow we will begin discussing the text and go through a good example of each role’s completed tasks.
Does everyone have a blog created? Do you understand your assignment for tonight? Right, you need to put up
a practice post. Please have this done before you get to class, I will be able to see what time you post, so any
time after our class will be automatic points off. OK?
Assessment
Students will be graded on the completion of this activity and also graded on keeping up with their blogs
efficiently throughout the unit. The students will be evaluated on their final blog presentation. The blog will
count for the majority of points related to the literature we are studying.
Adaptations handouts with Wordpress tutorial, visualization with my wordpress account, giving students
specific roles in the group, socialization, step-by-step instruction, using computers
Technology yahoo.com (e-mail addresses), Wordpress.com (blogs), smart board notes, links to others’ blogs
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Directions on how to create a Blog on wordpress.com for literature circles
1. Head to WordPress.com and click the sign up button:
2. Choose a domain name for your first blog (you can add others later if you like). This is the unique address that people will visit to
check out your blog.
3. If that blog address is available, you’ll see a green check mark. Here is where you and your team will creatively come up with a
team name related to the literature that we are reading.
4. Next, use the team name to create a username that will identify you in the WordPress.com community. You’ll use this to log into
your blog.
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5. Now it’s time to think up a password. Try to make it a little more difficult to guess than “password” or your cat’s name. You’ll
need to enter the same password twice, and the little “strength” bar will tell you if you’ve chosen a strong password or not. This
password will be used by the entire team whenever they want to post new information.
6. Next up, add a designated team member’s address to associate with your account. Check the box to subscribe to the team’s blog.
7. You’re almost done! Click the signup button and wordpress will send you a confirmation email.
8. The designated team member must click the activation link in the email to verify that you’re human. If you can’t find the email in
your inbox, check your spam or trash folders. If you still don’t receive it, email Support. Here’s an example of the email you’ll
receive:
9. If you made a mistake with your email address, you can update it from the same page you used to sign up.
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10. You’ll see the message below once your account has been activated.
Stage Two: Sign in
Now you’re ready to sign in. Click the “Login” link on the activation confirmation page, or head to the WordPress.com homepage and
enter your username and password to sign in to your account.
On the homepage, find the My Blogs tab, and click “Dashboard.” You’ll be whisked to the dashboard to get things started. This is the
back-end part of your blog, where you create new posts and manage your content. Only you see your dashboard.
Your “dashboard.” Huh?
When you’re signed in, you’ll see a tab at the top of the page that says “My Blog.” It displays all the blogs registered to your
username, and allows you to quickly access your dashboard.
The dashboard is referred to as the “back end,” and only you (and any users you’ve assigned) can see it. Think of the dashboard as a
behind-the-scenes control panel for your blog, where all your blog’s information and settings are stored. Virtually any time you want
to update or modify your blog, you’ll need to access your dashboard.
The “front end” is what the outside world sees. So to make any changes to the front end (write a post, change your design template,
etc.), you must access the back end (your dashboard). To see the front-end of your blog, click on the blog’s title in the upper left-hand
side of the dashboard.
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You’ve got two sets of dashboard menus when you’re logged in. First, the left-hand navigation menus are a way to access almost all
the powers of your blog. You can open any left-hand menu by hovering over the text, and then clicking on the arrow that appears. In
this example, the “Posts” section is open.
The WordPress.com toolbar
Your other menu is the toolbar across the top of your blog. Your toolbar may look slightly different but this is the basic gist of it. You
can access fewer tools with this toolbar than you can with your left-hand menu — the idea is to just put some essentials up there for
secondary access to your administrative site.
Stage Three: Tweak your General Settings
Now that you’re in your Dashboard, feel free to spend a few minutes poking around. Next, we recommend making some quick tweaks
to your blog’s General Settings.
1.) Open up the settings menu. It’s the last menu on the left side of your screen. Click “General” and you’ll be taken right there.
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2.) Adjust your blog title to your liking. You can also add a tagline here, which will appear under your title, usually at the top of your
blog. Your team’s title will be your team name.
3.) You can also change your email address, timezone, date and time settings, and language settings here. Don’t forget to save your
changes!
4.) It’s also possible to upload an image to represent your blog when it appears in various places on WordPress.com (unless you’ve set
it to private). Click on “browse” and locate the image file on your computer.
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5.) Once you’ve found the image you want, choose “upload image.” You can always change this image later if you decide you want a
different one. Once the image has uploaded, you’ll be able to crop the photo by making the box bigger or smaller.
6) Once it’s uploaded, it will look like this in your General Settings:
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
b. Bookmarks & QAR: Using QAR book marks to answer essential questions **ongoing lesson**
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction
Lesson Objectives
 Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the text by filling out the QAR book mark
 Students will demonstrate understanding of the text by using their book mark to answer the unit’s
essential questions
 The graphic organizer (book mark) will help students with special needs as well as students in general
education to both organize their thoughts and recognize their reading abilities.
 The essential questions gradually become more difficult, giving students with special needs a building
block of information.
 By recording the answers to essential questions in the journals, students will be given the freedom to
reflect and develop ideas on paper. They will also have all of the questions to refer back to when
developing essay topics, etc.
Materials
 Copies of pre-cut out bookmarks (enough so each student has two for today and three more for the rest
of the unit: five all together for each student)
 Journals
Anticipatory Set
Write the EQs on the board and discuss one at a time. Students will copy down the essential questions of the
unit in their journals, leaving a page for responses to each question.
Review of the difference between utopia and dystopia.
Students will attempt to answer the first essential question.
List: (Adapted from Greece Central School Districts Online Curriculum)
Utopia and Dystopia

How would we define a utopian society?

Has the concept of utopia changed over time and/or across cultures or societies?

What are the ideals (e.g., freedom, responsibility, justice, community, etc.) that should be honored in
a utopian society?

Why do people continue to pursue the concept of a utopian society?

How do competing notions of what a utopian society should look like lead to conflict?

What are the purposes and/or consequence of creating and/or maintaining a dystopian society?
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 Is utopia attainable?
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Spring, 2011
At what cost would it be worth attaining?
By attempting to eradicate disease and disfigurement, are we moving toward or away from utopia?
http://web001.greece.k12.ny.us/academics.cfm?subpage=923
Purpose
The purpose of our lesson today is to discover what information we can find on our own to develop as critical
readers. We will fill out bookmarks that you will keep in your books for the remainder of the unit to remind us
of what we know and how we interpret the text.
Body of the lesson
Demonstrate how to fill out the “Right There”, “Think and Search”, “Author and You”, and “On Your Own”
sections for chapter 1 of the novel. (They can briefly describe with notes on the back of the bookmark)
For the last two sections, fill in the blanks of some questions with the essential questions from the unit.
Guided Practice
Have students fill out another bookmark for Chapter 2 on their own or in small groups (whichever they prefer).
Closure
Now that you have filled out a few bookmarks, I want to let you know that we are not going to be filling one of
these out for each chapter. However, we will be doing this again. We will work on another bookmark toward
the middle of the novel and then at the end, we will hopefully be able to answer some of the more difficult
questions.
Ask students the difference between a “Right There” question and “Think and Search.”
Ask students if an “on your own” answer has a definite correct or incorrect answer. (They don’t—it is opinion).
Ask students to give examples of an “Author and You” that is not on the bookmark.
Assessment
Students will only be assessed on the completion of this activity. They should complete the activity using the
information provided by the teacher and the bookmarks will become a form of non-traditional note-taking. They
will use these notes later in the unit to refer back to some essential questions when building an essay or other
pieces of writing related to the novel.
Adaptations
 Visualization—graphic organizer, EQs written on board
 Small group work
 Journals used for transcribing the essential questions
 “Chunking” the text into smaller, more manageable pieces with the bookmarks
Technology
 Smart board/ white board
 Any assistive technology that students with special needs may have
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Right There Questions
Who_____?
What_______?
Where________?
When_________?
Think and Search
Why_____?
What cause_______?
Tell me in your own words
________?
What happened first, second or
third?
What are the characteristics of
_______?
Characters/Setting/Problem/Even
ts/
Solution?
Author and You
What can you infer about ____’s
feelings in this section of the text?
What do you predict will happen
next? Why do you think so?
The setting is never stated but
where do you think the story is
taking place?
Why______?
What if _______?
What does the author mean when
______?
Tell me the most important
reason_______?
What are the themes of this text?
Tell me the biggest
problem_______?
On My Own
Do you think_____?
How would you____?
Which is better______?
Would you agree that______?
Were you ever ____?
In your opinion _____?
Would it be better if_______?
Spring, 2011
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Right There Questions
Who_____?
What_______?
Where________?
When_________?
Think and Search
Why_____?
What cause_______?
Tell me in your own words
________?
What happened first, second or
third?
What are the characteristics of
_______?
Characters/Setting/Problem/Even
ts/
Solution?
Author and You
What can you infer about ____’s
feelings in this section of the text?
What do you predict will happen
next? Why do you think so?
The setting is never stated but
where do you think the story is
taking place?
Why______?
What if _______?
What does the author mean when
______?
Tell me the most important
reason_______?
What are the themes of this text?
Tell me the biggest
problem_______?
On My Own
Do you think_____?
How would you____?
Which is better______?
Would you agree that______?
Were you ever ____?
In your opinion _____?
Would it be better if _____?
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Right There Questions
Who_____?
What_______?
Where________?
When_________?
Think and Search
Why_____?
What cause_______?
Tell me in your own words
________?
What happened first, second or
third?
What are the characteristics of
_______?
Characters/Setting/Problem/Even
ts/
Solution?
Author and You
What can you infer about ____’s
feelings in this section of the text?
What do you predict will happen
next? Why do you think so?
The setting is never stated but
where do you think the story is
taking place?
Why______?
What if _______?
What does the author mean when
______?
Tell me the most important
reason_______?
What are the themes of this text?
Tell me the biggest
problem_______?
On My Own
Do you think_____?
How would you____?
Which is better______?
Would you agree that______?
Were you ever ____?
In your opinion _____?
Would it be better if _____?
Riviere UNIT PLAN
Spring, 2011
UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
c. Web posters & vocabulary (literature related): Integrating technological tools in the English classroom
using Glogster, a virtual poster-creating site in conjunction with “Vocab Squares” activity.
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction
Lesson Objectives
Students will use the “Think, Pair, Share” to accurately portray vocabulary words in a www.glogster.com
presentation of the “Vocabulary Squares” exercise. They will use researching skills to find definitions and
creativity to broaden these definitions and make them easy to remember. Students will be able to compile the
www.glogster.com presentation of their findings and share them with the class. By the time of assessment (one
week), 100% of students will pass the lesson with a 75% or better.
Materials
 Worksheets
 Computer lab reservation
 Stapler
 Dictionaries (one per student)
Anticipatory Set
Have you ever had to memorize vocabulary words in class and it’s the most boring activity in the world? Well,
today we are going to use a bunch of sources to get to the bottom of our words and present them to each other
in a fun way. I know you will be able to not only accurately remember the words, but also be able to teach them
to a friend or even a family member!
Purpose
The purpose of our lesson today is to broaden our vocabulary skills while sharpening our technological and
researching skills. Be using dictionaries, the Web, www.glogster.com and more to achieve mastery in our
words. I know you are thinking “Why Miss. Riviere, how ever will we do this?”** Say in a funny voice to
lighten the mood** Well let me tell you my answer…
Body of the lesson
We will start with a worksheet that I have called “Vocab squares”. On this worksheet you will see that there
are five places to fill in the blanks. Point to the square sections as you explain each part. First, fill in our
vocabulary words in the center of each box in the circle labeled “word”. Next, in the upper left corner, I’m
looking for a dictionary definition of the word in the middle. I need someone to pass out dictionaries right now.
This part you will do on your own to find the definition I am looking for and once you all have found it, I will
call on someone to give me the definition so we are all on the same page. For example “Indirect
Characterization” is defined in the dictionary as: “” so I am going to write that definition in the box labeled
“Dictionary Definition” Do we all understand how this section works?
Next, we need to put these words into sentences so they make sense to us. This goes in the “Example Sentences”
portion of our squares in the bottom left. This you will do with a partner. Each of you will come up with one
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sentence and share it with your partner. By the end of this, you should have two sentences for each word (one
provided by you and one provided by your partner). For example, the author uses indirect characterization in
the line “____” to portray the main character as someone who is ________. I would then ask my partner for
their example and write it underneath mine on my worksheet. Does anyone have any questions so far?
Next, we need to come up with a picture that the definition gives us. This would normally go in the bottom right
corner of your square, but today we are going to do something different. For example I want everyone to close
their eyes and when I say the Vocab word ________, raise your hand to and tell me the picture in your mind.
Let students offer ideas. Now open your eyes and we are going to search for images that relate to your thoughts
online. Pull up google.com and search images for “The Giver (main character)”. I am going to save this to my
desktop so I can upload it to my www.glogster.com . By the end of the worksheet, you will have made a digital
collage of photos (one for each word) using www.glogster.com . We will talk more about how to do this when
we get to the computer lab.
Lastly, we will fill in the definition of the given word in your own words in the top right hand portion of the
vocab square. After having filled in all of the other three parts of the vocab square, you should have a pretty
good idea of what this word means and be able to put the definition into your own words. Today, we are going
to make a rhyme or rap out of the definition in your own words it can be something as simple as “When
characterization is indirect, the author tells you what they mean with a different effect, they don’t come out and
say it but readers figure it out, if they said it directly, we wouldn’t have to doubt.” This part is only for your
own personal use and I really want you to get creative. I’m not looking for iambic pentameter or a sonnet here,
just help yourself memorize the word. Do we all understand what I am looking for in each part?
Guided Practice
Please begin the first part. Wait for everyone to find the definition and record the class definition on the board
explaining that this will be the definition that they may find as a dictionary reference on the exam.
Please get together with a partner and each of you come up with a sentence. Give them about a minute to do
this, and then ask them to swap sentences. Mention that the sentences that they construct will also appear on the
exam.
Now everyone pick up your things and follow me to the computer lab (or take out laptops). When you arrive at
the lab, tell the students that they will only have five minutes to find relative photos for each word and by the
end of the five minutes, they must have them all saved to the desktop. Stay logged into the internet and type
www.glogster.com into your address line. When you get there, please upload all photos to a new glog. Save
your project and print out a copy of the collage. Staple the page to the back of your squares worksheet.
http://riviere.edu.glogster.com/false/
Finally, you have until the end of the class period to create your rhyme for each word. If you would like to share
it with the class, but a star by it on your paper and I will have you share it tomorrow.
Closure
This worksheet, along with the attached collage is your ticket out the door. Do you have any questions?
Assessment
Students will be graded on the completion of this activity (10%) and correctness (10%) adding up to 20% of
vocab weekly grade plus the score on the assessment (8 words at ten points each on the quiz) adding up to 80%
of vocab weekly grade and totaling 100% worth of possible points. See the attached quiz for an example of
formatting.
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Adaptations
included the use of visuals (Glogster and electronic notes) and the opportunity to be creative during extended
time, many moving parts and a variety of activities for students with ADD/ADHD, also opportunity to focus on
one task at a time.
Technology was integrated with the use of Glogster and electronic photos/google images.
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Vocab Quiz
1. Please give the dictionary definition of Indirect Characterization:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
2. Please give the dictionary definition of Indirect Characterization:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
3. The author gave details of the main character’s identity without coming right out and saying it. This is
an example of ________________________________.
4. The author gave details of the main character’s identity without coming right out and saying it. This is
an example of ________________________________.
5.
This photo is an example of: _________________________
6.
This photo is an example of:__________________________
7. Fill in the blank: “When
the author tells you what they mean with a
different effect, they don’t come out and say it but readers figure it out, if they said it directly, we
wouldn’t have to doubt.”
8. Fill in the blank: “When
the author tells you what they mean with a
different effect, they don’t come out and say it but readers figure it out, if they said it directly, we
wouldn’t have to doubt.”
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Vocabulary Squares
Dictionary Definition
In Your Own Words
Sentenced Examples
Pictures
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
d. Post-It notes/state testing & grammar (literature related): Students will be able to identify grammar
errors in a given passage from the text (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) in a multiple choice
response.
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction
Lesson Objectives
Students will be taught a grammar concept by listening for, looking for and recording errors within a text by
using a state-test formatted worksheet. By the time of assessment (two weeks), 100% of students will pass the
lesson with an 80% or better.
Materials
 Worksheets
 Handout (pronoun chart)
 Post It notes
 Class journals
 Prompt written on board
Anticipatory Set
 Write out the following prompt on the board before class starts:
“Suddenly he mimics Effie Trinket, the maniacally upbeat woman who arrives once a year to read out the
names at the reaping by falling into a Capitol accent.”
 Stick one Post It note to each desk in the upper left hand corner. Explain to students not to write on them
until they are directed to do so.
Please take a look at the prompt on the board. When you think you know where the error is in the sentence
(without using your book) please use the Post It notes on your desk to write down what you think is a way to
correct the sentence with your initials at the bottom. Next, stick the Post It next to the error on the board. When
you are done, sit in your seat and find the sentence in your book. I will give you a hint that the sentence can be
found in chapter one and the passage describes Gale’s actions. Write both sentences in your journal. Under the
sentences, write the reason for the error. When you are finished, close your journal and put it on the right
corner of your desk and continue reading your book where you last left off, waiting for the rest of class to finish.
The variety of sticky notes should be focused around one central part of the board (the correct answer). If there
are any notes that are stuck randomly and not in the correct spot, they should be addressed first. For example, if
there is a sticky note on the word “who” ask the student with the corresponding initials to describe why they
chose this word. Do the same for each incorrect answer and explain why this is not the correct error.
The correct sticky notes should be placed around “falling into a Capitol accent.” This phrase right here seems to
be popular. Before we start discussing why this is the correct answer, can anybody tell me what type of phrase
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this is? Students should respond with “verb phrase.” If they do not, ask them what part of speech the first word
is. The correct answer is “gerund.” “Verb” may also be accepted, leading up to the word “gerund.” If the word
“falling” is a gerund, or a verb, then what type of phrase must this be? A verb phrase is right. Now, who can
tell me why this phrase doesn’t make sense here? Let me choose one from the sticky notes, a-ha! (Student’s
name) can you please explain to the class why this part of the sentence does not make sense? They should
respond with something like, “this phrase implies that Effie Trinket falls into a Capitol accent when she would
not have to fall into one. For the purpose of this sentence, it is assumed that Effie already speaks in a Capitol
accent and it is Gale who mimics her by falling into the accent.” Give all students who want to contribute a
chance to offer their ideas as to why this phrase sounds wrong. While they are answering, jot down key phrases
of their explanations on the board. After the students have a chance to describe this error, say the above
explanation to clarify (combining them all) and ask them to write this explanation in their notes underneath their
original response.
By raising your hand, who found the correct sentence in the book and would like to point us to it? Call on
student and turn to page seven of The Hunger Games. The sentence is at the bottom of the page. Have that
student read the sentence out loud and correct it on the board while they read:
“Suddenly he falls into a Capitol accent as he mimics Effie Trinket, the maniacally upbeat woman who arrives
once a year to read out the names at the reaping.” (7)
Nice job reading (student’s name)! How does switching around the verb phrase, “falling into a Capitol
accent,” strengthen the sentence? The correct answer is that the phrase now is attached to the right subject.
Gale is now the one falling into a Capitol accent. Since Gale possesses the falling, and Gale is a pronoun, what
do you think we may be learning about today? Possessive Pronouns. What if we said the sentence like this:
“Effie Trinket, the maniacally upbeat woman who arrives once a year to read out the names at the reaping was
suddenly mimicked by Gale as he fell into a Capitol accent.”
Is this sentence grammatically correct? Call on students to explain their reasoning for why or why not. This
sentence is grammatically correct, but it is not written in an active voice. The second part of the sentence
beginning with “was suddenly mimicked by” is a weak statement. We want to know that the sentence is about
Gale mimicking Effie right off the bat instead of talking about Effie first. The sentence loses its reader because
when we start to read it, we think it is talking about something that Effie is going to be doing and then WHAM!
Gale is doing the main action in the sentence. So we want to put him in the beginning to clarify the most
important part of the sentence.
OK is everyone following along at least a little so far?
Great, now if some of you are a little confused, do not worry because we are going to practice this for the rest
of the period. For those of you, who think you know this rule, please consider that we all struggle with grammar
and practice only makes us better at what we already think we know. Some adults would not even be able to
recognize this error and MS word does not even know the difference.
Purpose
The purpose of our lesson today is to practice some grammar while practicing our state testing skills. We will
walk through this together in a workshop type of setting. You will have the chance to practice the grammar
concept we are working on today which happens to be active voice and possessive pronouns in many multiple
choice forms of assessment similar to the state exam.
Body of the lesson
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I want journals out and ready to take down definitions when you hear them, and examples. When we talk,
sometimes our sentences sound alright, but the statements we often make can be weak because we are not using
active voice. When the verb of the sentence is in an active voice, the subject is doing the acting. For example,
who is the subject in our example sentence?
Point back to the quote on the board that is now fixed:
“Suddenly he falls into a Capitol accent as he mimics Effie Trinket, the maniacally upbeat woman who arrives
once a year to read out the names at the reaping.” (7)
Students should respond with “he” and not Effie. If they say Effie, explain that she is not the person who is
doing the main action in the sentence. Can we circle all the verbs in this sentence? Have them shout them out;
“falls,” “mimics,” “arrives,” “read.” Good, now which one is being done by Gale or “he”? This is a trick
question because both “falls” and “mimics” is done by Gale. Right, Gale does two different things in this
sentence, making two different verb phrases. Mark the two verb phrases on the board. So, our subject Gale is
falling and mimicking like he should. Now, if we had the sentence switched around like we had it before: “Effie
Trinket, the maniacally upbeat woman who arrives one a year to read out the names at the reaping was
suddenly mimicked by Gale as he fell into a Capitol accent,” the sentence would not sound as strong because
now the verb is being done by Gale instead of Gale doing the verb. Is this making sense? For example, we
wouldn’t say, “The coffee is being brewed by my father,” because now the coffee becomes the subject of the
sentence. The coffee is supposed to be the object of the sentence, so we’d say, “My father brewed the coffee.”
Doesn’t that sentence sound a lot stronger than the first one?
OK. Next we let’s talk about why the first sentence was wrong possessive wise. This is not the best example of
the possessive because we do not need to change the form of “he” to “his” because we already know the verbs
are attached to Gale, but the verb phrases do need to be attached to “he” in order to make sense of the
sentence. We said in the first example, “Suddenly he mimics Effie Trinket, the maniacally upbeat woman who
arrives once a year to read out the names at the reaping by falling into a Capitol accent.” When we possess
something, we make it what? Ours. So whose Capitol accent does this belong to if we leave the sentence this
way? Effie’s. We make it belong to Gale again by pushing the verb phrase back up. This makes sense right?
Who does not understand why this verb phrase cannot be placed here? I know we all speak this way sometimes
and although it may sound right to us, to someone else they may get confused. This is called ambiguity—
remember the vocab word from earlier this year? If something is ambiguous, what is it? Open to or having
several possible meanings or interpretations, right. So we do not want any ambiguity in our writing that’s why
we use possessive pronouns and active voice.
If instead the sentence read, “Gale suddenly fell into his best Capitol accent to mimic Effie…” we would know
that the Capitol accent belonged to Gale because we use the word “his.” Like in our other example, we could
have said, “My father brewed his coffee,” to show that the coffee belonged to my father and nobody else. What
are some other examples of possessive pronouns? What about for a girl subject? Her is right.
I’m going to pass out a copy of a chart to help you keep all of your pronouns organized so you can just use it
whenever you are writing and refer to it with any questions you may have. It tells you when to use the
possessive pronoun and how. It’s pretty awesome.
Pass out the chart and have them circle or highlight the possessive column for today’s purposes. What do you
think the different letters in parenthesis stand for in the first column? M for masculine, f for feminine, n for
noun, and pl for plural. Good. Now, let’s get started with today’s worksheets.
Guided Practice
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Pass out a stack of five to ten Post Its to each student. Do not pass out worksheets yet!
I am now going to read you a passage from your first worksheet, which deals with possessive pronouns. The
front of the worksheet has a passage from your book with a bunch of grammar mistakes related to possessive
pronouns and active voice. This worksheet looks a lot like the NYS Regents examination. Although we are not
going to be working on reading comprehension today, we will be trying to improve our skills at taking multiple
choice exams and learning our grammar. While I am reading the passage out loud to you, please listen for
sentences or phrases that do not sound right. Use your sticky notes to jot down these phrases, but only jot down
one idea on each and leave room at the bottom of the sticky note.
Read the passage on worksheet #1 out loud to students slowly. Stop and repeat sentences if they ask.
Now, I’m going to pass out the worksheet and you will have a few minutes to re-read the passage to yourself.
Do not flip over your paper! As you read, use your sticky notes to repeat the exercise you did while listening,
making new notes if you need to and using the bottom half of the note to fix sentences where you think there are
errors. For example, if I underlined the first sentence and after reading I decided that sentence was OK, I would
leave the sentence on the sticky note and not do anything else. If I decided that the sentence is wrong, I would
re-write it so it makes sense on the bottom half of the sticky. Does everyone understand what we are doing?
Answer any questions as they come. Right, so we are reading it to ourselves and editing the sentences that we
still think are wrong on our sticky notes.
Give the students 10 minutes to do this, walking around the room offering help when needed. OK, time is up, I
want two volunteers to offer their input. Then we will work on the questions on the back. Discuss two students’
examples and go over why they are correct or incorrect. Great job with identifying those possessives and active
voice problems! Can anyone tell me what the opposite of active voice is? Passive voice is correct and that is
what these sentences demonstrate. We want to stay far away from using passive voice when we write because it
is weak, like we have seen. Alright so on to the back! We are going to answer these questions together and if
you have everything complete on this worksheet like you have supposed to have been doing all class, with Post
Its and notes in your journals and all of these multiple choice questions answered, I will have participation
points for everyone! I know we can all do this, so let’s practice our multiple choice! Are you ready? Go through
the questions, using the specific examples and the key to help students find the correct answers.
Closure
Please make sure your name is at the top of the worksheet. This worksheet with the sticky notes on it, along
with your journal is your ticket out the door. One quick thing I want you to see, is on the bottom of your chart
handout. Can everyone take that out please? Now do you see at the bottom where it says this chart can be found
and for more practice? Please use these Web sites when you are struggling. The second one has a quick, sevenquestion quiz at the bottom to help you practice and the top one leads you to this document that you can print
out if you need another copy OK? Do you have any questions?
Assessment
Students will be graded on the completion of this activity (10%) and correctness (10%) adding up to 20% of
grammar bi-weekly grade plus the score on the assessment (another practice passage with five multiple choice
questions and sticky notes quiz) adding up to 80% of grammar bi-weekly grade and totaling 100% worth of
possible points. See the attached worksheet for an example of formatting.
Adaptations listening portion, use of sticky notes, graphic organizer handouts (chart), practice for state testing,
step-by-step instruction
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Technology sticky notes, practice Web site http://www.eflnet.com/grammar/posspron.php
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PARTS OF SPEECH: PRONOUNS
Pronouns are words used to replace a noun.
Here is a pronoun chart:
Subject
Pronouns
Object
Pronouns
Possessive
Adjectives
Possessive
Pronouns
Reflexive
Pronouns
1st person
I
me
my
mine
myself
2nd person
you
you
your
yours
yourself
3rd person
(m)
he
him
his
his
himself
3rd person
(f)
she
her
her
hers
herself
3rd person
(n)
it
it
its
(not used)
itself
1st person
(pl.)
we
us
our
ours
ourselves
2nd person
(pl.)
you
you
your
yours
yourselves
3rd person
(pl)
they
them
their
theirs
themselves
Pronoun
test
___ brewed
Coffee.
My Father brewed
___.
That's ___
coffee.
The coffee is
___.
(subj) brewed the coffee
(reflx) .
This worksheet can be found online at http://www.english-zone.com/grammar/pos-prn.html
For practice with pronouns, visit http://www.eflnet.com/grammar/posspron.php
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Grammar Worksheet #1 KEY Original passage with no errors.
I watch as Gale pulls out his knife and slices the bread. He could be my
brother. Straight, black hair, olive skin, we even have the same gray eyes. But
we’re not related, at least not closely. Most of the families who work the
mines resemble on another this way.
That’s why my mother and Prim, with their light hair and blue eyes,
always look out of place. They are. My mother’s parents were part of the
small merchant class that caters to officials, Peacekeepers, and the occasional
Seam customer. They ran an apothecary shop in the nicer part of District 12.
Since almost no one can afford doctors, apothecaries are our healers. My
father got to know my mother because on his hunts he would sometimes
collect medicinal herbs and sell them to her shop to be brewed into remedies.
She must have really loved him to leave her home for the Seam. I try to
remember that when all I can see is the woman who sat by, blank and
unreachable, while her children turned to skin and bones. I try to forgive her
for my father’s sake. But to be honest, I’m not the forgiving type.
-The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (8)
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Name:
Date:
Period:
Grammar Worksheet #1
I watch as Gale pulls out him knife and slices the bread. He could be
mine brother. Straight, black hair, olive skin, we even have the same gray
eyes. But we’re not related, at least not closely. Most of the families who work
the mines resemble on another this way.
That’s why my mother and Prim, with they light hair and blue eyes,
always look out of place. They are. My mother’s parents were part of the
small merchant class that caters to officials, Peacekeepers, and the occasional
Seam customer. The apothecary shop in the nicer part of District 12 was run
by them. Since almost no one can afford doctors, apothecaries are us healers.
My father got to know my mother because on him hunts he would sometimes
collect medicinal herbs and sell them to her shop to be brewed into remedies.
She must have really loved him to leave she home for the Seam. I try to
remember that when all I can see is the woman who sat by, blank and
unreachable, while she children turned to skin and bones. I try to forgive her
for himself sake. But to be honest, I’m not the forgiving type.
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (8)
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Name:
Date:
Period:
1. In the opening sentence, who are the main subject, verb, and pronoun?
a.
I, pulls, the bread
b.
I, watch, knife
c.
Gale, pulls, the bread
d.
Gale, pulls, his
2. The sentence, “The apothecary shop in the nicer part of District 12 was run
by them” uses:
a.
Active voice
b.
Passive voice
c.
Ambiguity
d.
Gerunds
3. In the sentence, “She must have really loved him to leave she home for the
Seam,” the second use of the word “she” can be replaced by the pronoun
a.
His
b.
Her
c.
Their
d.
Both b and c
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
e.
Close Reading of “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. leading up to body paragraph
writing.
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
Lesson Objectives
Students will read and choose words and phrases within the given text, “Harrison Bergeron”, to analyze the
concept of literary elements in a close reading. They will first read the text in its entirety then go back and
identify important information for close analysis. Students will write a single body paragraph pertaining to the
information in their chosen passage. After performing this activity, students will be able to apply their
knowledge to future texts. The teacher is expected to take notes on the smart board, chalk or white board during
the entire lesson to ensure all students have notes to go back to, having already discussed note-taking strategies
in previous lessons.
Materials
 Copies of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron” (one for each student + teacher copy)
 Highlighters/pens/pencils
 Computer with power point or hard copies of “futuristic” photos from 1940s+
 Chalk board/smartboard/white board
Anticipatory Set
Imagine yourself in third grade. When someone mentioned the year 2015, what did you think of? Students will
hopefully respond with Jetsons-like characteristics of a futuristic society. What made you think of these things?
During their responses, begin power point of how people ten to thirty years ago viewed the world in the twenty
first century. (Use the concept of power point to connect to ideas about the future, computers and importance of
technology—the unit topic). Stop with a single image and have students deconstruct the image, pointing out
details and why they might have been important to that illustrator, photographer, etc. Can you make any
connections between what you saw as a third grader? What about the world in the twenty second century? How
do you picture that world? Pause and allow conversation and a variety of ideas. Which traits are similar and
which are different? Why did you choose this detail?
Purpose
The purpose of our lesson today is to pick out the important details in a story that the writer (much like an
illustrator) chooses for a certain reason. We will read a short story by the author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Vonnegut
is a famous American writer of the twentieth century. He studied chemistry at Cornell* and later transferred to
the Carnegie Institute of Technology to study mechanical engineering. Do we see a little bit of a theme in his
background? Class should answer with “technology/science/etc”. He was also a WWII escaped POW and after
the war got his masters in anthropology. Anthropology is the study of what? Human kind is correct, so what
may our author trying to be making a connection on in his writings given his experiences and studies? Humans
and technology is correct. Today we are going to read “Harrison Bergeron” and do a close reading of
passages throughout the story to connect with our literary elements that we’ve been discussing and eventually
write one body paragraph that you could use in an essay.
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Body of the lesson
First I want you to notice where and when the story takes place. What literary element is that again? Setting is
correct. So look for examples of words that describe setting and underline where you see them. Also, use the
margins to jot down the significance of certain details of the setting to get us started. I will read it aloud and
when you think you have found the setting, somebody stop me by raising your hand.
If the students stop after the first paragraph: Great, now I want you to underline the following phrases that I
found if you have not already done so; “2081”, “finally equal”, “God”, “the law”, “211th, 212th, and 213th
Amendments to the constitution”, “United States” Does anyone have any that I missed from that paragraph? I
am going to read one more paragraph because I think we can get even more details about the setting from the
second one.
In this paragraph, please underline with me the words “April”, “springtime”, and the phrase “George and
Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old son, Harrison.” So, if you do not already have these details underlined,
please do so. Do you have any that I missed? Great.
Now let’s talk about why these details form a setting. Things like the date and country are obvious, but do you
have questions about others? For instance why did I choose “springtime”? Sure, it’s a time of year, but do we
get a certain state in the US from the author? No, we do not, but we can probably guess that it’s a northern
state because of the climate right? The author says, “April, for instance, still drove people crazy by not being
springtime.” What might living in the north have to do with technology and human nature? Students will make
predictions about the relationship to politics, etc. What is that called when we make a prediction about what is
going to happen in the story or when the author gives away a detail early on that might have value later?
Foreshadowing is correct, great job *high five the student who answered correctly*. Also, why did I underline
“George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old son, Harrison” there in the second paragraph? That does not
come right out and say anything about setting right? By the way, what is that called when the author gives
obvious details about the characters? Direct characterization is correct! So what would be the opposite of this?
Indirect characterization is right! Great job, boy you are on a role today! So what is Vonnegut trying to
indirectly tell us about the Bergeron family? If students cannot come up with an answer, provide them with a
hint: Well we know both his father and mother’s name, what does Vonnegut imply by giving them the same last
name? They’re married, right and they have a son, so does anyone know what this is called when the parents
are together with children? Nuclear family is correct. Now where do we tend to see examples of nuclear family
the most regionally speaking? Are we more likely to find them for example in downtown Rochester, Spencerport
or Holley? Spencerport or Holley is correct because socioeconomically speaking; nuclear families thrive in
suburban and rural communities. Do they tend to be more conservative or liberal? (Briefly describe differences
if confused) OK maybe conservative because the Bergerons represent traditional family of husband, wife and
offspring right? So just from that one phrase, we are able to develop an entire synopsis of how this family might
live. We think that they are Rural/Suburban, possibly conservative or at least traditional American culture,
northern country, etc. Look at all that we have found out about our characters and setting based on a few
words.
Guided Practice
Now, I want you to be thinking of why Vonnegut has chosen these details as you read the rest of the story and
remember to relate it back to our theme of technology and human nature OK?
I will be coming around to look over your shoulder at the notes you are taking in the margins and help you if
needed but I really want you all to try and pick out specific details that stand out or that might have multiple
meanings because when you’re finished reading and underlining, you are going to choose one short passage
and we are going to talk about breaking down all of these details and do a close reading of those short
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passages to plug our thoughts and findings into a critical analysis body paragraph like we have been working
on. So you will have until five minutes before the bell rings to do this and then I will tell you what’s coming
next. If you finish early, choose another short passage and take notes on that which you could also use for
perhaps a second body paragraph. If you underlined a word that you didn’t know, you could also use extra time
to grab a dictionary and jot down the definition for your own personal use.
So again what are the things I’m looking for by five of? Students should respond with:
1. Underlined/highlighted words or phrases
2. Notes in the margins
3. At least one short passage to dissect for a body paragraph
**Make sure these expectations are listed both on the smart board and in their notebooks
**Start timer on the smart board, or kitchen timer if smart board not available**
Closure
Let’s review what we did today. What was our main strategy that we used for reading our story today? Close
reading/critical analysis is right. What are some examples of close reading? Students may respond with
underlining, taking margin notes, finding a deeper meaning in simple word choices. What are we going to do
with our passages that we’ve picked? Write a body paragraph for a critical analysis/close reading essay is
correct. How and where do you think we are going to write them? On the classroom blog is correct. Do you
think that fifty years ago students would have been doing their homework online? Even ten years ago, I had to
write assignments out on paper and hand them in. So I hope you see how technology shapes even the way we
learn, much less get around. We aren’t flying around on hover crafts or having robots serve us our milk shakes,
but the world is changing. Do you think that this is for the good? Students will probably respond with yes, but
ask them to think about what about the technology in Vonnegut’s story? Not all technology is for the good of the
order is it? Please write down that question in your notebooks in case we want to use it for our essays. Repeat
the question, re-worded: “Is all new technology good for human kind?”
Assessment
So what I want you to do for homework is blog just a rough draft of your paragraph for the rest of the students
in class to see. What I’m looking for are specific details from your passage using complete sentences describing
why these words or phrases are important to the story. I will know if you are stealing ideas from each other too
because if Jimmy has a paragraph about Bergeron’s sister that is exactly the same as Felicia’s interpretation, I
know one of their blog entries is not original. One of the most important parts of this assignment is figuring out
these details and providing your own interpretation of what the words mean. So again, what is the homework?
Students should respond with blogging a rough draft of a body paragraph (complete sentences) based on what
they did for the day.
Adaptations included the use of visuals (power point photos and electronic notes) and the opportunity to be
read to while also giving extended time to read a short piece.
Technology was integrated with the use of power point, electronic notes and also the class blog for homework.
Students will have already acquired blogging skills prior to this lesson.
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HARRISON BERGERON
by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law.
They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than
anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th,
and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States
Handicapper General.
Some things about living still weren't quite right, though. April for instance, still drove people crazy by not
being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's
fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away.
It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average
intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his
intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to
wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would
send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.
George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel's cheeks, but she'd forgotten for the
moment what they were about.
On the television screen were ballerinas.
A buzzer sounded in George's head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm.
"That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did," said Hazel.
"Huh" said George.
"That dance-it was nice," said Hazel.
"Yup," said George. He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They weren't really very good-no better than
anybody else would have been, anyway. They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their
faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something
the cat drug in. George was toying with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn't be handicapped. But he
didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts.
George winced. So did two out of the eight ballerinas.
Hazel saw him wince. Having no mental handicap herself, she had to ask George what the latest sound had
been.
"Sounded like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer," said George.
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"I'd think it would be real interesting, hearing all the different sounds," said Hazel a little envious. "All the
things they think up."
"Um," said George.
"Only, if I was Handicapper General, you know what I would do?" said Hazel. Hazel, as a matter of fact, bore a
strong resemblance to the Handicapper General, a woman named Diana Moon Glampers. "If I was Diana Moon
Glampers," said Hazel, "I'd have chimes on Sunday-just chimes. Kind of in honor of religion."
"I could think, if it was just chimes," said George.
"Well-maybe make 'em real loud," said Hazel. "I think I'd make a good Handicapper General."
"Good as anybody else," said George.
"Who knows better then I do what normal is?" said Hazel.
"Right," said George. He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal son who was now in jail, about
Harrison, but a twenty-one-gun salute in his head stopped that.
"Boy!" said Hazel, "that was a doozy, wasn't it?"
It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling, and tears stood on the rims of his red eyes. Two of of
the eight ballerinas had collapsed to the studio floor, were holding their temples.
"All of a sudden you look so tired," said Hazel. "Why don't you stretch out on the sofa, so's you can rest your
handicap bag on the pillows, honeybunch." She was referring to the forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas
bag, which was padlocked around George's neck. "Go on and rest the bag for a little while," she said. "I don't
care if you're not equal to me for a while."
George weighed the bag with his hands. "I don't mind it," he said. "I don't notice it any more. It's just a part of
me."
"You been so tired lately-kind of wore out," said Hazel. "If there was just some way we could make a little hole
in the bottom of the bag, and just take out a few of them lead balls. Just a few."
"Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out," said George. "I don't call that a
bargain."
"If you could just take a few out when you came home from work," said Hazel. "I mean-you don't compete with
anybody around here. You just set around."
"If I tried to get away with it," said George, "then other people'd get away with it-and pretty soon we'd be right
back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn't like that, would
you?"
"I'd hate it," said Hazel.
"There you are," said George. The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?"
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If Hazel hadn't been able to come up with an answer to this question, George couldn't have supplied one. A
siren was going off in his head.
"Reckon it'd fall all apart," said Hazel.
"What would?" said George blankly.
"Society," said Hazel uncertainly. "Wasn't that what you just said?
"Who knows?" said George.
The television program was suddenly interrupted for a news bulletin. It wasn't clear at first as to what the
bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment. For about half a
minute, and in a state of high excitement, the announcer tried to say, "Ladies and Gentlemen."
He finally gave up, handed the bulletin to a ballerina to read.
"That's all right-" Hazel said of the announcer, "he tried. That's the big thing. He tried to do the best he could
with what God gave him. He should get a nice raise for trying so hard."
"Ladies and Gentlemen," said the ballerina, reading the bulletin. She must have been extraordinarily beautiful,
because the mask she wore was hideous. And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of
all the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred pound men.
And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair voice for a woman to use. Her voice
was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. "Excuse me-" she said, and she began again, making her voice
absolutely uncompetitive.
"Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen," she said in a grackle squawk, "has just escaped from jail, where he was held
on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and
should be regarded as extremely dangerous."
A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen-upside down, then sideways, upside down
again, then right side up. The picture showed the full length of Harrison against a background calibrated in feet
and inches. He was exactly seven feet tall.
The rest of Harrison's appearance was Halloween and hardware. Nobody had ever born heavier handicaps. He
had outgrown hindrances faster than the H-G men could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental
handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were
intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.
Scrap metal was hung all over him. Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the
handicaps issued to strong people, but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison
carried three hundred pounds.
And to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep
his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random.
"If you see this boy," said the ballerina, "do not - I repeat, do not - try to reason with him."
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There was the shriek of a door being torn from its hinges.
Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set. The photograph of Harrison Bergeron
on the screen jumped again and again, as though dancing to the tune of an earthquake.
George Bergeron correctly identified the earthquake, and well he might have - for many was the time his own
home had danced to the same crashing tune. "My God-" said George, "that must be Harrison!"
The realization was blasted from his mind instantly by the sound of an automobile collision in his head.
When George could open his eyes again, the photograph of Harrison was gone. A living, breathing Harrison
filled the screen.
Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood - in the center of the studio. The knob of the uprooted studio door
was still in his hand. Ballerinas, technicians, musicians, and announcers cowered on their knees before him,
expecting to die.
"I am the Emperor!" cried Harrison. "Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!"
He stamped his foot and the studio shook.
"Even as I stand here" he bellowed, "crippled, hobbled, sickened - I am a greater ruler than any man who ever
lived! Now watch me become what I can become!"
Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five
thousand pounds.
Harrison's scrap-iron handicaps crashed to the floor.
Harrison thrust his thumbs under the bar of the padlock that secured his head harness. The bar snapped like
celery. Harrison smashed his headphones and spectacles against the wall.
He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder.
"I shall now select my Empress!" he said, looking down on the cowering people. "Let the first woman who
dares rise to her feet claim her mate and her throne!"
A moment passed, and then a ballerina arose, swaying like a willow.
Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her physical handicaps with marvelous
delicacy. Last of all he removed her mask.
She was blindingly beautiful.
"Now-" said Harrison, taking her hand, "shall we show the people the meaning of the word dance? Music!" he
commanded.
The musicians scrambled back into their chairs, and Harrison stripped them of their handicaps, too. "Play your
best," he told them, "and I'll make you barons and dukes and earls."
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The music began. It was normal at first-cheap, silly, false. But Harrison snatched two musicians from their
chairs, waved them like batons as he sang the music as he wanted it played. He slammed them back into their
chairs.
The music began again and was much improved.
Harrison and his Empress merely listened to the music for a while-listened gravely, as though synchronizing
their heartbeats with it.
They shifted their weights to their toes.
Harrison placed his big hands on the girls tiny waist, letting her sense the weightlessness that would soon be
hers.
And then, in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang!
Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well.
They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun.
They leaped like deer on the moon.
The studio ceiling was thirty feet high, but each leap brought the dancers nearer to it.
It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling. They kissed it.
And then, neutraling gravity with love and pure will, they remained suspended in air inches below the ceiling,
and they kissed each other for a long, long time.
It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled
ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor.
Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians and told them they had ten seconds
to get their handicaps back on.
It was then that the Bergerons' television tube burned out.
Hazel turned to comment about the blackout to George. But George had gone out into the kitchen for a can of
beer.
George came back in with the beer, paused while a handicap signal shook him up. And then he sat down again.
"You been crying" he said to Hazel.
"Yup," she said.
"What about?" he said.
"I forget," she said. "Something real sad on television."
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"What was it?" he said.
"It's all kind of mixed up in my mind," said Hazel.
"Forget sad things," said George.
"I always do," said Hazel.
"That's my girl," said George. He winced. There was the sound of a rivetting gun in his head.
"Gee - I could tell that one was a doozy," said Hazel.
"You can say that again," said George.
"Gee-" said Hazel, "I could tell that one was a doozy."
"Harrison Bergeron" is copyrighted by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1961.
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
f.
Modernize this text: short story exercise (two or three days)
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
Objectives
Students will “modernize” the short story Harrison Bergeron. They will identify what aspects of the story are
relevant to today, or obsolete in our society. They can change Vonnegut’s entire plot or theme if necessary to
make the story apply to today’s world and real technological advances. Students will use their brainstorming
skills from the media lesson to apply literary criticism to a short story as they make changes for the 21st century
reader. Students will use conventions and be encouraged to write creatively and freely.
Materials
 Harrison Bergeron story
 Journals
 Computers (day 3)
Set
Discussion on the differences between what Vonnegut projected and what 2011 and on is really like. Discussion
on the structure of Vonnegut’s story—What things can’t we change? Do we need to keep some things for the
purpose of the message? Could the message be conveyed otherwise? Vonnegut was writing in 1961 and this is
the projected 2080. That’s 120 years. 120 years from now will be ___. What do you think life will be like in
___.
Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is to challenge students to think like a science fiction writer. They must evaluate the
world around them to come up with a modern day version of “Harrison Bergeron”.
Guided Practice
I would like to change the concept of amendments to the constitution. I am going to say that the constitution is
no longer applicable in the year 2. I’m not saying it will just go away all of a sudden, but over years, it might. I
am going to re-write my story so that the constitution does not exist. How does this change the story?
Students will volunteer ideas that the teacher writes on the board.
Evaluate all the things in the story that would have to change in order for this idea to take flight.
Body
Now it is your turn to change some aspect of Vonnegut’s story. Please pick a few details that you think might be
applicable in 120 years. Start writing in your journals. You may use parts of Vonnegut’s dialogue, or all of it,
or none of it. This is up to you. You are the writer now. Please feel free to scratch out ideas, erase, edit. This is
all part of writing. Remember to really dig deep for ideas and specific details on how things would be different.
Put yourself in the shoes of a dystopian writer. We have read a lot of dystopian literature, so this should be
familiar to you. Think of whether you want to be effected by high technology, or if your dystopian world goes
back to the basics of hunting and gathering like Katniss.
Assessment
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Students will be given class time to type their pieces and hand them in for credit. The writing piece will be
revised after the initial print. Students will be required to hand in the final draft after revising it at least two
times completely.
Closure
Ask for volunteers to share their ideas on how their story is different from Vonnegut’s and what strategies they
are using in developing a new plot. On day three after printing, have students swap papers to read each other’s
ideas and check for understanding both in writing and themes/ideas. (Peer editing)
Adaptations
Creative writing, use of highlighters in on the copy of Vonnegut’s story may be applied to pick and choose
which information to re-write. Students with special needs may also choose to re-write only one small piece of
the story. The flexibility of this assignment gives a lot of room for students with special needs to work on
developing major concepts of dystopian literature. It is also a great review activity for all students.
Technology
Computers to type up second draft.
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
g.
Manipulating Sparknotes—study and review
Still in the making, this lesson will use Sparknotes as a tool for reviewing the literature we have studied.
Students will be challenged to find the missing pieces on this Web site, pointing out important parts of the story
that often get “left out” by summaries and chapter over views. They will manipulate this tool to their academic
advantage, finding that it is not something they can read “instead” of the text, rather something that is helpful to
review from or even preview from. This will particularly appeal to students with special needs in terms of
chunking events or ideas and themes throughout a story, reviewing important characters, etc. for their reference
throughout the year.
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
h.
Assessment—UJAM/Playlist project & character development/Plot diagram
Goal: Students will create a UJAM project or playlist based on a character of their choice to develop a sense of
that character’s culture.
Standards Addressed:
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
Objectives:
 Students will choose a character from the story to connect with musically
 Students will define this character’s cultural background to relate to
 Students will develop either a playlist or a UJAM project based on this concept of culture
Materials:
 Access to computers
 Lyrics of popular patriotic songs
 Assignment handout/ guidelines
 CDs-Students must obtain
 Journals
Anticipatory Set:
Discussion on culture, with a power point of sounds related to American culture. This includes the national
anthem, Toby Keith’s American Ride, Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue, Yankee doodle, grand ‘ol flag,
America (my country tis of thee). Discuss what theme is carried throughout these songs by looking at the lyrics
and why they are so fitting for America, from the sound of the instruments to the lyrics.
Purpose:
This lesson uses UJAM, a music-making Web site as a tool for understanding characters. It also uses a playlist
project as a second option. This would be a mini-project to be completed independently. In a nut shell, UJAM
puts your voice to whatever style music and instruments that you select, creating a tune. Students would be
asked to write their own lyrics to a song that reflects a character of their choice. For the playlist project, students
will be encouraged to find their own songs that they think relate to a character of their choice in the story. Both
projects require publication and reflection. The playlist must be burned to a CD and the UJAM compilation
must be published online, accessible by the teacher.
Body:
Students will use their brainstorming skills from the media lessons to identify ideas of an anti-democracy. They
would list a few songs that would possibly be found on an anti-democratic playlist. Students will choose their
character at this time to follow throughout the story The Hunger Games and start thinking of ideas related to the
culture that that character lives in. Challenge the students to think outside of the main characters, for example,
Effie Trinket might be a good one to do, or Katniss’ mother. All of these notes should be recorded in their
journals
Guided Practice:
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Students will be assigned the project, using either UJAM or a playlist version of their character. They will start
writing down the ideas matched with songs, describing the instrumental and lyrical aspects and complete the
assignment at home.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed based on the completion of this activity, creativity, and accuracy according to their
supporting arguments. They will be asked to hand in all notes with a short reflection (one paragraph) on why
they chose the character. Later on, they may need to go back to their journals and reflect on this project on a
larger scale. This will count for a quiz grade.
Adaptation:
Students with special needs are given the opportunity to listen in this lesson, as opposed to just reading. They
are given the option to use their voices with UJAM, while this program puts music to their words. I would
recommend the UJAM portion for any students with special needs because finding songs based on the themes
might be a little more difficult for students who have a hard time organizing, however the organization might
work well for them at the same time because dividing music up into playlists can be beneficial to some.
Technology:
UJAM, Computers, iTunes or other types of playlists, the listening to patriotic music either in a CD player or on
the computer speakers
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UNIT: Where are they taking us?
LESSON: Technology & Futuristic/Dystopian literature—Integrating technological tools in the English
classroom (about three weeks).
i.
Assessment—Game creating group project: Recreation of Hunger Games in a board game group
project.
Standards Addressed in the Lesson
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction
Lesson Objectives
Students will use team-building skills to create a board game based on the novel they are reading. Students must
work together to create the game from scratch, using craft tools like cardboard, construction paper, crayons, etc.
to build the board and all of its elements. Students will be assessed based on their ability to work together as a
team and also on the connections made to the novel. By the time of assessment, 100% of students will pass the
lesson with an 85% or better.
Materials
 Rubric handout & Assignment sheet
 Scissors, paper, boards, markers, tape, glue, pencils, crayons, any other craft materials
Anticipatory Set
*Students will have brought in their favorite childhood board game as a show and tell to the class, where they
must have prepared a short something on why the game was so fun.*
Allow each student to present their game and tell their reasoning for choosing it.
Narrow the discussion to hopefully three main points: Creativity, Playability, and Relation to something in real
life.
Lead a class discussion on all of the obstacles that the main character(s) have overcome. Review plot diagrams.
Purpose
The purpose of our lesson today is to introduce the unit project for The Hunger Games. We are going to be
breaking up into teams of no more than three to create a board game based on the obstacles that a character of
your choice went through.
Body of the lesson
Have the class come up with a rubric based on the ideas from the set, helping them weigh each category of what
makes a board game great in terms of points for an assignment.
Review the assignment sheet, with detailed explanations of each step.
Guided Practice
Break students up into groups of no more than three to a group and have them create an outline proposal for
their game. This will include a title, thesis (objective of the game), details on what it will look like (rough
sketch), and how to play the game. Explain that a typed version will serve as the “directions” sheet.
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Closure
You will have two more class periods to work on this and need to finish the rest for homework. This will count
as a test grade. Remember that your peers will also be grading you throughout the process so I will know when
someone isn’t doing their share of the work.
Assessment
Students will be graded on the completion of this activity and also graded on how their peers evaluate them at
the end. The students will be evaluated on their presentation of the game to the class where they will trade
games with other groups to see how well the game works. The game will count for a test grade.
Adaptations rubric handouts, step-by-step instruction, examples of board games for visualization purposes,
agenda written on the board
Technology nothing high-tech is necessary for this project unless students want to get really crafty and find an
online tool that would help them create a virtual video game instead of an actual board game
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The Hunger Games Group Project Rubric Example
Creativity (40):______________
 Are the ideas original or are do they mimic traditional games? If they mimic, how is it different/ What’s
the twist?
 Title
 Directions
 Presentation (how does it look?)
Relates to the Novel (60):___________
 What character or theme does it follow?
 How is it alike or different from the novel?
Playable (30):_____________
 Does the game make sense?
 Clear directions
 Clear focus/objective
Peer Review/Participation (10): ______________
 Rating will be an average of teammates’ observations and review along with teacher review
 How well did you contribute to your group?
Total score: _______/ 140
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The Hunger Games Assignment Sheet for Group Project
Your assignment is to choose a character or theme in the story and create a board game based on it. Your game
can follow the obstacles that this character faces and use game strategies to reach a final destination, or it can
follow a theme in the book. A theme might be portrayed in a board game like “Monopoly” for example
portraying the theme of monopoly, and giving players a chance at building their own monopoly. A theme in The
Hunger Games might be “democracy” where players must work towards re-building a democracy in a semifascist world.
Things to consider:
 How does your character overcome these obstacles?
 Are there any set-backs that the character has and how might they be portrayed in a game?
 What do game boards look like? Do you want to build a traditional-looking game-board or a “futuristic”
looking one? How does the layout go with your topic?
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