Self and society in science fiction Newtopias Self and society in science fiction

Overarching Concept: Track the theme of “self and society” through the Newtopias rendered in selected readings. Develop theories of how differently rendered future societies reflect the best and worst of our real selves in our current society. Choose 2 of the following five sub-themes and determine ways they affect each other in the stories: Wealth & Poverty, Crime & Punishment, Relationships, Gender, Work. Connect chosen themes in the fictional society to real society.

NCTE Standard 1: Students should read a wide range of texts 1) to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world. 2) to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace.   The 5 major issues at work in the differently rendered utopian societies provide superb counterpoints to how they work in our own culture and will offer students ample opportunities for comparison and contrast, enabling them to draw evaluative inferences about themselves, their society, and their places in it.

NCTE Standard 2: Students should read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g. philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience. Stories I’ve selected for our unit come from a range of periods in the last century, representing authors’ specific responses to specific problems of their time, and all treated in a Newtopian theme. This offers students the unique opportunity to consider what progress has been made on the five major issues since the time of each story’s publication, as well as a chance to consider how much more progress students feel should be made, with the Newtopian rendering serving as either a target for which to aim or to avoid.

CCSS.ELA-Lit.R.L.11-12.2: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account. Because the five major issues of society we’re tracking in the stories are not static, we will analyze their relationship to each other. Students will be asked to choose any two for each story we read to look for and explain ways they relate to, rely on, or otherwise affect one another. For example, in Author X’s rendering of Newtopia, how does wealth or poverty relate to relationships, or how does gender affect self in a work place?

Goal #1 Determine criteria to evaluate selected readings Goal #1 Determine criteria to evaluate selected readings. Write a personal definition of science fiction and determining categories within the genre in which to classify selected readings. Next, evaluate the stories as good or bad/useful or not useful according to criteria created. Activities: Go on a webquest for preliminary research into Sci Fi. How has it been defined? By whom? What are the subcategories and how are they defined? What are some examples in each category? Cull from your research to produce your own definition of 1) Science Fiction 2) Hard Sci Fi 3) Soft Sci Fi 4) Fantasy and give examples of each that you know. Read short story in class and apply definitions to categorize it. Evaluate it as good/bad, useful/not useful. Write down the criteria you used to come to your evaluation. Read second short story in class, and follow same procedure, refining your criteria for evaluation.

Goal #2 Keep a personal response reading log Goal #2 Keep a personal response reading log. In which definitions and evaluative criteria can evolve and solidify, and in which to track 5 major subthemes. Activities: Create double column log. Record significant passages on left and responses on right. Record passage & Write evaluation or interpretation. Record passages that address subthemes & Note how subthemes relate to other subthemes. Record passages & Note how the subthemes rendered in the Newtopia are different from our current society.

Goal #3 Generate questions from readings to lead discussions. Activities:

Stance: Students know how to evaluate texts in a genre according to self-generated criteria to generate questions in relation to a text to lead their own discussions