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UGA ELAN 7408 - Jasperse_2009

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!!!!!!!!!!!!Utopias and Dystopias Elizabeth Jasperse ELAN 7408 Dr. Smagorinsky December 2009Utopia!and!Dystopia! ! Jasperse!2!Table of Contents: Rationale …………………………………………………………………………………….. p.3 Materials …………………………………………………………………………………….. p.8 Goals and Rubrics ……………………………………………………………………….. p.9 Daily Plans ………………………………………………………………………………… p.18 Reading Materials …………………………………………………………………….. p.40 SAT Questions of the Day ………………………………………………………….. p.58Utopia!and!Dystopia! ! Jasperse!3!Rationale: This unit is designed for a rural North Georgia town on block scheduling with 90 minute class periods. The students to whom this unit is directed are 9th graders who are at grade level or a little below; perhaps there are some inclusion students in the class. A unit on utopian and dystopian literary works can be valuable for many reasons. First, it shows students examples of how life could be different. In the community for which this unit is designed, students rarely travel more than two hours away from home; it is rare that a student will have traveled to another region in the United States, much less out of the country. With a limited set of geographical and cultural experiences, viewing different communities could be very informative for them. It would be great if one could use authors of other ethnicities and national origins, but it is exceedingly difficult to find any non-white utopian or dystopian authors. The unit can express diversity by drawing works from a variety of time periods in an attempt to make up for the lack of variety of authors. Sometimes, students may take their personal freedoms for granted, and learning about dystopias will help them more appreciate “the good life.” If they value their talents and strengths, “Harrison Bergeron” would help them to appreciate our culture, which prizes individuality and excellence. If they are intensely independent students, they will appreciate their freedoms more after reading The Giver and “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” Reading about utopias will help students ascertain what they consider to be a utopia; they may hope to cure social ills or improve equality among the races or genders. These idealistic improvements are necessary for young people to hope for. Part of our job as a teacher is to inspire and inform the student, and if they can developUtopia!and!Dystopia! ! Jasperse!4!an idea of a utopian society in their mind, some of those idealistic improvements may become hope for a better nation in the future. Students in this insulated community have seen very little to no extreme poverty, homelessness, murder, rape, arson, or even graffiti. When they compare authors’ and their own ideas of utopia with the harsh reality, they may be inspired to start their own social reforms, thus becoming part of the larger community. The unit begins with The Giver by Lois Lowry. The Giver is a commonly read book, usually in the 7th or 8th grade for traditionally higher achievers and 8th or 9th for other students. It is a short novel, which would make it unintimidating for less proficient readers. Even if students have read The Giver before entering into this unit, there is much to be learned each time one reads it. It is a book that is easy to read (the vocabulary is not difficult; it is not very long), but it is difficult to read well (intense and thought-provoking themes). It brings up heavy and controversial topics such as euthanasia, freedom of choice, and the value of the individual. Perhaps a student has read The Giver before my class, but one reads a new book every time one reads a book, even if they have read it before. Their experiences have changed since they read it last (if ever), and the summation of their experiences is what adds value to anything they read and the discussions that come from those readings. Students will appreciate their status as a free thinker more after seeing a world in which everyone thinks the same way. If students have read The Giver before, it can segue into a genre of literature that may be brand-new for them. By using the familiar as an entryway into the unfamiliar, the new material will be less intimidating and less overwhelming. Books like The Giver can be valuable resources on standardized tests because their “simple” appearance is deceiving; there is a lot to unpack in such a small space. Knowing about this artificialUtopia!and!Dystopia! ! Jasperse!5!simplicity and learning how to do that unpacking will help students as they learn to read critically and question and analyze texts. Mixing up types of literature is important; there are several short stories and poems that go very well with a unit on utopias and dystopias. Reading the Bible’s description of utopia will be interesting for these students; the vast majority of these students are Protestant Christians, and thus, they will have probably read Genesis 2 before, but they have probably never read it as literature. They have probably never thought about how Eden was a utopia and how it compares to modern life and the life portrayed in the other works we will read. When studying the Bible, we will not be taking a religious perspective, but simply reading it as another example of a utopia in literature. No personal beliefs of mine will be introduced in the class, and I will encourage literary responses. If they would like to write a religious perspective in their journals, that is perfectly acceptable, but classroom discussion will focus mainly on the Bible as a text. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin is a great short story with a message that can be very relatable to youth of high school age. Some may argue that this is a really tough text, more suitable for older students, but once in the mindset of this unit, I think students will be able to understand it well. Particularly if it becomes relatable to them, “The Ones…” can be really impactful. In an age in which peer pressure and the need to be socially accepted is so important, learning to stand up for what you believe in or for what is “right” is a valuable


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