Lesson Two
Name: Mishaun Christian
School: Roosevelt High School
Grade Level: 12
Subject Area: Language Arts
Unit: Science Fiction Short Stories
Topic: Equality vs. Sameness
Text: “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
Time Allotted: 1 90 minute class
Preparation:
Purpose/Rational for the lesson:
Introduce students to the science fiction genre and the concept of morality so
that they can explore how the two interact with each other. This lesson will explore
the concept of equality and how it differs from sameness.
Curriculum Framing Questions:
Essential Question: How does science fiction allow us to explore moral issues and
human behavior?
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Is utopia attainable?
At what cost would it be worth attaining?
Why do people continue to pursue the concept of a utopian society?
What is equality?
What is sameness?
Do they mean the same thing or are they different?
What is a utopian society?
What is a dystopian society?
Targeted Curriculum Standards:
Reading
EL.HS.RE.04 Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex text through
class and/or small group interpretive discussions across the subject areas.
EL.HS.RE.05 Match reading to purpose--location of information, full comprehension,
and personal enjoyment.
Literature
EL.HS.LI.03 Identify and/or summarize sequence of events, main ideas, and
supporting details in literary selections.
EL.HS.LI.06 Identify themes in literary works, and provide support for
interpretations from the text.
EL.HS.LI.15 Analyze the impact the choice of literary form has on the author's
message or purpose.
Writing
EL.HS.WR.10 Establish a coherent and clearly supported thesis that engages the
reader, conveys a clear and distinctive perspective on the subject, maintains a
consistent tone and focus throughout the piece of writing, and ends with a well
supported conclusion.
Prior Knowledge/Background Information:
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Familiarity with moral issues and human behavior
Familiarity with the structure of a short story
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
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Identify the terms utopia, dystopia, and satire and recognize how they relate
to the short story.
Restate the progression of the story by answering and discussing questions
posed throughout the story reading process.
Discuss the differences of equality and sameness with classmates by using an
agree/disagree worksheet to distinguish different statements related to
these two concepts.
Examine their opinions about the free-write prompt “Are equality and
sameness the same thing? Why or why not?” using their prior knowledge,
their reading of “Harrison Bergeron,” and then in class discussions to help
structure their opinions.
Key Concept(s):
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Equality (equal rights)
Sameness
Utopia/dystopia
Key Questions (for comprehension):
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How does the narrator describe equality?
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What is George required to wear? Why
Why did George wince? Why do you think the ballerinas winced?
THOUGHT If Hazel is “envious” then are they equal?
Who is the handicapper general?
What does this line indicate?
What other handicaps does George have?
What is the consequence for removing or altering a handicap?
Why do you suppose Hazel would hate “everyone competing against
everybody else”?
THOUGHT Do you think it’s fair that Hazel can come up with answers but
George can’t? Does this make them equal?
What kind of handicaps does the ballerina have? Why?
How does the narrator describe the ballerina’s voice?
What does Harrison look like? Why does he have so many handicaps?
What is Harrison planning to do?
What does Harrison declare?
What does Harrison do to his handicaps?
What does Harrison do next?
What does Harrison do to make the musicians play>
How does the narrator describe their dance?
What broke their gravity-defying act?
What happens to Harrison and the ballerina?
How does Diana Moon Glampers enforce the law?
What happens at the end with George and Hazel?
What is the climax of this story?
How is this short story a satire?
Who/what is Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ridiculing or making fun of?
Is “Harrison Bergeron” an example of utopian literature or dystopian
literature? Give examples.
Materials/Resources Needed:
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Projector
Copies of “Harrison Bergeron”
Copies of:
o Agree/Disagree – coming to consensus
o “Imagine” lyrics by John Lennon
o Discussion Questions
Laptop
Procedure:
Hook/Anticipatory Set
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Warm up: Is a perfect society achievable? Why or why not? Pretend you ha
ve the opportunity to create a perfect society (whatever perfect means to
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you), make a list of the characteristics you would include in this perfect
society. After students answer this quietly, have them share out.
Think-Pair-Share “Imagine” by John Lennon: Have students listen to this
song and think about what it is saying about a “perfect” society. After they
have thought independently, have them discuss their ideas with a partner.
Share out as a group.
Vote with your feet: Read off a couple of statements, have students agree or
disagree by having them move to different areas of the room depending on
their opinion. Have a student, or two, share out their reasoning for why they
voted the way they did with each statement.
After they vote with their feet, have students break up into groups and work
on the agree/disagree handout.
PowerPoint
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Run through a short PowerPoint that highlights the characteristics of utopian
and dystopian science fiction.
Read (audio recording)
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Before reading, discuss what a satire is.
Have students follow along in their copies of “Harrison Bergeron” as they
listen to an audio recording of the short story.
(www.calgaryacademy.com/ICT/ss.shortstory.html)
Pause periodically to assess comprehension by asking questions specific to
the text.
Discussion Questions/Agree-disagree (coming to a consensus)
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After the students have read/listened to the story have them revisit the
agree/disagree worksheet and discuss whether or not there are any opinions
they want to change.
Hand out the discussion questions. Have them work in groups to discuss and
answer the two different work sheets.
Stop in periodically with each group and gauge their comprehension about
the different themes and ideas being discussed.
Free-Write
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After students are done with the discussion questions have them work
independently on their free-write.
Have the students answer the prompt “Are equality and sameness the same
thing? Why or why not? (use examples)
Have them turn in discussion questions and free-writes at the end.
Closure: How will you tie the lesson back to the lesson objective(s)?
The journal free-write will anchor the students back to how the themes of equality
and sameness are explored in the short story “Harrison Bergeron” and how they
relate to morality.
Differentiation
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The audio recording of “Harrison Bergeron” will be very beneficial for
struggling readers, ELL students, and SPED students.
This lesson relies heavily on group work, which is beneficial to all students
because they can share and develop their ideas with one another. The small
group structure also allows for the teacher to check in which each small
group and talk through comprehension difficulties without singling any
students out.
Assessment:
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The free-write will be used as a formative/summative assessment.
Class discussion will be assessed for understanding.
Specific comprehension questions will be used to assess student
understanding of the short story.
Discussion questions will be evaluated for understanding.