Fahrenheit 451:
A Unit for ENG 4C
Julia Chapeski
Rachael Doran
Jessica Dwyer
Keith MacDonald
Table of Contents
Unit Outline ………………………………………………………. 3
Lesson 1: Censorship……………………………………………… 9
Lesson 2: Context ………………………………………………...
15
Lesson 3: Genre …………………………………………………..
20
Lesson 4: The Evolution of Character ……………………………. 24
Lesson 5: The Seductions of Censorship………………………….
30
Lesson 6: Technology in Fahrenheit 451 ………………………… 33
Lesson 7: Lucidity ………………………………………………... 38
Lesson 8: If Ignorance is Bliss……………………………………. 42
Lesson 9: Review Day ……………………………………………
46
Lesson 10: Test …………………………………………………… 48
Lesson 11: Literary Devices ……………………………………… 53
Lesson 12: Tying it All Together: Revisiting Themes……………. 58
Lesson 13: Making Connections and Moving On………………… 61
Summative Assignment…………………………………………… 65
Contact Information and Link to Research……………………….. 73
2
Unit Plan for ENG 4C
Title of Unit: Fahrenheit 451
No. of Periods: 15
Unit Expectations: The Students shall:
1. Compare ideas, values, and perspectives in texts.
2. Analyze the influence of social, cultural, and economic factors on the themes and
interpretations of texts.
3. Analyze how elements of a variety of literary works are used to enhance meaning
(extensive study).
4. Select specific and significant evidence from texts to support judgements and
arguments.
5. Analyze and assess ideas, issues, and explicit and implicit information in texts.
6. Analyze how authors use a variety of literary and rhetorical devices to enhance
meaning in texts.
7. Use essay structure to present ideas.
3
Lesson #
Title/Topic of
Lesson
1
Introduction to
Censorship
2
Fahrenheit 451:
Context
3
Genre: Science
Fiction and
Dystopian
Fiction
Strategy
Expectations
addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 Introductory quote

 Hook: A short video on censorship:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kWk92gwUsuo
 Concept mapping around the word
‘Censorship.’
 Discussion: What is censorship?
 Lecture: Introduce the general history of book
burning, by governments, school boards, etc.
Mention popular banned books and Nazi book
burning.
 Follow-up discussion: Is there any justification
for banning certain books? If so, what would your
criteria be?
 Hand out daily questions.
 Begin with a quote from the text. Ask students

if they can identify the quote. What does it mean
to them?
 Short Lecture on the particular history behind
the writing of Fahrenheit 451
- McCarthy era mentality
- The birth of television
- Information about the author
 Video on Sen. Joseph McCarthy
( http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=513971
1319040083472&q=senator+joseph+mccarthy)
 Brainstorming: Give 5 minutes for students to
write down ideas about how these issues are
relevant today
 Class Discussion.
 Hand out daily questions.
 Quote from the novel (relating to genre): Who
 
said it? Context?
 Show covers from various sci-fi novels, and ask
the class: What genre is this, and what are its
characteristics? Does Fahrenheit 451 belong to
this genre? What other books have you read in
this genre?
 Introduction to Utopias/ Dystopias: Have
students write down their idea of the best possible
world (utopia). Following this, students will write
the opposite (dystopia).
 Discussion: Is Fahrenheit 451 utopian or
4
dystopian? Or, could it be either one, depending
on your point of view?
 Group work: Each group is given a ‘hot topic’
related to censorship. They are responsible for
writing down 3 arguments for and against that
topic
 Each group presents their topic, and their
strongest argument from either side.
 Jeopardy review.
4
The Evolution of
Character
5
The Seduction of
Censorship
6
Technology in
Fahrenheit 451
7
Lucidity
 Begin with a quote: “He was not happy…(etc.)” 
P. 12. Who said it? Context?
 Question-based précis discussion of The Hearth
and the Salamander
 Split into groups, and have students brainstorm
the events that lead Montag from his ‘happiness’
to his rebellion (Clarisse, Millie’s suicide attempt,
the old lady burning).
 Brief, informal presentation (each group
presents one idea).
 Hand out questions.

 Anticipatory Set: What book, idea, or
association would you most like to see bann
 Guided reading of the penultimate scene in
F451 pp 52-63
 Writing activity: Defend the book, idea,
association you want to see banned.
 Review questions.
 
 Opening quote: The television, that insidious
beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people
to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren
which called and sang and promised so much and
gave, after all, so little.”
 Read write think Technology Survey and
discussion.
-  Mini-lesson on technology in F-451
 Jeopardy review.
 Opening quote: “So now do you see why books
are hated and feared? They show the pores in the
face of life. The comfortable people want only
wax moon faces, poreless, hairless,
expressionless.”
 Hand out a sheet with a number of
‘controversial statements’ and have students read
them over and check off where they stand (Agree,
strongly agree, Disagree, strongly disagree).


 

5
8
If Ignorance is
Bliss…
9
Review Day
10
Test
 Pick several of the statements for a Four
Corners activity:
- “Happiness is the absence of conflict and
suffering.”
- “Television makes people dumb.”
- “Ignorance is bliss.”
- “People who read books are better than
everybody else.”
- “Offensive or upsetting material should
not be published.”
- “Bradbury’s predictions in Fahrenheit
451 were generally accurate.
- “In today’s society, people are
disposable.”
- “The written word has more value than
other media.”
 Post-activity discussion:
- Enormously seductive power conspiring
to make people passive and shallow.
- Responsibility is on the people: they
decided not to read; the government only
intervened later.
- Numbness
 Hand out daily questions.
 Lecture/discussion: Revisit the character of
Montag. How has he changed? Go back to the
worksheet and add new information.
 Socratic lecture/discussion on key issues and
events in Part Two.
- Faber and his explanation of the structure
of society, as well as his opinion on
books.
- Is your higher duty to the truth, or to
happiness?
- Is the painful truth better than numb
happiness?
- Two types of censorship: (1) Threatens
political order (2) Threatens comfort.
- Millie’s lady friends
- Confrontation with Beatty in the fire
house
- Motif of suicide; meaninglessness of life.
 Hand out daily questions.
 Take up daily questions.
 Take up vocabulary crossword.
 Review for the test.
 Test on Parts 1 and 2.
 Video adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 for the



 


6
11
12
13
second part of class.
Literary Devices  Opening quotation “It’s perpetual motion; the
thing man wanted to invent but never did…It’s a
mystery…Its real beauty is that it destroys
responsibility and consequences…clean, quick,
sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic,
practical.
 Brief summary of literary devices: what they
are and how to recognize them.
 Small group work: identifying literary devices
from the text.
 Assign each student three pages from the novel.
They are responsible for finding one of the
literary devices discussed in class.
- Have students write down quotations and
put them up on the wall (a quote bank)
- Students present their findings to the
class.
- Ask students: How was their device used
in the book? How does it add to their
understanding of the book? What is its
impact?
 Follow-up discussion about the major symbols,
imagery and motifs in Fahrenheit 451
- Fire, death, suicide, the mechanical hound
(technology), the TV ‘family,’ the seashell
radios (numbing), mirrors.
 Hand out daily questions.
Revisiting
 Opening quote: “You always said, don’t face a
Themes (Tying it problem, burn it. Well, now I’ve done both.
all together)
Good-bye Captain.”
 Brainstorming activity: main themes from the
novel.
 Tableau activity (group work)
- Students design tableaux to represent the
beginning, middle and end of the book.
These can track character change or
mood. They can be symbolic or represent
a specific scene.
- After students present their tableaux, they
are responsible for giving an explanation
and justification. (Check for
understanding).
 Hand back and take up the test.
 Hand out daily questions.
Making
 Opening quote: “We know the damn silly thing 
Connections
we just did. We know all the damn silly things

 

7
we’ve done for a thousand years and as long as
we know that and always have it around where
we can see it, someday we’ll stop making the
goddamn funeral pyres and jumping in the middle
of them.”
 Link to current events
- Show a video clip of a chase scene from
“COPS”
- Read aloud from the chase scene from the
novel.
 Group brainstorm/ concept map on links
between themes in text and current events.
 Socratic discussion/ photo and video display
- Discuss links between themes and current
events.
Show photos and videos of
current events that link with themes in
novel.
14
15
In class essay,
Day 1
In class essay,
Day 2
 Introduce the summative assignment
“Becoming a Book.” Go over the assignment and
give essay-writing tips.
 Work on summative assignment
 Work on summative assignment
 Hand in assignment at the end of class
 


 


8
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 1: Censorship
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Learn the history of book burning and become familiar with a major theme from
Fahrenheit 451 (Censorship).
2. Reflect on and express their personal ideas and opinions on the topic of
censorship.
Anticipatory Set:
7 min
 Write a quotation from the novel on the board :
“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the
weapon. Breach man’s mind. Who knows who might be the target of a wellread man?” Beatty, p. 58.
While students are reading the quote and thinking about it, take attendance. Ask
students if they know the context and significance of the quotation.
 Play the video clip “Fahrenheit 451 Book Burning”
 Ask students to contemplate: Why would someone want to burn books?
Instructional Strategies:
 Concept mapping around the word CENSORSHIP. Instruct Students to quickly jot down what
comes to mind when they think of censorship (definitions, examples, opinions, etc.)
10 min  Discussion: What is censorship? (Students share their ideas)
15 min  Socratic Lecture: Introduction to the history of book burning (See lecture notes).
- Handout: Book Burning Through the Ages
20 min  Follow-up discussion:
- Is there any justification for banning certain books (or movies, or art)?
- If so, what would your criteria be?
- Have you ever read or seen anything so offensive that you wished it would be banned? How
did it make you feel?
- Why do you think fire is used to destroy books? What is its symbolic significance?
5 min
10 min  Hand out daily questions and give students time to start them in class.
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through questioning the
students and listening to their opinions and observations during the discussion periods.
(2) Concept mapping (assess prior knowledge)
9
(3) Daily questions
Materials Needed:
(1) Digital projector and computer or DVD player and television (to play video)
(2) Question sheets
(3) Lecture notes
(4) Picture or video of Nazi book burning
(5) Quotation
Accommodations:
 For an English Language Learner:
- Speak clearly
- Avoid colloquialisms and explain unusual words or terms
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes and discussion questions before the lesson
- Additional teacher support during concept mapping activity
- Check to make certain all the vocabulary in the daily questions is familiar to the
student
- Provide a dictionary and a glossary of terms
 For a student with a grade 4 reading level:
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes and discussion questions before the lesson
- Additional teacher support during concept mapping activity
- Provide additional help with daily questions: verbal explanations and guidance
- Glossary of terms.
10
Lesson 1: Lecture Notes
The History of Book Burning
(1)
Introductory prompts:
a. When do you think people first started burning books? (China, 3rd
b.
century BCE, is the first known incident. It has continued in many societies up
until the present day.)
What motivates book burning? (Can be for moral, political or religious
objections to the ideas contained in the book.)
(2) Today, book burning is usually ceremonial
- Book burners normally aren’t trying to destroy every copy of a book, as in
Fahrenheit 451. Rather, they are expressing their objections to the
material in a ritualized manner.
- However, there have been instances throughout history in which
irreplaceable material has been destroyed
- Destruction of the Library of Alexandria
- Burning of books and burying scholars under China’s Quin
Dynasty
- Book burnings by the Nazi regime.
(3) General History: Book Burning Through the Ages
- Give out ‘Book Burning through the Ages’ handout (Leave a few
minutes for students to look it over)
- Have students read several of the incidents out loud
- Ask: What kinds of books do people tend to burn?
- Generally: Books that go against a belief system, be it
religious, philosophical or political.
Specifically: ‘Incorrect’ versions or unsanctioned translations
of religious texts; ‘heretical’ texts’; holy texts of another
religion; books that go against the beliefs of a new political
regime; books that challenge the existing regime; books that
are considered lewd, immoral, or inappropriate;
- Generally, what kinds of people burn books?
- Conquerors, governments or heads of state, religious
leaders/ the Church, revolutionary leaders, or anyone who
adheres strongly to a certain ideal/philosophy/belief system.
- Why were these books burned?
- They challenged ‘appropriate’ beliefs, threatened people in
power, promoted ‘undesirable’ ideas, etc.
(4) Specific History: Nazi book burning
- (Show a picture:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/1933-may-10berlin-book-burning.JPG)
- On May 10, 1933 in Berlin… “The Burning of the Books”
- S.A. and Nazi youth groups burned almost 20 000 books
- These were books from an early sexology research centre, and
books from the Humbolt University.
11
Ask: Can you think of any authors that the Nazis might want to
censor? What political ideals did the Nazis promote? What were the
most interested in suppressing?
- They burned texts by Heinrich Heine, Thomas Mann,
Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Franz
Kafka, Jack London, Emile Zola, and H.G. Wells—to
name a few.
- Many authors were Jewish, Marxists or Bolsheviks
- The goal of this ‘event’ was to rid Germany of any book that contained
“unGerman ideas” and, therefore, was unfit to read.
- Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister, stated, “The future
German man will not just be a man of books, but a man of
character” (qtd in “May 10, 1933”).
- Reactions to the event varied.
- The Nazis were pleased by the success of the burning. Goebbels
called it ‘a strong, great and symbolic action’ and stated that ‘spirits
are awakening, oh, century; it is a joy to live!”
- Goebbels did, however, instruct all German newspapers to
minimize the event.
- Countries around the world, including America and even China
and Japan, were shocked by the occurrence.
- There were protests all over America, and some news media
called it a ‘bibliocaust’—i.e. a holocaust of books.
Follow-up Discussion
(1) Why do you certain populations have allowed book burning in the past (and
today)?
-Political pressure, fear, mob mentality (the need to conform), patriotism,
genuine dislike of the material, etc.
(2) We tend to equate book burning with oppression. But is there ever any
justification for banning certain books (or movies, or art)? If so, what would your
criteria be?
(3) Have you ever read or seen anything so offensive that you wished it would be
censored? How did it make you feel?
(4) Why do you think fire is used to destroy books? What is its symbolic
significance?
- Powerful destruction, purification, cleanliness, death and rebirth,
spectacle, source of heat, etc.
12
Lesson 1 Review Questions:
Censorship and Book Burning
(1) Describe one instance in which you have observed or experienced
censorship. Did you agree with it? Why or why not?
(2) Do you think that certain members of society deserve to be sheltered from
‘offensive’ or ‘inappropriate’ ideas? Explain.
(3) Examine your ‘Book Burning Through the Ages’ handout. Generally, who
tends to burn books, and what kinds of books are burned?
(4) Were you surprised by any of the burned books that appeared on the
handout? If so, why?
(5) How does book burning in Fahrenheit 451 relate to historical book burning?
(6) What is the symbolic significance of fire as a tool for the destruction of books?
13
Book Burning Through the Ages
Approximate Date
Book(s) Burned
213 BCE
?
292
408
392 and 640
Chinese Philosophy books
Sorcery scrolls
Egyptian alchemical books
The Sibylline Books
The Alexandria libraries
650
1085
13th century
1233
Qur’anic texts (competing versions)
Competing prayer books (at Toledo)
‘Heretical’ Cathar texts
Maimonides philosophy
1410
John Wycliffe’s books (Jan Hus’ teaching)
1480s
Non-Catholic books, especially Jewish and Arabic
texts.
Decameron, Ovid, and other ‘lewd’ books (in
Florence)
Over a million Arabic and Hebrew books (at
Andalucia)
William Tyndale’s English translation of the New
Testament
Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible
Anti-Wilhelm Tell tract (arguing that Wilhelm Tell
was a myth)
Religious libraries and royalist books (during the
French revolution)
Early Braille books (at Paris)
1497
1499 or 1500
1525 & 1526
1624
1760
1842
1842
1918
1930-1940
1948
Anti-Communist books, religious works and books
in favour of Czarist history
Jewish, anti-Nazi and ‘degenerate’ books
2000 comic books (at Binghamton, New York)
1953
1965
1981
1988
Communist and ‘fellow traveler’ books
Library of writer Pramoedya Anata Toer (Indonesia)
Jaffna library
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
1990s
Books ‘contrary to the teachings of God’ at Grade
Cache, Alberta
Harry Potter books (at various American cities)
000s
Book burner(s)
Emperor Qin Shi Huang
Early converts to Christianity (at Ephesus)
Emperor Diocletian
Flavius Stilcho
Theodosius I (392)
Unknown (640)
The 3rd Caliph, Uthman
Followers of the King of Castile
The Catholic church
Unknown-- Burnt at Montpellier, Southern
France
Illiterate Prague archbishop Zbyněk Zajic z
Házmburka
Tomas Torqumanda
Girolamo Savonarola
Cisneros, Archbishop of Granada
British authorities
Ordered by the Pope
Simon Uriel Freudenberger
Robespierre
Armand Dufau, director of Paris’s School
for the Blind
The Bolsheviks
The Nazi regime
Burned by children, overseen by their
priests, teachers and parents
Senator McCarthy
Suharto Regime
Sinhalese police officers
Certain Muslims, who considered it
blasphemous.
The Full Gospel Assembly
Churches
14
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 2: Context
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Become familiar with Ray Bradbury and the context in which he wrote
Fahrenheit 451.
2. Understand how context affects the content of Fahrenheit 451.
3. Relate Bradbury’s concerns with contemporary issues.
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
 Write a quotation from the novel on the board:
“There you have it, Montag. It didn’t come from the government down. There
was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology,
mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God!”
While students are reading the quote and thinking about it, take attendance.
Ask students if they know the context and significance of the quotation.
Instructional Strategies:
15 min  Lecture on the particular history behind the writing of Fahrenheit 451 (See lecture notes).
- Information about the author
- The Cold War
- The birth of television
- McCarthy era mentality
15 min  Video on Sen. Joseph McCarthy
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=5139711319040083472&q=senator+joseph+mccarthy)
10 min  Brainstorming in pairs: Students think about the video and the lecture, and write down how
these issues are relevant today.
15 min  Class discussion about the brainstorming topic.
10 min  Hand out daily questions and give students time to work
5 min  Take up one or two difficult questions from the day before.
Assessment:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through questioning the
students and listening to their opinions and observations during the discussion
periods.
(2) Take up questions from the previous day
(3) Daily questions
15
Materials Needed:
(1) Digital projector and computer or DVD player and television (to play video)
(2) Question sheets
(3) Lecture notes
(4) Map showing national boundaries in the 1950s (U.S.S.R, etc)
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/coldwar1.htm
(5) Quotation
Accommodations:
 For an English Language Learner:
- Speak clearly
- Avoid colloquialisms and explain unusual words or terms
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Pair with a strong student during the brainstorming activity
- Check to make certain all the vocabulary in the daily questions is familiar to the
student
- Provide a dictionary, and a glossary of terms
 For a student with a grade 4 reading level:
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Pair with a strong student during the brainstorming activity
- Provide additional help with daily questions: verbal explanations and guidance
- Glossary of terms
Administrative NTS:
 Ask students if they had any trouble with the questions from last class, and offer
solutions and clarification during the last five minutes of class.
16
Lesson 2: Lecture Notes
Context: Post-WW II America
(1) Ray Bradbury- Background and Trivia
- American, born in Illinois
- He was influenced by science fiction heroes like Flash Gordon and Buck
Rogers.
- He attributes his lifelong daily writing habit to the day in 1932 when a
carnival entertainer, Mr. Electrico, touched him with an electrified sword,
made his hair stand on end, and shouted, "Live forever!" The following
day, Mr. Electrico brought Bradbury behind the scenes of the carnival and
discussed philosophy with him
-
Bradbury once said in an interview that he does not like using
computers when writing a book.
- Bradbury claims that the entirety of his novel was written in the basement
of the UCLA library on a pay typewriter. His original intention in writing
Fahrenheit 451 was to show his great love for books and libraries. He has
often referred to Montag as an allusion to himself.
(2) Context: Introduction
- When you think this book was written?
- Fahrenheit 451 was originally published in a 1951 (within an anthology, under a
different title--The Fireman)
- Considering yesterday’s discussion (Censorship, book burning), what do
you think the author thought about his own society?
- ‘Thought destroying’ censorship, culture of paranoia, powerful people
threatened by opposing ideas, people becoming increasingly resistant to books.
- Ray Bradbury was an American. What do you know about American
society in late 1940s and early 1950s?
- Post WW II, beginning of the cold war, the ‘red scare,’ Television
(3) The Invention of Television
- Image of an early television set:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/OTVbelwederfront.jpg
- Regular network broadcasting began in the United States in 1946, and
television became common in American homes by the mid 1950s.
- The 1950’s is considered by some to be the ‘golden age’ of television.
- T.V. at that time became the dominant mass media
- In the early 50’s in America, young people often watched T.V. for
more hours than they went to school. (Has this changed?)
- What was portrayed on T.V. was accepted as ‘normal.’ (Has this
changed?)
- Birth of the sitcom
17
- How does Bradbury treat television in Fahrenheit 451?
- Mind-numbing, replacement for reality,
- Consider what T.V. was like in the 1940s
and 1950s. How did Bradbury
envision the ‘future’ of television? In what ways was he correct?
- In the 1950s, TVs were black and white, and very small. Bradbury envisioned
giant screens that replaced walls, surrounding an entire room and completely
absorbing the viewer for countless hours. Today our TVs are getting larger and
larger, and it is certainly possible to manufacture wall-sized screens.
(4) The Cold War
- A period of conflict, tension and competition between the United States and the
Soviet Union (and their allies) from the mid 1940s until the early 1990s. (See
map of the world from the 1950s)
- U.S., Japan, Western Europe, and Canada vs. Eastern Europe and China
- Rivalry between superpowers lead to…
- Military coalitions
- Conflicts in ideology
- Espionage
- Military, industrial, and technological developments
- Immense spending on defense
- A massive conventional and nuclear arms race
- Proxy wars (i.e. Korean war)
- Is there any reflection of the cold war in Fahrenheit 451?
- Impending war, ‘us and them’ mentality, technology, powerful governments
(4) Senator Joseph McCarthy
-
-
Republican U.S. Senator from 1947-1957
He became notorious for unsubstantiated claims that there were
Communists and Soviet spies throughout America and even in the U.S.
government.
Communist beliefs were never illegal, but it was the popular belief that
support of communism equated to treason.
This political cartoon coined the term ‘McCarthyism’:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Herblock1950.jpg
Video on the McCarthy era:
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=5139711319040083472&q=senator+jose
ph+mccarthy)
o
Contains a more detailed description of the Senator
18
Brainstorming Activity
(1) Consider what we’ve discussed today:
a. The impact of television
b. The Cold War
c. McCarthy era censorship and paranoia
Can you relate these issues to anything going on in the world today? Take 10
minutes to write down your ideas. Consult with a partner if desired.
Lesson 2 Review Questions
(1) Fahrenheit 451 was first published in 1951. In what ways is it a product of
its time? (I.e. how does the context in which the novel was written
influence its content?)
(2) If Fahrenheit 451 was written today, how would it be different? What might
remain the same?
(3) Senator McCarthy is stigmatized for his ruthless persecution of those he
believed were Communists. Do you think that every political belief should
be tolerated, even if that belief is racist, sexist, or otherwise
‘objectionable’?
19
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 3: Genre—Science Fiction and Dystopian Fiction
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Understand the differences between Science Fiction, Utopian Fiction, and
Dystopian Fiction.
2. Explain how assumptions about genre might influence our understanding of the
novel.
3. Work effectively in groups to find evidence from the text to explore the changes
in Montag’s character.
Anticipatory Set:
5
 Show covers from various sci-fi novels or movies, and ask the class: What genre is this?
min Does Fahrenheit 451 belong to this genre? What other books have you read in this genre?
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/aa/Astounding_Grey_Lensman.png
- http://www.sfcovers.net/Magazines/STS12/STS2_0002.jpg
- http://www.philipkdick.com/covers/pkd8.jpg
- http://people.uncw.edu/smithms/Ace%20singles/sS-series/S-066.jpg
- http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/CoverArtUnverified/638.jpg
5
 Write on the board:
min
“First of all, I don't write science fiction. I've only done one science fiction book
and that's Fahrenheit 451, based on reality. Science fiction is a depiction of the
real. Fantasy is a depiction of the unreal. So Martian Chronicles is not science
fiction, it's fantasy. It couldn't happen, you see? That's the reason it's going to be
around a long time—because it's a Greek myth, and myths have staying power.”
–Ray Bradbury
 While students are reading the quote and thinking about it, take attendance.
Instructional Strategies:
15 min  Introduction to Utopias/ Dystopias: Have students write down their idea of the best possible
world (utopia). Following this, students will write the opposite (dystopia).
10 min  Discussion:
-Is Fahrenheit 451 utopian or dystopian? Or, could it be either one, depending on your point of
view?
- Do we need to label books with a genre? How does genre change our understanding of a book
before we even read it?
- How does Bradbury envision everyday life in Fahrenheit 451? Is Montag comfortable in his
society?
15 min  Group work:
- Each group is given a ‘hot topic’ related to censorship (see handout). They are responsible for
writing down 3 arguments for and against that topic.
20
8 min  Each group presents their topic, and their strongest argument from either side.
15 min  Review Jeopardy (using groups from the brainstorming activity).
2 min  Collect utopia/dystopia writing exercise.
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through questioning the
students and listening to their opinions and observations during the discussion periods.
(2) Short Writing exercise: Utopia/dystopia
(3) Observation of group presentations and quote selection.
(4) Daily questions/ answers.
Materials Needed:
(1) Lecture notes
(2) Question sheets
(3) Digital projector to display Sci-fi cover images, or images printed on a
transparency (with overhead projector)
Administrative NTS:
 Collect writing exercises
 Ask students if they need any help with any review questions from a previous class.
Accommodations:
 For an English Language Learner:
- Speak clearly. Avoid colloquialisms and explain unusual words or terms
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes and discussion questions before the lesson
- Allow additional time for the writing exercise
- Place student in a group that will be supportive and encouraging
- Check to make ensure the vocabulary in the questions is familiar to the student
- Provide a dictionary and a glossary of terms
 For a student with a grade 4 reading level:
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes and discussion questions before the lesson
- Allow additional time for the writing exercise
- Place student in a group that will be supportive and encouraging
- Provide additional help with daily questions: verbal explanations and guidance
- Glossary of terms.
21
Censorship Hot Topics
As a group, come up with as many arguments as you can
for and against one of the following statements:
(1) Books with swearing and sexuality should not be taught in
schools.
(2) It should be illegal for any person under the age of sixteen to
purchase or play violent video games like ‘Grand Theft Auto.’
(3) Songs with profane lyrics should not be censored on the radio.
(4) People who watch movies about drugs and crime are more likely
to end up as addicts and criminals.
(5) Images of scantily clad pop stars are damaging to young women
and should not be included in magazines or on television.
(6) Censorship is the first step towards the creation of an oppressive,
fascist society.
(7) We should not read older books that contain racist attitudes, even
if they are considered classics.
(8) No book, movie, song or image should be deliberately offensive to
any minority.
22
Review Jeopardy # 1
History
(100) He is a U.S. Senator infamous for his Communist ‘witch hunt.’
Who… is Senator Joseph McCarthy?
(200) This invention was just becoming popular during the time in which Fahrenheit 451
was written.
What is… television?
(300) This era was characterized by espionage, an arms race and ideological conflict
between superpowers.
What is… the Cold War Era?
(400) In Nazi Germany, books by this author were burned on May 10, 1933 (name one).
Who is… Heinrich Heine, Thomas Mann, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Karl Marx,
Franz Kafka, Jack London, Emile Zola, or H.G. Wells?
Theme
(100) This is one reason for book burning
What is… challenging belief structures or threatening people in power or promoting
undesirable ideas etc.?
.
(200) This can be described as the suppression of something that is considered morally,
politically, or otherwise objectionable.
What is… censorship?
(300) In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury envisions this as the future of television.
What is… Wall sized, numbing, pointless, etc. ?
Author
(100) True or false: Ray Bradbury does not like to use computers to type his books.
True
(200) Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 for this reason
What is… ‘ To show his love of books and libraries’
Genre
(100) Bradbury describes this genre as “a depiction of the real.”
What is… Science Fiction
(200) This genre expresses the best of all possible worlds
What is… Utopian fiction.
(300) Fahrenheit 451 is best described in terms of this genre.
What is… Dystopian science fiction.
(½ points for just dystopian, ½ points for just science fiction)
23
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Lesson 4: The Evolution of Character
Date: _____________________
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
3. Understand the awakening of Montag’s character as he moves from bulwark of
the establishment to rebel.
4. Comprehend that character whether in novels or in life is not necessarily a static
entity but is capable of change and evolution.
5. Be able to identify incidents in the plot of Fahrenheit 451 that drive the evolution
of Montag’s character.
Anticipatory Set:
10 min
Write a quotation from the novel on the board:
“He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He
recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a
mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there
was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back.” (p.12)
Answer the following questions:
1. Who is not happy?
2. What has just happened in the novel?
3. What does the author mean when he says “He wore his happiness
like a mask?”
Instructional Strategies:
30 min
25 min

Question-based précis discussion of The Hearth and the Salamander using Fahrenheit
451 Précis Questions/Discussion.
[We won’t be surprised if students haven’t finished reading yet. This will make sure that
e/one is on the same page.]

Read Excerpt #1 from Fahrenheit 451 The Hearth and the Salamander - The Evolution
of Character then read Excerpt #2. Briefly discuss the following questions:


Q: What’s different about Montag in the first excerpt that I read and in the second one?
Q: Is the Montag of the second excerpt the kind of guy that the government in F-451 will
trust?

Divide the class into groups and distribute Fahrenheit 451 The Hearth and the
Salamander - The Evolution of Character handout. (Contains instructions.)

At the end of the discussion period, each group reports on the events they have decided
24
are important for moving Montag from complacent citizen to rebel.
o Make sure that you push them to tie in their choice of an event with a reason why
it helped to change Montag’s character.
10 min Questions/Review
1. How is Clarisse different from the other people that Montag knows?
2. What does Montag find at home after the first time he meets Clarisse?
3. What is Mildred’s favourite thing to do?
4. What is a beetle?
5. Who is Montag’s boss?
6. Who sets the fire that kills the old woman?
7. Why does Montag call in sick to work at the end of The Hearth and the Salamander?
8. Is the change in Montag’s character that occurs in The Hearth and the Salamander, a
healthy one?
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through questioning the
students and listening to their opinions and observations during the general and group
discussion periods.
(2) Daily questions
Materials Needed:
(1) Fahrenheit 451 Précis Questions/Discussion: F451_L4_precisQuestions.doc
(2) Fahrenheit 451 The Hearth and the Salamander - The Evolution of Character
handout: Character F451_L4_GrpDiscussPrompts_handout.doc
Blackboard: (see Anticipatory Set, above)
25
Fahrenheit 451 Précis Questions/Discussion.
































Q: What makes Montag an unusual fireman?
A: He sets fires instead of putting them out.
The Novel opens with Montag happily burning books.
Q: Who does Montag meet on the way home from work at the very beginning of
the book?
A: Clarisse.
Q: What effect does this meeting have on him?
A: Montag is intrigued, made a little uncomfortable. His complacency is
disturbed.
Q: What does Montag find when he gets home that night?
A: His wife has overdosed on sleeping pills.
Q: What do the paramedics say to Montag? How busy are they?
A: They do this many times a night?
Q: What can you conclude from this frequency?
A: There are lots of unhappy people in the F-451 society.
Q: How does Millie feel about what happened to her the night before?
A: She doesn’t even remember it.
Q: Why does Montag stop seeing Clarisse?
A: She just disappears. Montag doesn’t know why.
Q: What big upcoming event do Montag and Millie keep hearing about on the
radio and on the television?
A: It looks like there’s a war coming?
Q: The next thing we read about is a “fire” that Montag goes to. What happens at
it?
A: The owner of the house refuses to leave when they threaten to burn it and even
lights the match that starts the fire herself.
Q: What risky thing does Montag do at this fire?
A: He steals one of the books.
Q: How does he feel about the death of the old woman? What does it make him
think about books?
A: Not v. good and also curious. He realizes that there must be something in
books if she is willing to die because of them.
Q: Montag realizes two things in bed that night with Millie. What are they?
A: (i) He can’t remember when or how they met. (ii) Clarisse is dead. Millie tells
him that she was hit by a car (ironic?) and that the whole family moved away four
days ago.
Q: Why is it significant or important that Montag can’t remember when he met
his wife?
A: It indicates the extent to which his mind has been softened, lulled, put to sleep
by the F-451 society.
Q: Who comes over to Montag’s house the next day?
A: Beatty, his boss.
Q: What does Beatty talk to Montag about?
26









A: How people gave up on thinking about the meaning of things and whether
things were right or wrong because they were more interested in pleasure and
going fast. Firemen exist in the F-451 society to make sure that people are free to
enjoy themselves and protected from the disturbance of thinking.
Q: What does Montag have underneath his pillow the whole time that he is in bed
talking with Beatty in the bedroom?
A: The book that he took from the fire the day before.
Q: What does Beatty hint at before leaving?
A: That he knows that Montag has a book and that if its not turned in in 24 hours,
the firemen will come to Montag’s house to burn it.
Q: What do we find out that Montag has hidden in his house after Beatty leaves?
A: That Montag has many more books that he has been collecting over the past
year.
Q: What do Montag and his wife do for the rest of the day until the end of the
section?
A: Montag talks her into reading some of the books in an attempt to figure out if
they have anything significant to say about life.
27
Instructions
Read the two excerpts from Fahrenheit 451 on this page and on the back of this page.
Each group member should take notes. As a group, list as many events from the plot of
The Hearth and the Salamander that change Montag from the man described in the first
quote to the man he becomes at the end of that part of the book (described in the second
quote). Each group member should take notes. Use the questions below to help guide
your discussion.
At the end of the discussion period your group will report on the events that you have
identified.
Questions
When you read the first excerpt, do you think that Montag is a truly happy man?
Why is Montag not so happy by the end of The Hearth and the Salamander; the part of
the book that the second excerpt comes from?
How does Montag feel about Clarisse?
What is his reaction when Clarisse disappears?
What can we infer about the society of Fahrenheit 451 from the fact that the paramedics
that come to treat Mildred do the same thing eight or nine times a night?
Do you get the feeling that Montag approves of his wife’s television habits?
What does Montag talk about with the old woman before she lights the match that ignites
the kerosene?
28
Excerpt #1
“It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and
changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting
its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and
his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the
symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal
ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet number 451 on his stolid head,
and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he
flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned
the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of
fireflies. He wanted above all, like the old joke, to shove a marshmallow
on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on
the porch and lawn of the house. While the books went up in sparkling
whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning.
Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by
flame.
He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself,
a minstrel man, burnt-corked, in the mirror. Later, going to sleep, he
would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark. It
never went away, that smile, it never ever went away, as long as he
remembered.”
Excerpt #2
"It's not just the woman that died," said Montag. "Last night I thought
about all the kerosene I've used in the past ten years. And I thought about
books. And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of
the books. A man had to think them up. A man had to take a long time to
put them down on paper. And I'd never even thought that thought before."
He got out of bed.
"It took some man a lifetime maybe to put some of his thoughts down,
looking around at the world and life, and then I come along in two minutes
and, boom! It’s all over."
"Let me alone," said Mildred. "I didn't do anything."
"Let you alone! That's all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We
need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while.
How long is it since you were really bothered? About something
important, about something real?"
29
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
Date: _____________________
Lesson 5: The Seductions of Censorship
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Explore the tendency to ban offensive or even uncomfortable ideas and
behaviours and become familiar with a major theme from Fahrenheit 451
(Censorship).
2. Reflect on and express their personal ideas and opinions on the temptation to ban
and censor.
Anticipatory Set:
15 min
1. This will be on the o/head when students enter the class:
Fahrenheit 451 is about a society where books have become illegal because
the ideas they contain are a barrier to happiness and social unity. This
seems obviously wrong but, at the same time, almost everyone has some
book or idea or association that is so clearly immoral (or dangerous?) that
they would like to see it disappear from Canadian society.
Take 10 minutes and write down the one book, idea, or association you
would most like to see disappear from Canadian society and at least one
reason that supports your view.
2. Take in what the students write and hold on to it until the
last part of the class.
Instructional Strategies:
25
min
25
min
3. Guided reading of the penultimate scene in F451 in which
Beatty visits Montag at his home while Montag has the stolen
book under his pillow.
pp. 52-63
o Set the scene. This is the morning after the burning
of the old woman in her house. Montag is feeling
sick and dispirited and wants to call in sick and
maybe never go to his work again.
o Q: How does the society of F451 get to the point
where the firemen are in charge of burning books?
o A: accelerating speed, condensed books,
entertainment, discomfort with thinking, insecurity.
o Censorship is tempting.
o Contemporary censorship and book banning.
Handout Challenged Books and Magazines List
from
http://freedomtoread.ca/censorship_in_canada/challenged_book
s.asp
30
10
min
4. Hand back the papers taken in before. Tell students that they
are to do their best to write a defence of the book, idea or
association that they had previously desired banned. Tell
them that you are looking for (i) a clear statement of the idea
they are defending and (ii) at least two reasons why it should
be defended and (iii) that clarity in their writing counts.
5. Hand out daily questions and give students time to work
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through questioning the
students and listening to their opinions and observations during the discussion periods.
(2) Short Writing exercise on defending the idea they’d like to see banned.
(3) Daily questions:
a) Thinking about our class discussion, name one or two reasons which explain the
rise of book burning the society of Fahrenheit 451.
b) Review the list of challenged books in the Challenged Books and Magazines List
handout. What do you think is the most common reason why books are
challenged in Canada?
c) Why does Montag get so upset with his wife for trying to fix his pillow while he
is meeting with Beatty in the bedroom?
d) What does Montag persuade his wife to do at the end of The Hearth and the
Salamander?
e) Who lights fire that kills the old lady the night before Montag has his meeting
with Beatty?
f) Why is Montag’s wife, Millie, so upset with him towards the end of The Hearth
and the Salamander?
Materials Needed:
Challenged Books and Magazines List handout. (F451_L5_challenged_books.pdf)
Accommodations:
 For an English Language Learner:
- Speak clearly
- Avoid colloquialisms and explain unusual words or terms
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Pair with a strong student during the brainstorming activity
- Check to make certain all the vocabulary in the daily questions is familiar to the
student
- Provide a dictionary, and a glossary of terms
 For a student with a grade 4 reading level:
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
31
-
Pair with a strong student during the brainstorming activity
Provide additional help with daily questions: verbal explanations and guidance
Glossary of terms
Administrative NTS:
 Ask students if they had any trouble with the questions from last class, and offer
solutions and clarification during the last five minutes of class.
Rough Notes
This lesson is about the seductions of censorship. In other words, we often see
censorship (bad) as something imposed from without on an unwilling population who
would resist it if they could. One of the insightful points made in F451 is that the state of
affairs in which the cast of characters find themselves is one that they have largely
brought upon themselves.
The 20th Century saw a rapid acceleration in the pace of society and at the same
time as this acceleration occurred, there was a complementary abridgement of the rich
complexity of the ideas embodied in books. It became possible to think less and less.
People might be crammed full of facts but there was no complexity to complement and
connect them. At the same time, there was no leisure to think complicated thoughts.
“It didn’t come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration,
no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure
carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you
are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journals.” (F451, p.58)
“Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel
good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer
of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book. Serenity Montag. Peace,
Montag. Take your fight outside. Better yet, into the incinerator.” (F451, p.59).”
Fahrenheit 451 is about a society where books have become illegal because the
ideas they contain are a barrier to happiness and social unity. Even though it is easy to
think that this is obviously wrong, almost everyone has some book or idea or association
that is so clearly immoral (or dangerous?) that they would like to see it disappear from
Canadian society.
Take 10 minutes and write down the one book, idea, or association you would
most like to see disappear from Canadian society and at least one reason that supports
your view.
Challenged Books and Magazines List digital reference:
Read Canada at: http://freedomtoread.ca/censorship_in_canada/challenged_books.asp
32
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Part One: The Hearth and the Salamander
Date: _____________________
Lesson 6: Technology in Fahrenheit 451
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students will:
1. Understand the role of technology in shaping the society of Fahrenheit 451
2. Critically evaluate their understanding of technology in Canadian society.
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
 This will be on the overhead when students enter the class:
“The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa
which freezes a billion people to stone every night,
staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang
and promised so much and gave, after all, so
little.”

While students are reading the quote and thinking about it, take
attendance.
Instructional Strategies:
10 min
20 min



10 min
15 min
15 min



Handout and have students complete the read write think Technology
Survey
Compile the results on the board
Class discussion on the results. Begin discussion with those results for
which there is the most disagreement. Encourage students to provide
reasons and explanations of their positions and to debate their
differences with each other.
The teacher needs to challenge oversimplified views of technology.
Focus in on the ways in which technology has influenced their lives.
Look for ways in which technology has made them more awake to the
world around them and also ways in which it has numbed and possibly
alienated them.

Mini-lesson on technology in F-451 from Talking Notes: Technology in
F-451
o Focus on the ways in which technology supports and maintains
the oppressive society of F-451

Distribute new copies of the read write think Technology Survey. Ask
students to fill it out in the way that they think Ray Bradbury would fill
it out.
Compile the results on the board and discuss as a class. Encourage them
to support their answers by referring to the text.

33
Part 1 - The Hearth and the Salamander Review Jeopardy
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through questioning the
students and listening to their opinions and observations during the discussion periods.
(2) Observation: Jeopardy
Materials Needed:
Lecture notes for mini-lecture on technology: F451_L6_LectureNotes.doc
Read write think Technology Survey: F451_L6_tech-survey.pdf
Review Jeopardy: F451_L6_ReviewJeopardy.doc
Accommodations:
 For an English Language Learner:
- Speak clearly
- Avoid colloquialisms and explain unusual words or terms
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Pair with a strong student during the brainstorming activity
- Check to make certain all the vocabulary in the daily questions is familiar to the
student
- Provide a dictionary, and a glossary of terms
 For a student with a grade 4 reading level:
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Pair with a strong student during the brainstorming activity
- Provide additional help with daily questions: verbal explanations and guidance
- Glossary of terms
Administrative NTS:
 Ask students if they had any trouble with the questions from last class, and offer
solutions and clarification during the last five minutes of class.
34
35
Lesson 6 Jeopardy Review
Plot
(100) Paramedics do this to Mildred near the beginning of the novel.
What is…pump her stomach?
(200) This is the person who lights the fire that kills the unnamed woman.
Who is…the unnamed woman herself?
(300) This happens to Clarisse about mid-way through The Hearth and the Salamander
What is…she is killed, probably hit by a car?
(400) This animal is poisonous in Fahrenheit 451
What is…the mechanical hound?
Theme
(100) These will get you into trouble in Fahrenheit 451.
What are…books?
(200)
This is what Montag’s wife spends most of her time thinking about.
What is…television?
(300) True or False -there is no reading whatsoever allowed in the society of Fahrenheit
451.
What is...false?
(400) True or False - censorship was imposed by force on the citizens of Fahrenheit
451.
What is…false?
Characters
(100) This character inspires Montag to drink the falling rain.
Who is…Clarisse?
(200) This character is Montag’s superior at the Fire Station.
Who is…Beatty?
(300) This character is the one that Montag fears the most.
Who is…the Mechanical Hound?
(400)
True or False - Montag’s character basically doesn’t change in Fahrenheit 451
What is…false?
Quotes (identify the character who said this)
(100) “They [the firemen] were given the new job, as custodians of our peace of mind,
the focus of our understandable and fright dread of being inferior: official censors,
judges, and executors. That’s you, Montag, and that’s me.”
36
Who is…Beatty?
(200) “It’s only two thousand dollars. And I think you’d consider me sometimes. If we had
a fourth wall, why it’d be just like the room wasn’t ours at all but all kinds of exotic
people’s rooms. We could do without a few things.”
Who is…Mildred?
(300) “I’ve got to go see my psychiatrist now. They make me go. I make up things to say.
I don’t know what he thinks of me. He says I’m a regular onion! I keep him busy peeling
away the layers.”
Who is…Clarisse?
(400) “Let you alone! That’s all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need
not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since
you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?
Who is…Montag?
37
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 7: Lucidity
Time: approx. 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Compare their own ideas, values, and perspectives with those expressed or implied
in a text in a variety of ways (written, and orally).
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
7 min
 Write a quotation from the novel on the board (see lesson notes). While
students are reading the quote and thinking about it, take attendance.
Ask students if they know the context and significance of the quotation. (See
lecture notes: introductory prompts)
Instructional Strategies:
15 min  Handout: Ask students to take a stance on issues and be ready to stand up for and explain the
reasons behind position they take in the next activity.
30 min  Four Corners Activity: Ask students to divide throughout the classroom based on how they
feel about certain statements, and ask them to explain their positions.
 Wrap up discussion
10 min  Hand out daily questions and give students time to start them in class.
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through listening to their
opinions and observations during the discussion of the daily quote, Four Corners
Activity.
(2) Four Corners Activity: Abstract thinking, ability to debate/form opinions; tie
information from the book to how it is today.
(3) Daily questions: Ability to translate their thought and opinions into concise
sentences. Practice for the test.
Materials Needed:
(1) Photocopier for handouts and daily questions
(2) Lecture notes
(3) Quotation
38
Lesson 7: Lecture Notes
Anticipatory Quote:
“So now to you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the
face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless,
expressionless.”
Faber to Montag:
He is telling Montag that people do not like books because books have flaws - they contradict each
other, when everybody is being pushed to seek out one truth. In seeking out this one truth, they let those in
power create that truth (and destroy books [which are the multiple views/truths] and passively accept that
version because it is easy to digest). Books can be wrong. Poetry can make you cry ladies in the parlour)
and nobody wants to be sad.
Introductory prompts: to get them thinking about lucidity (as in Montag becoming aware that nobody
around him is thinking. Everyone acts without thinking.)
c. Can you think of times in the book where the characters seemed to be
making decisions without thinking about why they are making them?



Deciding who to vote for- Hubert Hoag or Winston Noble. One man picks his nose,
mumbles, is small, homely, does not comb his hair and uses language the public
cannot understand, while the other is good looking, has a name suggestive of
admirable qualities
Many of the women talking in the parlour decided not to have children, but none of
them really seemed like they had reasons not to have them. One woman did decide
to have children insisted on a Caesarean Section but her doctor told her there was no
need for the surgery.
“Plunking” children in school for most of their lives and when they aren’t in school
then they are in front of the television. This is the way the women talk about taking
care of their children.
d. Why would people make choices like deciding whom to vote for without
being informed about the important issues? Is this rational?

People can be uninformed but still feel an obligation to participate in an election.
We are bombarded with images everyday and this causes us to judge things very
quickly upon observing them. We are used to superficial impressions in this fast
paced world.
e. What comes from books? If Faber thinks that Montag is searching for
something in books, but not the actual books, what do you think he
means?

(Faber is searching for insight, knowledge, opinions, thoughts, feelings, something
personal. He likes knowing that someone wrote down the words in a book, and
knowing that that person existed and had those thoughts one day and considered
them important enough to set down on pages. There is something “real” about it that
he cannot find in the world as he knows it)
39
Handout: distribute handout to class and give students 15 min. to read it over, fill in their
responses, and make notes.
*Accommodations: ESL/Grade 4 reading level-circulate to make sure students have
an understanding of the words they are being shown. Go through each sentence with
them to identify difficult words. If these are the types of students who would really
have a difficult time with these activities, invite the class to pair up and read the
questions aloud and answer them in sequence as they are asked.
Four Corners Activity:
 Ask five questions, have class divide according to how they feel based on
questions
Happiness is the absence of conflict and suffering.
Offensive or upsetting material should not be published.
Television makes people dumb.
It would be ok today if all of the books burned because
we have the Internet.
The written word has more value than other media.

(No more than 4 minutes per question). Each group, once divided, should
appoint a reporter who will be responsible for reporting to the class, the main
reasons why they are in the group they are in. (whoever is wearing the most
blue is the reporter)

Each group should come up with at least three reasons why they picked that
corner to be in. (5 minutes allotted for groups to present their reasons for
choosing their corners).

(No more than 5 min.) End with discussion: Did anyone feel like switching to
another corner during the reporting periods? Why?
Do you think that the society that Montag is in is shallow? Is the thought of not
having to think as seductive as Bradbury tries to make it in the text? Do you think this would
actually happen to society/is it happening?
Do you think they (that society) got what they asked for? In the book it says
that they did not want to think, books were too long, things became more condensed and people
were happier because of it. Do you think that even if people made the decision to burn all books
that they should be able to revoke that right?
Daily Review Questions:
(1) What do you think Montag was searching for in books?
(2) What would you miss the most about books if they were burned? What can you
find in books that matter to you?
(3) Why do you think Mrs. Phelps was crying when Montag read the poem aloud in
the parlour?
40
Please note the extent to which you Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or
Strongly Disagree with the following statements, you must pick one! (be
ready to explain your position).
Statements
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Happiness is the absence of
conflict and suffering.
Television makes people dumb.
Ignorance is bliss.
People who read books are
better than everybody else.
Offensive or upsetting
material should not be
published.
Bradbury’s predictions in
Fahrenheit 451 were generally
accurate.
In today’s society, people are
disposable.
The written word has more
value than other media.
In general, our society acts
without thinking.
It would be ok today if all of
the books burned because we
have the internet.
Notes: (This might be where you write down some reasons why picked certain
categories. Feel free to use the back of the page).
41
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 8: If Ignorance is Bliss…
Time: approx. 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Compare their own ideas, values, and perspectives with those expressed or implied
in a text in a variety of ways (written, and orally).
2. Select evidence from the text to support opinions based on issues the book raises.
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
 Write a quotation from the novel on the board (see lesson notes). While
students are reading the quote and thinking about it, take attendance.
Instructional Strategies:
20 min  Ask students if they know the context and significance of the quotation. (See lecture notes:
introductory prompts) Fill in Character Sheet.
20 min Socratic Lecture: discuss key events with students with respect to how they relate to
censorship, morals.
15 min  Discuss Censorship using examples from the book
10 min  Hand out daily questions and give students time to start them in class.
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation/Discussion: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through listening
to student’s opinions and observations during the discussion of the daily quote.
(2) Character Sheet: circulate and discuss changes in character with class to see if
logical connections between plot events and characterization are being made. (Assessing
ability to take logical evidence from the text to support claims made about Montag’s
character)
(3) Daily questions: Ability to translate their thought and opinions into concise
sentences. Practice for the test.
Materials Needed:
(1) Quotation
(2) Lecture notes
(3) Daily questions
42
Lesson 8: Lecture Notes
Anticipatory Quote:
“We cannot tell the precise moment when a friendship is formed. As in filling a
vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of
kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.”
Montag says this out loud (to himself, to Mildred):
This quote is taken from the first page of this section of the book. While Montag reads with Mildred all
afternoon, he keeps reading this phrase, over and over, ten times. Mildred keeps looking out into the
parlour, with a blank expression on her face. Montag is thinking of Clarisse and listening to the rain. He
asks Mildred about Clarisse and Millie responds by asking that they at least talk about someone living. It is
significant that rain (something natural, nature, physical, something tangible) is associated with Clarisse
and that she is gone. For Montag, he is seeking real experiences, Clarisse was real, the rain is real, and that
hope, of something tangible is now gone. He wants to talk; to feel sad and discuss Clarisse’s death but
Mildred clearly only discusses things on a superficial level.
Introductory prompts: to get students thinking about happiness/bliss (to discuss Montag’s character
changes and his search for real experiences/discontentedness with his world).
f. What do you remember about Montag when his character was first
introduced?




His smile, the smile of a “fireman”-the “smile” that happens when we stand close to
fire and it is so hot our face contorts and our lips appear to be smiling.
He enjoyed burning things because he found fire to be seductive. He did his job and
did not question it at first.
He meets Clarisse and finds her annoying. She is afraid of him.
Mildred tries to commit suicide and he seems somewhat passive when dealing with
it. He begins to question the way things happen/the way people are treated in this
society.
g. How has Montag’s character changed since our first impressions of him?
Think of the events that have caused him to begin to question his society.









He questions his world now
He is sad (he mourns, Clarisse, his society), he gets happy, he falls in love (with
Clarisse-arguable)
He becomes an activist. He does risky things, reads books, and reveals his stash of
books to Mildred and constantly probes people to become less passive, in search of
some kind of personality in them that he does not see.
He finds Faber from an encounter a year ago in his search for the truthful and
meaningful experiences that he finds in books.
He brings an open Bible onto the underground train and holds it open in his hand.
Faber gives him the little green radio transmitter to put in his ear and he walks
around secretly conversing with another book lover.
His job depresses him (the old woman who burned along with her house).
He is afraid of the mechanical hound.
Refer to character sheet to fill in the changes noticed in Montag.
43
*Accommodations:
ESL student-make sure he/she understands what is being asked of him/her. He/she should be able to grasp
concept of character change. Use analogies where possible (i.e. Montag enjoys burning books at the start,
but after he sees a woman burn with her books, he doesn’t like burning them anymore. Compare books to
other items that have meaning/value/history [i.e. Photographs])
Grade Four Reading level-instead of picking exact quotes form book, ask this student to identify concepts
raised in the book, and relate these concepts to Montag’s character (i.e. Clarisse des and Montag misses
her, he also feels like his wife has nothing thoughtful to say). Students do not need to quote Montag’s aside
about friendship to understand that he cherished Clarisse’s companionship.
Socratic Lecture: Discuss key events in book with students. Happiness and censorship.
-What is Faber’s opinion on books?
He says they show the pores of society, he says that books are not actually that important but the
information in them is, he says you can argue with books but not with the parlour walls.
-What does Faber think about society?
He says people are happy. (Do we believe him? Do we believe that he believes that?) He says the
people chose what they wanted when they stopped reading. He doesn’t trust society though (he
had been waiting for years to show someone trustworthy his ear-radio, and he was even unsure
whether to show it to Montag or not). He says he is “afraid” of society.
-Is your higher duty to truth or happiness?
What I more important-living honestly and risking the consequences of going against society
(standing up for what you believe in?)
Happiness is important but not if it costs lives, and if it makes you passive.
It is nice not to have to think once in a while, instant gratification can be nice.
Being truthful can lead to happiness, because truth causes people to act according to their beliefs
and values and if the consequences of their actions are positive, then these values will be
reinforced. This whole process can create a perceived sense of control over life and this gives
people security.
The more passive we become, the grater anxiety we suffer when we are required to or wish to be
active.
-Is the painful truth better than numb happiness?
Sometimes pain makes us grow and learn about ourselves.
Happiness is relative, some things that make others discontent, will make another person happy.
(I.e. money). There is no recipe for happiness and you can’t have happiness without sadness,
otherwise there is nothing to compare it to and it becomes stagnant or constant. If things are
unchanging, we get tired of them; therefore we will eventually get tired of “happiness” especially
the kind in the book (the kind that comes from not making decisions, not having to think, not even
having to worry about your health, where nothing is precious/miraculous about life).
Discussion on Censorship:
Censorship-threatens political order, threatens comfort




The election (Hoag vs. Noble)
The mechanical hound (even though Montag has access to the hound, and even
though he is a fireman (regarded as someone to fear for those with books) he is
censored from who the dog is programmed to kill
Montag does not hear about Clarisse’s death. He is censored form something sad,
but this does not generate a feeling of happiness for it only makes him sadder to find
out so long after the fact (two days).
Censorship creates paranoia for the characters in this book (Faber afraid to show his
invention, which would be praised in a regular society-like today’s)
44

This society is censored form death and the causes of death and so they become in
denial of death (as though it only happens to other people). Suicide is
normal/natural, nobody questions it, and life is not precious.

Censorship from books has caused this society to be afraid of their emotions, to
avoid them (the ladies in the parlour, when Montag reads the poetry to them, and
Mrs. Phelps cries-everyone gets upset and feels better once the book of poetry is
burned).
Montag is censored by Beatty with regards to the burning of his own house.

Daily Review Questions:
Have you ever censored yourself? Have you ever not spoken up about your
beliefs because you were afraid of what people might think? How did this make you
feel?
What, in your life, can you compare to the parlour walls in this book? Faber says
that you can argue with books but you cannot argue with the parlour walls. Think of
something you feel you cannot argue with (for instance, you can shut a book when you
do not feel like it is something you wish to be exposed to).
a.
b.
Advertising at bus stops, on buses, commercials for products on television,
interruptions while listening to the radio.
Advertisements in washroom stalls.
Describe the notion of friendship in this book. Who are Montag friends with?
What is the nature of their friendship? Who does Mildred consider to be her friends?
How are these relationships different?

Clarisse and Montag are friends. He feels akin to her and notes that she actually
causes him to feel, and notice things. Mildred is friends with the ladies she visits in
the parlour, a friendship
45
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 9: Review Day (Daily Questions, Upcoming Test, finishing any assignments)
Time: approx. 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Find and explain significance of quotes from the text and concepts in the text in
terms of their relevance to life today.
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
 Write a quotation from the novel on the board (see lesson notes). While
students are reading the quote and thinking about it, take attendance.
Instructional Strategies:
35 min
15 min
20 min
 Take up daily questions
Take up vocabulary crossword
 Answer questions regarding the test. Allow students some time to gather notes, compare
notes, and study.
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation/Discussion: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through listening
to the types of questions students are asking about the test and the reading material. (Are
the students concerned with factual information regarding plot or character development,
order of a sequence of events, or are they concerned with understanding some concepts
further?)
(3) Vocabulary Crossword: Are students understanding vocabulary they have been
given? Will they be able to apply this knowledge if asked? (I.e. define a word and use it
in a sentence)
Materials Needed:
(1) Quotation
(2) Lecture notes
46
Lesson 9: Lecture Notes
Anticipatory Quote:
“Nobody listens any more. I can’t talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me.
I can’t talk to my wife because she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what
I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it’ll make sense” (Ray Bradbury,
Fahrenheit 451, [Part Two: The Sieve and the Sand], p.82)
Montag to Faber

Montag goes to see Faber. He expresses his desire for an authentic experience, something real,
with feeling in it. He wants to make sense of things, and not be so passive or numb. There is a
lack of communication (being the exchanging of ideas, values and knowledge) which has, instead,
been replaced by virtual families, snakelike machines that pump stomachs, and blood
cleaning/replacing machines. People are maintained like cars, and nobody seems to consider life
to be precious anymore.
Vocabulary Crossword:
Take up words with students one by one. Note any difficulties with understanding the use of word in a
given context, or any words that the student is confusing with that word.
Make sure students understand that they will be asked to use the words properly in sentences on the test.
Answer Any Questions from the class:
Similar to the vocabulary crossword discussion, make sure students are able to grasp the meaning of
passages from the text.
Ask students if there are any words they still do not understand and provide sentences with those words if
students require examples.
Make sure students know what to expect:
 The test is based on parts one and two of the novel.
 There will be one passage/quote to identify the speaker/audience, and importance of quote to the
book (how does it influence plot development, character development, and how does it support a
theme we have talked about in class? (5 points)
 10 true/false/multiple choice/short answer questions (10 points)
 Pick 2 of the following 3 questions to write about (approx. 1 page double spaced each
[minimum]). (20 points)
47
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 10: Review Test and Video
Time: approx. 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Find and explain significance of quotes from the text and concepts in the text in terms
of their relevance to life today.
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
 Take attendance, settle class, prepare to hand out tests, have students shut
books, clear off desks, put away notes.
Instructional Strategies:
45 min  Students write test
25 min Watch clip from video adaptation of book, brief reflective discussion about the movie vs. the
book
Assessment strategies:
(1) Test: will reveal students ability to explain, apply, compare what they have learned
about the book to their lives. Test will reveal the students’ abilities to form arguments
and support them with evidence form the text. These test questions should help prepare
student for writing the final summative assessment.
(3) Video: if there is time, ask students to compare their experiences watching the video
with reading the book. Should Fahrenheit 451 be read because it stresses the importance
of books? How does seeing the movie effect how you view the characters before and
after seeing the movie)?
Materials Needed:
(1) Photocopier, Tests
(2) Video, DVD Player/ VCR, television
48
Part A- Quote Identification (10 points)
Pick two of the following four quotes and identify the speaker and the audience
for two points. For three more points, explain how this quote is related to:



Plot development
Character development
Discussions in class on particular issues/themes in the book
Quote 1:
“More sports for everyone, group spirit, fun, and you don’t have to think,
eh? Organize and organize and superorganize super-super sports. More
cartoons in books. More pictures. The mind drinks less and less. Impatience.
Highways full of crowds going somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, nowhere.
The gasoline refugee. Towns turn into motels, people in nomadic surges from
place to place, following the moon tides, living tonight in the room where you
slept this noon and I the night before.”
Quote 2:
“We’ve a record on her family. We’ve watched them carefully. Heredity
and environment are funny things. You can’t rid yourselves of all the odd ducks in
just a few years. The home environment can undo a lot you tried to do at school.
That’s why we’ve lowered the kindergarten age year after year, until now we’re
almost snatching them from the cradle.”
Quote 3:
“Why, we’ve stopped in front of my house.”
Quote 4:
“My ‘family’ is people. They tell me things: I laugh, they laugh! And the
colours!”
49
Part B- Short Answer, Multiple Choice (10 points)
Please circle the correct answer. You may only circle one answer.
1) A sieve has one of the following characteristics:
a)
b)
c)
d)
It is a container for holding sand
It is full of holes
It is a tool the firemen in Fahrenheit 451 used.
It is a flammable liquid
2) This could be used to describe the suppression of something that is
considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Censorship
Terrorism
Reading Books
Suicide
All of the above
3) The word proboscis refers to:
a)
b)
c)
d)
The name for the hose the firemen in Fahrenheit 451 used.
The probe that comes out of the nose of the Mechanical Hound
A snout
The title of one of the books Montag burned
4) The firemen had an emblem on their helmets. This emblem was of a specific
animal rumoured to live around fire.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Black Cobra
Mechanical Hound
Phoenix
Salamander
5) Montag hides this under his pillow.
a)
b)
c)
d)
A radio that fits inside his ear
Sleeping pills
A book
A letter from Faber
6) Ray Bradbury believes that television is a good way to deliver information to
the masses and this is why he used wall sized televisions in his book.
a) True
b) False
50
7) The genre which Fahrenheit 451 fits into is called:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Dystopian Fiction
Scientific Mystery
Biography
Utopian Fiction
8) Mrs. Phelps has her stomach pumped in the beginning of the novel.
a) True
b) False
9) Censorship was imposed by force on the citizens of Fahrenheit 451.
a) True
b) False
10) In Fahrenheit 451, fire symbolizes the following.
a) Destruction
b) Purification
c) Health
d) a and c only
e) a and b only
f) None of the above
Part C- Long Answer (10 points)
Pick one of the three following questions and write a concise paragraph. The
paragraph will reveal your understanding of the issues the book raises that we
discussed in class. Be sure to use evidence or examples from the book to
support your claims.
1) Choose one important character in the novel and write an analysis of
his/her character that takes into account his/her actions, ideas, and
feelings of the character throughout the novel so far.
2) Compare and contrast the characters of Mildred and Clarisse. How does
each character affect Montag’s feelings and ideals?
3) What messages or themes is Ray Bradbury trying to communicate to his
audience? Do you think he does this effectively? Explain why.
51
Test: Fahrenheit 451
Answer Key
Part A
(1) Beatty to Montag
- Montag is hiding a book under his pillow and Beatty is questioning him and
forcing conversation. Mildred wants to make the bed, and nearly gives up
Montag’s secret. Beatty argues that their way of life—fun, no thought—is good.
(2) Beatty talking to Montag about Clarisse
- Montag asked Beatty about Clarisse. Beatty wants to get rid of people who
think for themselves—passionate, inquiring people like Clarisse. He is explaining
to Montag how he feels it is natural to dispose of people like this (or make sure
that they have no influence on others.
(3) Montag to Beatty
- As they approach Montag’s house to burn it.
- This is where Montag realizes that he can’t trust the people he works with. He
also realizes the implications of what he has done in hiding books.
(4) Mildred to Montag
- Sticking up for her TV ‘family’
- Television as a substitute for real life. Mildred prefers to be passive. Family is
equated with entertainment.
Part B
1. b) It is full of holes
2. a) Censorship
3. c) A snout
4. d) Salamander
5. c) A book
6. b) False
7. a) Dystopian Fiction
8. b) False
9. b) False
10. e) a and b only
Part C
-longer answers will vary
*accommodations: allow more time to complete the test.
52
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 11: Literary Devices
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Understand the definition of some literary devices and be able to recognize them
in the text.
2. Explain how literary devices enhance the meaning of the text in Fahrenheit 451
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
 Write a quotation from the novel on the board:
“It's perpetual motion; the thing man wanted to invent but never did. . . . It's a
mystery. . . . Its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences .
. . clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical.”
 While students are reading and contemplating the quote, take attendance.
Ask students if they know the context and significance of the quotation.
Instructional Strategies:
15 min  Socratic Lecture: What are literary devices? Assess prior knowledge, give definitions and
examples. (See lecture notes)
-symbolism, foreshadowing, motifs, metaphor, simile
15 min  Small group literary device activity. (See hand out)
Divide class into groups of 4 or 5 students. Have students fill in the literary device hand out.
20 min  Individual quote bank activity
-Assign each student 3 pages of the text. Have each student find one example of a literary
device in their section of the text.
-Have students write down quotations and put them up on the wall ( a quote bank)
-Students present their findings to the class
-Ask students: How was their device used in the book? How does it add to their
understanding of the book? What is its impact?
10 min  Follow-up discussion
Discuss major symbols, imagery and motifs in Fahrenheit 451 (fire, death, mirrors, seashell
radios (numbing), mechanical hound, TV “family”)
10 min  Hand out daily questions and give students time to start them in class.
-How has Beatty given Montag hints that he is under suspicion?
-Why is nature a recurring motif in Fahrenheit 451?
-Why are the salamander and the phoenix the symbols of the firemen?
53
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through questioning the
students and listening to their opinions and observations during the discussion periods.
(2) Quote bank activity (check for understanding)
(3) Daily questions
Materials Needed:
(1) Literary device activity handout
(2) Daily questions
(3) Lecture notes
(4) Quotation
Accommodations:
 For an English Language Learner:
- Speak clearly
- Avoid colloquialisms and explain unusual words or terms
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Make sure student is in a helpful group for the literary device activity.
- Pair with a strong student during the quote bank activity.
- Check to make certain all the vocabulary in the daily questions is familiar to the
student
- Provide a dictionary, and a glossary of terms
 For a student with a grade 4 reading level:
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Make sure student is in a helpful group for the literary device activity.
- Pair with a strong student during the quote bank activity.
- Provide additional help with daily questions: verbal explanations and guidance
- Glossary of terms
Administrative NTS:
 Ask students if they had any trouble with the questions from last class, and offer
solutions and clarification during the last five minutes of class.
54
Lecture 11
Lecture Notes: Literary Devices
(1) Introductory Prompts
a) What do you think the term literary device means? (The tool an author
uses to create a specific feeling or enhance meaning of his/her writing)
b) What are some examples of literary devices? (Symbolism, alliteration,
metaphor, simile, irony, foreshadowing, motifs)
(2) Definitions of specific literary devices
a) Symbolism: The use of one thing to represent a set of ideas. E.g. In
Fahrenheit 451 fire is used to represent the extinguishment of thinking
and imagination. It is also used to represent purification and re-birth.
b) Foreshadowing: The author’s hints of what will take place later in the
novel. E.g. Beatty tells Montag that he merely has to burn his problems.
c) Motifs: Recurring structures, contrasts or literary devices that reinforce
key themes. E.g.: The use of nature imagery reinforces a contrast between
“innocence” and the highly technological society that Montag lives in.
d) Metaphor: A metaphor is a comparison between two seemingly unlike
objects. E.g. the mechanical hound is a metaphor for a dictatorial
government.]
e) Simile: A simile is a comparison between two seemingly unlike objects
that uses the words “like” or “as”. E.g. “He was as happy as a lark”
(3) Making connections: literary devices are used all around us
a) Use of foreshadowing in movies. E.g. Lord of the Rings
b) Use of Similes and Metaphors in music E.g. Stevie Wonder “You are the
sunshine of my life,” Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven,”
c) What are some other examples of “literary devices” in songs and movies?
55
Lecture 11 - Review Questions
1. How has Beatty given Montag hints that he is under suspicion?
2. Why is nature a recurring motif in Fahrenheit 451?
3. Why are the salamander and the phoenix the symbols of the
firemen?
56
LITERARY DEVICES
In your groups, read the following and decide what literary device is being
employed (symbolism, metaphor, simile or foreshadowing).
1. I remember the newspaper dying like huge moths.
2. I lived alone for so many years, throwing images on walls with my imagination.
3. The Phoenix.
4. Job of firemen in Montag’s society.
5. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run across the lawn with the
mask.
6. Her face, turned to him now, was fragile milk crystal with a soft and constant
light in it.
7. He was as happy as a lark.
8. The Salamander.
9. Beatty tells Montag that he merely has to burn his problems.
57
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 12: Tying it all Together: Revisiting Themes
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Recognize and interpret the main themes of Fahrenheit 451
2. Be able to express the chronological flow of the novel.
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
 Write a quotation from the novel on the board: “You always said, don’t face
a problem, burn it. Well, now I’ve done both. Good-bye Captain.”
 While the students are reading and contemplating the quote, the teacher takes
attendance. Ask students which character said the quotation and its
significance.
Instructional Strategies:
10 min  Brainstorming Activity: What are the key themes of Fahrenheit 451?
Write the students responses on chart paper and save for tomorrow’s class.
Include censorship, technology, civic responsibility, and role of government.
40 min  Tableau Activity: Students are divided into groups of 5-8 students. Each group is tasked with
creating three tableaux (still dramatizations) that represent the beginning, middle, and end of the
novel. The tableaux can be literal (representing specific important scenes), can track changes in
Montag’s character or can symbolically represent themes in the novel.
Students are given 20 minutes to come up with their tableaux and jot-note justifications of how
each tableau represents a certain part of the novel thematically. Each group is given 5 minutes
to present their tableaux to the class and explain their justifications for them.
While the students are developing their tableaux, the teacher is circulating and encouraging the
students to think of the key themes in the novel as they create their tableaus.
Students are encouraged to take notes during the tableaux presentations to use in their
summative assignment.
15 min
5 min

Hand back and take up test
 Hand out daily questions to be completed at home
-What does Granger mean by his quote, “You’re not important. You’re not anything.”?
-What did Granger mean when he said, “Welcome back from the dead.”
-Why would the police televise the search of the Hound?
58
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through brainstorming
session.
(2) Assess whether students understand key themes of Fahrenheit 451 through the
Tableau Activity and oral justifications (checking for understanding).
(3) Daily questions
Materials Needed:
(1) Review question sheets
(2) Quotation
Accommodations:
 For an English Language Learner:
- Speak clearly
- Avoid colloquialisms and explain unusual words or terms
- Provide a copy of the discussion questions before the lesson
- Provide instructions for the tableaux exercise in written form (on the board) as
well as orally.
- Ensure student is in a helpful and understanding group during the tableau
exercise.
- Check to make certain all the vocabulary in the daily questions is familiar to the
student
- Provide a dictionary and a glossary of terms
 For a student with a grade 4 reading level:
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes and discussion questions before the lesson
- Provide additional help with daily questions: verbal explanations and guidance
- Glossary of terms.
59
Lesson 12- Review Questions
1. What does Granger mean by his quote “You’re not important.
You’re not anything”?
2. What did Granger mean when he said “Welcome back from the
dead”?
3. Why would the police televise the search of the Hound?
60
Unit Title: Fahrenheit 451
Date: _____________________
Lesson 13: Making Connections and Moving On
Time: 75 minutes
Lesson Expectations: The students shall:
1. Assess how ideas from Fahrenheit 451 can be applied to their own ideas, values,
perspectives and experiences.
2. Recognize links between current events and themes in Fahrenheit 451
3. Understand the basic conventions of essay writing (thesis statement, introduction,
conclusion and body paragraphs)
Anticipatory Set:
5 min
 Write a quotation from the novel on the board:
“We know the damn silly thing we just did. We know all the damn silly things
we’ve done for a thousand years and as long as we know that and always have
it around where we can see it, someday we’ll stop making the goddamn funeral
pyres and jumping in the middle of them.”
 While students are reading and thinking about the quote, take attendance.
Ask students the significance of the quote.
Instructional Strategies:
10 min  Ask the students whether they believe that Fahrenheit 451 has any relevance or similarities to
current events.
 Play a video of a chase scene from “Cops” television show.
 Read aloud from the chase scene from Fahrenheit 451
15 min  Group brainstorming/ Concept Map: Put up chart paper with themes from yesterday. Ask
students to think of current events that may link with these themes. Write current events and
show visual links with the themes from F451.
15 min  Socratic discussion and photo/ video display of current links with Fahrenheit 451 (see lecture
notes)
20 min  Mini-lecture on essay writing (see lecture notes)
Have students take out their concept maps during this exercise. Have chart paper and
chart out a mock essay while giving the lecture. Use a book that everyone will have read
(such as the Three Little Pigs) to plot out sample thesis statement, introduction, main
reasons in body paragraph and conclusion. Use think-aloud techniques while performing
this exercise.
10 min  Give students an opportunity to ask questions about the summative essay.
61
Assessment strategies:
(1) Observation: Gauge prior knowledge and understanding through questioning the
students and listening to their opinions and observations during the discussion periods.
(2) Concept maps
Materials Needed:
(1) Digital projector and computer or DVD player and television (to play photos and
video)
(3) Lecture notes
(3) Quotation
(4) Hamburger analogy overhead
(5) Chart paper
Administrative NTS:
- Do a homework check on concept maps due today.
Accommodations:
 For an English Language Learner:
- Speak clearly
- Avoid colloquialisms and explain unusual words or terms
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Make sure student knows teacher is available to answer questions about
summative essay.
- Meet with student to arrange alternate assessment strategy for summative.
 For a student with a grade 4 reading level:
- Provide a copy of the lecture notes before the lesson
- Make sure student knows teacher is available to answer questions about
summative essay.
- Meet with student to arrange alternate assessment strategy for summative.
62
Lecture Notes
Lesson 13: Making Connections
Mini-lecture a)
(1) Introductory Inquiry
(a) Do you think that Bradbury’s novel came true?
(b) What are some similarities between themes in Fahrenheit 451 and current
events?
(2) Connections: Photo and video display
(a) Censorship: show photos of giant Buddhas in Afghanistan, image of a
Harry Potter book.
Destroyed Buddha:
http://blogs.sify.com/get_image.php?user_id=aghora&fname=bamiyan_buddh
a_afghanistan.jpg&direc=
Harry Potter book:
http://www.dandare.org/Dan%20Potter/HarryPotterPrisonerofAzkabanBook1.jpg
(b) Government control: show short video of video tracking in London.
“Watching them watching us” London
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://wearcam.org/nad/Image4.jpg&i
mgrefurl=http://wearcam.org/nad/shootback_uk.htm&h=350&w=286&sz=21
&hl=en&sig2=91mi09H0gkXYDrFUoG2YQ&start=6&tbnid=uVZjKfSMb31CjM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=98&ei=q
JnrRaapDY2yigHJp_GGBQ&prev=/images
(c) Civil disobedience: show images from anti-FTAA protest in Quebec city
and environmental protests
Anti-FTAA protest Quebec City
http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/a20/images/a2074.jpg
Image of young “tree-sitter”
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/5/3/
2/5/11035235-11035237large.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/%3Fp%3D3
73&h=250&w=250&sz=40&hl=en&sig2=AcqIdluI0SaX0m5JUY0LQA&star
t=2&tbnid=Drh2YuOjLAi0cM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=111&ei=e5rrRfbyJ6GOiQ
GioYziBA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcivil%2Bdisobedience%2Benvironment
%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den
(d) Technology: show images of youth wearing I-pods
63
Woman wearing I-pod and talking on phone
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://images.acclaimimages.com/_gallery
/_SM/0278-0607-29194219_SM.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/02780607-29194219.html&h=200&w=300&sz=30&hl=en&sig2=R15iOd6gikp6Pv2mUo8tnw&s
tart=14&tbnid=iFhh2fDH6cHzhM:&tbnh=77&tbnw=116&ei=CJvrRePUEpfOiQ
HIwIT3BA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dipod%2Bwearing%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den
(e) Civil engagement: show statistics of voter turnout from last election.
Mini-lecture b)
(1) Introductory Inquiry
(a) What are the main parts of an essay?
Thesis statement, introduction, conclusion, body paragraphs
(2) Essay writing 101
(a) Thesis statement
The thesis statement tells the reader what your argument is. It is
usually between 1-3 sentences long.
(b) Hamburger analogy
An essay is like a hamburger. The introduction and conclusion are
Buns. The body of the essay is everything in-between.
(c) Introduction
Provide your thesis. Give your 3 main reasons.
(d) Body Paragraphs
State your main reason (mini thesis statement). Say why you believe
this.
(e) Conclusion
Restate your main reasons. Say why they are important.
64
Summative Assignment: Notes for the Teacher
The summative assignment for our F451 unit is an in-class essay. Students are given 2
75- minute periods to write a persuasive essay justifying their choice for a book that they
would like to “become.” The essay must provide 3 reasons why they have chosen the
book. It also must make reference to themes in F451 and material covered in class. The
summative project includes a number of “checkpoints” throughout the unit, which are
outlined below.
The teacher must sign off on each of the checkpoints and make a note to speak to the
student if there are problems with the checkpoints.

Class 1: Students are given the summative assignment package. This includes the
assignment instructions, checkpoint sheet, concept map and rubric.

Class 7: Checkpoint 1 is due

Class 10: Checkpoint 2 is due

Class 13: Checkpoint 3 is due

Class 14/ Class 15: In-class essay. Students may bring their summative package
(including concept map) to the in-class essay. Students are given the essay
organizer in class 14.
Accommodations: ESL students, students with learning disabilities and students with
other special needs may be provided with accommodations to complete the final
assignment.


ESL students (and any student with special needs) will be given the
option to present their argument orally with an adapted rubric.
ESL or special needs students who choose to write the in-class essay will
be given more support during the planning phase, will be given extra time
to write the essay and will be evaluated with an adapted rubric.
65
FAHRENHEIT 451 SUMMATIVE ASSIGNMENT
“BECOMING A BOOK”
For the summative assignment of this unit, you will put yourself in the shoes of Guy
Montag. Imagine you have just joined the wandering group of book lovers. What
one book would you “become” in order to preserve it for future generations?
You must write a persuasive essay explaining why this book is important to you and the
entire world.
These are some key questions you can use to guide your response:
 How did the book speak to you personally?
 What are its key themes and why are they important?
 What would this book give to future generations?
 How did this book make you think differently than you did before you read it?
 How does this book relate to human relationships or current events?
 What would the world be missing if this book didn’t exist?
 How did this book say something in a way that it hadn’t been said before?
You must make reference to key themes in Fahrenheit 451 in your response.
You will have 2 class periods to write your persuasive essay. Each essay should be at
least 5 paragraphs in length and should include an introduction and a conclusion.
Alternate option: If you do not have a piece of literature that you wish to “become.”
You can choose to write about why Fahrenheit 451 is or isn’t a valuable piece of
literature. You must justify your opinion using material from the text and material
discussed in class.
66
CHECKPOINTS
1) Which book will you use in your final
assignment? (Or which alternate
assignment will you choose?
Date: _______________
Teacher Comments:
2) Brainstorm at least 6 reasons why you
have chosen this book. (Use the guiding
questions to help)
Date: _______________
Teacher Comments:








______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
Think of at least three possible
connections to material or themes from
Fahrenheit 451
 _______________________________
 _______________________________
 _______________________________
3) Complete the “Becoming a Book”
concept map to bring into class for the
in-class essay.
Date: _______________
Teacher Signature:
67
“Becoming a Book” Concept Map
Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________
Reason #1
Reason #2
The book I will “become”:
Thesis Statement (Main argument):
Reason #3
Links to themes from Fahrenheit 451
68
“Becoming a Book” ESSAY ORGANIZER
Name: ________________________________________Date: __________________
INTRODUCTION
Main Idea Topic Sentence:
______________________________________________________________
Supporting Reasons:
Body 1
___________________________________________________________
Body 2
___________________________________________________________
Body 3
___________________________________________________________
Conclusion sentence:
___________________________________________________________________
BODY #1
Reason #1
___________________________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 1
______________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 2
______________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 3
______________________________________________________________
Conclusion sentence:
__________________________________________________________________
69
BODY #2
Reason #2
___________________________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 1
______________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 2
______________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 3
______________________________________________________________
Conclusion sentence:
__________________________________________________________________
BODY #3
Reason #3
___________________________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 1
______________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 2
______________________________________________________________
Detail/Example 3
______________________________________________________________
Conclusion sentence:
__________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
Restate Main Idea:
____________________________________________________________________
Restate Supporting Reasons: 1
__________________________________________________________
2
_________________________________________________________
3
__________________________________________________________
70
RUBRIC – “Becoming a Book” Essay
Teacher Name: ____________________________
Student Name: _____________________________
CATEGORY
Knowledge/
Understanding
Essay demonstrates
an understanding of
key themes of
Fahrenheit 451 and
additional material
covered in class.
Essay includes at
least 3 reasons why
a work of literature
may be considered
valuable.
Thinking
Essay demonstrates
thoughtful reasoning
for the choice of
literature. Essay
makes reference to
themes and material
discussed in class.
Application
1
Essay illustrates
one reason why
the chosen work
of literature is
considered
valuable.
2
Essay illustrates
two reasons why
the chosen work
of literature is
considered
valuable.
3
Essay illustrates
three reasons why
the chosen work
of literature is
considered
valuable.
4
Essay clearly and
creatively illustrates
three or more
reasons why the
chosen work of
literature is
considered valuable.
Essay
demonstrates a
limited
understanding of
key themes of
Fahrenheit 451
and material
covered in class.
Essay
demonstrates
some
understanding
of key themes of
Fahrenheit 451
and material
covered in class.
Essay
demonstrates a
considerable
understanding of
key themes of
Fahrenheit 451
and material
covered in class.
Essay demonstrates
a thorough
understanding of key
themes of
Fahrenheit 451 and
material covered in
class.
Argument reflects
limited depth of
analysis of the
topic.
Argument
reflects some
depth of
analysis of the
topic.
Essay uses some
specific
examples from
class materials
or Fahrenheit
451.
Argument reflects
considerable
depth of analysis
of the topic.
Argument reflects a
thorough depth of
analysis of the topic.
Essay often uses
specific examples
from class
materials or
Fahrenheit 451.
Essay uses
considerable specific
examples from class
materials or
Fahrenheit 451.
Essay uses an
introduction,
conclusion and
body paragraphs
with some
effectiveness.
Essay uses an
introduction,
conclusion and
body paragraphs
with considerable
effectiveness.
Essay uses an
introduction,
conclusion and body
paragraphs with a
high degree of
effectiveness.
Essay rarely uses
specific examples
from class
materials or
Fahrenheit 451.
Essay uses an
introduction,
conclusion and
body paragraphs
with limited
effectiveness.
71
Student completed
all checkpoints in the
assignment process.
Essay includes an
effective introduction
and conclusion and
body paragraphs.
Communication
Writing style in the
paper is clear.
Argument is logical
and consistent
throughout the essay.
Student missed
more than one
checkpoint in the
assignment
process.
Student missed
one
“checkpoint” in
the assignment
process.
Student
completed all
checkpoints in the
assignment
process.
Student completed
all checkpoints in
the assignment
process with
thoughtfulness and
creativity.
Essay expresses
ideas and
information with
limited clarity
Essay expresses
ideas and
information
with some
clarity
Essay presents a
logical and
consistent
argument with
some
effectiveness.
Essay expresses
ideas and
information with
considerable
clarity
Essay presents a
logical and
consistent
argument with
considerable
effectiveness.
Essay expresses
ideas and
information with a
high degree of
clarity
Essay presents a
logical and
consistent argument
with a high degree
of effectiveness.
Essay presents a
logical and
consistent
argument with
limited
effectiveness.
72
All information, notes and research available at:
http://232degrees.pbwiki.com/
Julia Chapeski: juliachapeski@gmail.com
Rachael Doran: Rachael.doran@gmail.com
Jessica Dwyer: jessdwyer@gmail.com
Keith MacDonald: keithjmacdonald@gmail.com
73