Activator:
The teacher will define “science fiction” as a genre of fictional stories not restricted to reality and based on
scientific concepts. The teacher will record the definition on the board or chart paper and explain that some
aspects of science fiction are realistic, but what makes science fiction a unique genre are the sciencebased scenarios and elements. The teacher will introduce the genre science fiction to the class by
comparing and contrasting it with fantasy fiction. Fantasy fiction contains fictionalized scenarios based
completely on the fantastical, imaginary, or impossible. In both fantasy fiction and science fiction, anything
is possible in a text, but in science fiction, the story line and concepts presented are usually based on real
science. It is important to recognize scientific elements to distinguish science fiction from other fantasy
fiction and other genres. The teacher will list the elements of science fiction on chart paper: future, outer
space or aliens, time travel, robots or technology, new societies, science experiments, and a good vs. evil
plot line. The teacher will model identifying scientific elements by reading the first excerpt from the Sci-Fi
Finder 1. The teacher will do this by identifying a scientific or fictional detail in the excerpt and recording
that information in the Elements of Science Fiction Chart. (See example Elements of Science Fiction
Chart.) The teacher will classify that detail as one of the elements of science fiction (future, outer space or
aliens, time travel, robots or technology, new societies, science experiments, and/or a good vs. evil plot
line) and will probe further by describing this scientific or fictional element.
Is It Science? Is It Fiction?
1.
An asteroid that hit the Earth was shaped like a loaf of bread. It blasted off a large meteorite
that contained microscopic diamonds. (Science)
2.
Male squirrel monkeys are usually born red-green colorblind, which means they can’t see those
colors. But a recent scientific experiment allowed two monkeys to be injected with a special
gene. The monkeys can now see red and green. (Science)
3.
A bone found buried in the Sahara Desert was found to have come from someplace other than
Earth. Scientists found evidence that the bone might actually have come from Venus. (Fiction)
4.
A monarch butterfly was fitted with a tiny transmitter on its belly. Wherever the butterfly goes,
it sends a signal to scientists, who can track its movement. (Science)
5.
Automakers recently created a two person car that can fold up into the size of a medium
suitcase. The car can be carried when someone wants to walk around town and then unfolded
when the person wants to drive a longer distance. (Fiction)
6.
In a well-known science laboratory, experiments are being conducted to turn ordinary people
into robots. The ten year experiment has succeeded. There are now 1,500 robots secretly living
in society. (Fiction)
Elements of Science Fiction Chart
Scientific and/or Fictional Details
Science Fiction Element
(Sci-Fi Finder 1)
A claw that’s soft as steel extends to Tyrone’s window, followed by an alien
face.
Outer Space
Robots/Technology
The alien was being controlled from inside the hole in the ground, which
means the claw or the alien must have been robotic.
Tyrone saw that the robot would throw a grenade, and Tyrone wanted to
stop it.
Good vs. Evil plot line
(Sci-Fi Finder 2): Excerpt 1
Scientists had genetically engineered, or created, 40 men and women in
the laboratory.
Science Experiments
New Societies
A group of pod people who live in the Arizona desert are controlled by
scientists.
Excerpt 2
Aisha stared into her own old eyes. The young Aisha had traveled to the
future and met her older self.
Aisha had to get back to where she came from, which would take two and
a half minutes and 60 years into the past.
Future
Time Travel
Sci-Fi Finder 1
Tyrone looked out his bedroom window and stared into a giant hole
that had materialized in the middle of the street. Green smoke oozed from
the giant cracks in the road as purple lights seemed to light up the hollow
void. Suddenly, a spindly claw started prying its way out of the hole. The
claw looked like soft steel as it extended to Tyrone’s window. Attached to
the claw was the most frightening alien face Tyrone could ever conceive. It
seemed as though someone—something—was controlling it from inside
the hole in the ground. Tyrone noticed an antenna with a transmitter
perched on its top. The antenna and transmitter turned and whirled, taking
in the scene in Tyrone’s neighborhood. From the top of the transmitter, a
grenade appeared and the claw began to reach for it.
“That thing’s not going to blow up my street!” With that, Tyrone raced
out the door and towards the hole. He was prepared to send this
mysterious craft back to wherever it had come from.
Science Fiction Finder 2
Excerpt 1:
In a hidden compound in the Arizona desert, a group of 40 men and women lived
in near perfection. They had been living in their pods for the past 20 years, ever since
scientists had genetically-engineered the people in a laboratory. The scientists were
now the rulers of the pod people, giving each person a career and a purpose and using
each person’s life as an experiment. But the pod people were tired of being tested,
prodded, and told what to do. Yet, they couldn’t think about how to overthrow the pod
rulers. They had never made their own decisions before. The scientists made sure of
that; they sent electrical signals to the pod people’s brains to tell them how to move,
think, and behave. But the scientists forgot one thing: they forgot to control how the pod
people would feel about all of this.
Excerpt 2:
Aisha couldn’t believe her eyes. She was staring into her own eyes, except they
were older and wiser and a deeper shade of brown. The older Aisha stared back at the
younger Aisha.
“You look familiar,” Granny Aisha said to her younger self.
“Have we met before?”
Young Aisha blinked. Should she tell the old lady that she had come from the past
to help save her brother and her mother? Or should she deny ever meeting her old self?
Aisha’s choice was clear.
“I don’t think we’ve ever met,” Aisha said.
“I wish I could stay, but it took me about 60 years and two and a half minutes to get
here.”