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Katherine Freedman
Professor Zumhagen
Teaching of Reading
December 17, 2013
Unit Plan on “Harrison Bergeron”
PART I
o Unit Objective: My goal for students is for them to understand the idea
of satire, come up with themes, and understand how Vonnegut’s use of
adjectives, similes, metaphors, and antonyms help make the story come to
life.
o This is a 9th Grade English class.
o The class meets MTWTHF 10-11 AM.
1. Ideas
I want students to investigate the ideas of equality and
society. I would like theme to think about questions
such as: What if everyone were the same in
intelligence, physical appearance, and strength? Should
society be based on the idea of equality? If so, to what
extent: is there such thing as too much equality? What
aspects of today’s society would Vonnegut criticize?
2. Style
I would like my students to be familiar with:
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Theme
Adjectives
Similes
Metaphors
Antonyms
3. Related Facts/Background That Enable Students
to Meet Objectives
 Students will need to be familiar with the following:
o Biographical information about Vonnegut:
He was an acclaimed satiric writer who
wrote short stories, novels, essays, and
dramas.
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o During WWII Vonnegut was held as a
prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany. This
experience influenced his writing.
4. Final Assessment
 As we have discussed in class, the choices that
authors make have consequences for what they are
communicating. Rewrite the ending of Harrison
Bergeron. Then respond to the following question:
How would the story be different if Vonnegut had
written your ending instead of the ending he came
up with? Would it affect the theme, and if so, how?
5. Answer the Question: How do you think your
Unit Plan and Lesson plans succeeded in addressing and
meeting your objectives?
I think that my Unit Plan and Lesson plans succeeded in
addressing and meeting my objectives. While planning the
unit and individual lessons I kept the objectives in the back
of my mind. I frequently returned to my assessment, to
make sure that what I was teaching would help students
complete the assessment.
PART II
1. Background:
Preliminary skills/knowledge with which students will
enter into this unit:
o World War Two
o Descriptive and Figurative Language (specifically,
adjectives and similes)
o Narration
o Authorial intent
o Close reading
o Basic knowledge of theme and how to formulate a
theme statement.
2. Daily Plans:
Friday’s Homework: Read “Harrison Bergeron” and bring
in “satiric political slogans, cartoons, bumper stickers, and
popular expressions” (Smith and Wilhelm 178).
Monday: Intro & Satire’s Influence on Theme
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o I will provide brief background information on the
story and author.
o Genre Inquiry: What is satire? I will chart
students’ ideas.
o I will ask students “to identify the target and moral
norm that the target does not yet meet.” Next
students will create “a collage of such
statements…with images that relate to them” (178
Smith & Wilhelm).
o If time permits, students will share their collage
with the class.
o I am doing this lesson because I would like
students to understand the influence of genre on
theme.
o Furthermore, before students explore this story any
further, they need to understand that it is a satire.
Tuesday: Theme
o Fishbowl discussion. Questions: What if everyone
was the same in intelligence, physical appearance,
and strength? Should society be based on the idea
of equality? If so, to what degree: is there such
thing as too much equality? What aspects of
today’s society would Vonnegut criticize?
o After the discussion, I will ask students what
possible themes of the story could be. I will write
their ideas on the board.
o My goal is that the discussion helps students to
generate ideas about theme.
Wednesday: Theme
o Students will work in groups to create a Harrison
Bergeron Facebook page. Their page will either be
an “In Memoriam” page (praising him and
mourning his death) or it a “Wanted” page
(denounces him). Students will share their work
with the class. (Note – the idea to create a
Facebook page is from Fresh Takes on Teaching
Literary Elements, page 175).
o Creating these Facebook pages will help students
to think about whether an equal society is a good
society.
o Homework: Come up with one or two theme
statements about “Harrison Bergeron.”
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Thursday: Theme
o Students will finish their Facebook pages.
o Students share their Facebook pages with the class.
o Students are required to ask questions two
questions about the presentations.
o I am requiring presentations because I want to
expose the students to both arguments: proequality and anti-equality. If students created the
“In Memoriam” page, I would like them to see
what the “Wanted” page might look like, and vice
versa.
o Tonight’s homework: close read the story, paying
attention to Vonnegut’s use of adjectives, similes,
metaphors, and antonyms.
Friday: Literary Techniques
o Distribute worksheets to the class and inform them
that after they complete the worksheet they will be
giving presentations on their assigned literary
technique.
o The assignments will be as follows: one group for
metaphor, one group for simile, one group for
antonyms, one group for adjectives.
o I am doing this lesson because I would like
students to see how Vonnegut uses metaphors,
similes, antonyms, and adjectives to make his
writing come to life; to “show” rather than “tell.”
Students will have the opportunity to try out these
techniques in their own writing.
Monday: Theme
o Students will complete the “Out to Lunch” (Smith
& Wilhelm 166) activity and “The Lady or the
Tiger?” (Smith & Wilhelm 168) activity.
o “These activities should help students recognize
that the choices authors make have consequences
for what they are communicating and help them
develop the powerful strategy of asking
themselves, ‘What would it mean if the author had
chosen Y instead of X?’” (Smith & Wilhelm 169).
o This lesson will be great preparation for the
assessment.
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Tuesday: In-class Assessment
3. Lesson Plans:
Lesson Plan 1: Literary Techniques
1, Daily Goal or Objective:
o Students will investigate how these literary techniques contribute to the
reader’s engagement and understanding of the story.
o Students will deepen their knowledge of literary techniques by using them
in their own writing.
o Students will develop presentation skills.
o This lesson will take one class.
2. Motivation
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The particular type of lesson I will choose to motivate students:
individual work, group work, followed by class presentations.
o
This lesson is a blend of individual, group, and class work. Thus, it is
appropriate for different kinds of learners; those who thrive independently and
those who thrive in a group setting.
3. Materials
o Resources students will need to carry out the lesson: pencils, lined paper,
poster board, markers, a copy of “Harrison Bergeron.”
o Resources I will need: markers, worksheets, “Harrison Bergeron.”
o I have taught them presentation skills: to speak in a loud and clear voice,
to make eye contact with their audience, etc.
4. The Activities
o I will start with the following hook: For homework last night, you close
read Harrison Bergeron, focusing on Vonnegut’s use of similes,
metaphors, antonyms, and adjectives. Write down what you learned from
doing this assignment. (5 minutes)
o Distribute worksheets (for a sample worksheet, see below) to the class and
inform them that after they complete the worksheet they will be giving
presentations on their assigned literary technique.
o The assignments will be as follows: one group for metaphor, one group
for simile, one group for antonyms, one group for adjectives. There are
four different worksheets: one per group.
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o I will explain that I am doing this lesson because I would like students to
see how Vonnegut uses metaphors, similes, antonyms, and adjectives to
make his writing come to life; to “show” rather than “tell.” Students will
have the opportunity to try out these techniques in their own writing.
o Students complete the worksheets and create posters (35 minutes)
o With their tables, students present answers to 1,2, and 4 to the class. (20
minutes)
o While students are working in groups at their tables, I will walk around
the room to see if anyone needs help. Before the presentations start, I will
remind students to pay attention to whichever group is presenting, so that
they can learn about literary techniques aside from the one they were
assigned.
5. Assessment
o The group presentations and their worksheets (which I will collect) will
demonstrate how well students understand the lesson objectives.
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Sample Worksheet: Simile*
Name:
Date:
Directions: Complete questions 1, 2, and 4 as a table, and question 3 on your own.
Definition: A comparison of two unlike things using like or as
Examples:
-The bread was as thin as paper.
-He was as white as a ghost
1. Where do you see an example of a simile in “Harrison Bergeron”? (1 example)
● ___________________________________________________________
2. Discuss the following questions with your table, and answer in the space below: What
does the simile do to the story? Why is it there?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Now the fun part! Come up with your own examples of similes. You can write your
examples below:
● ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
● ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
● ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Record some of your favorite examples of similes on poster paper. Every person in
your group should record at least one simile.
*I would create a similar worksheet for metaphor, antonym, and adjective
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Lesson Plan 2: Facebook
1, Daily Goal or Objective:
o Students will deepen their understanding of the ideas of ‘equality’ and
‘society.’
o Students will think more deeply about what constitutes a good society.
o Students will investigate the themes of this story.
o Students will also think about character, and how others perceive
characters.
o This lesson will take two classes.
2 Motivation
o This involves creative group work. Almost all high school students have
Facebook accounts. Thus, the students will find this lesson is relevant to
their own lives.
3. Materials
o Resources students will need: laptops, a copy of “Harrison Bergeron.”
o Resources I will need: a laptop, a projector, my friend’s Facebook page,
the Facebook page of someone who is “wanted.”
o Students know how to formulate a theme statement.
4. The Activities
o I will start by explaining the lesson: Students will work in groups to
create a Harrison Bergeron Facebook page. Their page will either be an
“In Memoriam” Page, praising him and mourning his death, or it will be a
“Wanted” page, serving as a public warning. The class will be divided in
two, so that the number students working on each kind of page is equal. I
will explain that the next day students will share their work with the class.
(5 minutes)
o I will explain that creating these Facebook pages will help them to think
about whether an equal society is a good society.
o I will model students an example of a Facebook page of a friend of mine
who died, and show them how people have posted poems, links to
Youtube videos, and personal stories about the time they spent with him
and what they will miss about him. I will also show them a Facebook
page of someone who is “Wanted” – maybe Sirius Black. I will
emphasize that student should be as creative as possible, and think about
the big ideas that Harrison Bergeron represents. (10 minutes)
o Students will work on laptops and create actual Facebook pages. (45
minutes)
o The next day, students will complete the Facebook pages. (20 minutes)
Then they will share their work with the class (40 minutes) Students will
be required to ask two questions.
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o While students are working on their Facebook pages I will walk around
the room to see if anyone has questions. I will remind students to pay
attention to the presentations, as they must ask questions.
5. Assessment
o The Facebook pages and presentations will show students understanding.
6. Homework
o Come up with 1 or 2 theme statements about “Harrison Bergeron.”