1984 Exploring Society through the Lens of Dystopian Literature

Unit Text: 1984 George Orwell Unit Dates: Monday, October 5, 2015 Friday, November 13, 2015 Unit Essential Ideas:
How is society changing and evolving today? What are the benefits and drawbacks of these changes? Who and what is involved in these changes?

Enduring Understandings:
To be a well-informed citizen, one should have an understanding of social issues and events The individual and the community are both important in maintaining a functioning community Authors wrote about dystopian societies to represent their fears and warnings for the future What are the central components of a society? How do societies change and evolve over time? What factors are involved in determining or guiding societal change? Who are the main actors that influence societal change? Who has power in a society? What role does the individual play in society? What responsibilities does an individual have in a community or society? Is the community more important than the individual? Is it important to maintain ethics and morality when leading/governing a society? In what ways does the government exert control over its people? What happens when a society becomes corrupt? What does it mean to be human? How can a persons humanity be controlled or limited? Are truth and happiness compatible? How does an author create mood and tone in a text? What is free thought? Is free thought different from free speech? What are equal rights? Do we all have to be the same in order to be equal? How can we ensure equal rights while protecting individual freedoms? What do we think an ideal society would be? What kind of future society are we creating through our actions, policies and ideologies of today? How is propaganda used in society throughout history?

Essential Questions:

Unit Overview and Rationale:

In a high school English Language Arts class, students should learn how to communicate and express themselves through reading, writing, and speaking; analyze and synthesize texts and ideas; and think critically. Along with these central goals, I believe that students should also gain an awareness of social issues and be able to connect classroom content with current news events. In an effort to address

all of these learning objectives, I would like to plan a unit that asks students to investigate these two main questions: how is society changing and evolving today and what are the benefits and drawbacks of these changes. Students would explore these two questions by reading one fictional, dystopian text, 1984, and connecting the events, themes, and ideas of the text to other supplemental readings and larger class discussion focused on changes our current society. I want my students to closely read a novel set in a dystopian or alternative world because these texts often reflect what authors fear for or want to warn against in future developments in society. These texts can also lead readers to consider moral behavior and the subjectivity of morality, and explore the ramifications of when government control, language and media censorship, and technology go too far. Ultimately, I want my students to understand the importance of both the individual and the community in creating a functioning society, and learn how to think critically about the world around them.

Reading Schedule:
All reading is due on Thursday of that week for group literature circles and full class discussion Week 1 Oct. 5-Oct. 9: Pre-reading/Introduction to 1984 and utopian and dystopian literature Week 2 Oct. 12-Oct. 16: Pages 1-63 Week 3 Oct. 19-Oct. 23: Pages 63-104 Week 4 Oct. 26-Oct. 30: Pages 104-159 Week 5 Nov. 2-Nov. 6: Pages 159-224 Week 6 Nov. 9-Nov. 13: Pages 274-298

Weekly Class Schedule:

Week 1: Pre-reading/Introduction to 1984 and utopian and dystopian literature Weeks 2-6: Monday History of utopian and dystopian societies and literature Tuesday Reading and discussion of supplemental utopian and dystopian texts or media Wednesday 1984 connections to current events and new stories Thursday Literature Circle Meetings Friday Class discussion of reading

Major Assignment Descriptions and Due Dates:

Utopia Project Wednesday, Oct. 7 o See project guidelines Literature Circle Reading Journals Weekly on Thursdays o All students will write a one-page journal response each week reacting to the reading, along with their designated LC roles work Final Paper Tuesday, Nov. 17 o The final paper for the novel will be a theme-based argument paper that draws on 1984 and other supplemental texts that have been discussed in class. More specific guidelines will be provided towards the end of the unit.

Utopian Society Directions:

Create Your Own Utopia After our class discussion on what characteristics make up a utopian society and what characteristics make up a dystopian society, as a group you will create your own society. You should attempt to create the best possible society, addressing five central components: Government structure, Economic/labor system Social class divisions Education Family structure

Here are some guiding questions to consider as you plan your society: Is there a common belief system or set of goals? What jobs do people have? How are their basic needs (food, shelter, clothing) provided for? How are people educated? What kind of technology is available? What are the laws that the people will live by, and how will those laws be enforced?

You will create a poster that displays the main components of your society along with any images or graphics that best represent the values of your society. You will also hand in the notes you take in planning your society which will factor into your project grade.

Literature Circle Overview and Roles:

Recorder/Summarizer Your job is to summarize the reading for the week, noting key events, information learned, and character developments. You will begin your groups discussion by reading your summary for the group and letting students ask questions about the text. During the discussion it is also your job to record the conversation, questions asked, and ideas presented. At the end of class, you will hand in your written summary for the reading and your notes from the groups discussion. Quote Finder Your job is to find at least 3 important quotes from the reading to present to the group. Your quotes can be single sentences or longer passages (not exceeding paragraph length). You can present your quotes throughout the discussion if the conversation applies to your quotes, or you can start a new line of discussion by sharing a quote. At the end of class, you will hand in the quotes you selected from the reading, and at least a 1 paragraph analysis of each quote. Text Connector Your job is to make connections between the novel and the other texts we read, videos we view in class, or outside reading or media. You should be able to clearly explain how the weeks reading for 1984 connects to other texts or media sources. At the end of class, you will hand in your descriptions of the connections you made between 1984 and other texts or media.

Discussion Leader Your job is to create at least 5 discussion questions (that prompt critical thinking, analysis, and interpretation) for your group. You will also lead the groups discussion and ask your questions to facilitate the conversation. It is your job to make sure that the other students share their work during the discussion. At the end of class, you will hand in your discussion questions. Character Analyst Your job is to track the major characters that appear in the novel. You will analyze the characters physical descriptions, personalities, desires, fears, and any other key information. You will present your information as it comes up in the discussion, and you will try to answer any character-related questions that your group members have. At the end of class, you will hand in your character chart with your character descriptions and analysis

Supplemental Readings and Media:

Each week there will also be supplemental reading to complete like a short story or news article. Minority Report Philip K. Dick Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut The Machine Stops E. M. Forster The Lottery Shirely Jackson The Pedestrian Ray Bradbury Excerpts from The Book of Genesis Excerpts from Utopia Thomas More Excerpts from The Manifesto of the Communist Party Karl Marx and Frederick Engels Excerpts from United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence Shooting an Elephant George Orwell Were living 1984 today - http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/03/opinion/beale-1984-now/ N.S.A: U.S. Confirms that it Gathers Data Overseas - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/us/nsaverizon-calls.html?pagewanted=all&action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%234 &version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%23%2Fedward% 2Bsnowden%2F365days%2Fallresults%2F5%2Fallauthors%2Foldest%2F Cryptic Overtures and a Clandestine Meeting Gave Birth to a Blockbuster Story http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/us/how-edward-j-snowden-orchestrated-a-blockbusterstory.html?pagewanted=all&action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%236&version=&url =http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%23%2Fedward%2Bsnowden% 2F365days%2Fallresults%2F7%2Fallauthors%2Foldest%2F

North Korea Rewriting History: North Korea deletes 35,000 articles from state news agency archive in 'calculated' rewriting of history - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/north-korea-deletes-35000-articles-2935071 North Koreas Leader Is Said to Oust Uncle in Power Play http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/ 04/world/asia/uncle-of-north-korean-leader-stripped-of-power-according-to-reports.html?ref=asia

North Korea images confirm removal of Kim Jong-un's uncle Chang Song-thaek http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25295312 Other potential media to use in class:
Minority Report film The Wave (1981 or 2008) film The Manchurian Candidate film 1984 Book Covers - http://www.librarything.com/work/1472/covers/ 2081 short film based on Harrison Bergeron V for Vendetta film Speeches/Announcements from Socialist/Communist Leaders Hitler, Stalin, Lenin etc.

Weekly Class Schedule:

Week 1: Pre-reading/Introduction to 1984 and utopian and dystopian literature Weeks 2-6: Monday History of utopian and dystopian societies and literature Tuesday Reading and discussion of supplemental utopian and dystopian texts or media Wednesday 1984 connections to current events and new stories Thursday Literature Circle Meetings Friday Class discussion of reading Week 1: Introducing the Unit and Novel - Monday Journal writing and creating a utopia o Student will spend first 15 minutes of class responding to writing prompt: The next novel we will read, 1984, is set 35 years after the year it was published, 1949. What do you predict our world or society will look like 35 years from now (2049)? When you describe our future society, consider advancements in medicine, science, technology, social values, politics, education, social media, the economy, and global relations. You can focus on a few or all of these categories when discussing your ideas for our future, but you must explain your ideas in depth. o After writing, students will share what they wrote and teacher will write main points on front board to facilitate discussion on students ideas o Teacher will go over definitions of utopian an dystopian societies o In the last 15 minutes of class, teacher will introduce utopia project In groups, students will design their perfect society. They must describe the government structure, economic/labor system, social class divisions, education, and family structure. They can address additional aspects of society if they would like to.

This project will take place over 2 class periods, the first for the groups to design their utopian society, and the second for the groups to present what they designed. Tuesday Group work on utopia project Wednesday Presentations and reflections o Students will present their projects and answer classmates questions o After every group has presented, the class will discuss the process of creating a utopian society and if they think it is possible for a utopian society to exist Thursday Introduction to novel and Orwell o As a warm up activity, students will view several different book covers for 1984 and make predictions about the novel (if they are not already familiar with it) and discuss why publishers designed covers the way they did o Teacher will briefly introduce George Orwell and English society at the time he was writing Friday Begin reading 1984 o Students will receive books and read the first 2 pages o As a class, we will examine the first few pages of the novel to see how Orwell has introduced his characters and the society they live in Students will list what they see described and teacher will list responses on front board. Teacher will ask, is this a place you would want to live? Teacher can ask students to return to their prediction writing from earlier in the week to make comparisons o Students will read next 2 pages and continue to list aspects of setting and characters that are described o Teacher will categorize comments in to main components of novel: Government Language Society and People Propaganda and Media Opposition and Rebellion o Teacher will break students up into groups of 4 or 5 and assign each group a topic to focus on over the course of the novel. These will be students literature circle groups. Depending on the size of the class some groups may have the same topic. Students will move into groups and will be given handout describing literature circle roles and expectations. Every Thursday, students will meet in groups to discuss novel and prepare for full class discussion on Fridays. Students will also be given reading schedule.

Unit Objectives
Students will know: The characteristics of utopia The characteristics of dystopia Why authors write dystopian fiction What factors make up a society Examples of what societal changes Students will be able to: Define utopia Define dystopia Identify examples of societal change today Apply their understanding of a dystopia to analyze the society in a fictional example Design their own society by applying their

are occurring today How to evaluate the validity of news articles How to do a close reading of a text How to analyze an authors word choice and style How to identify and connect themes in a text Examine the role a government plays in society, and the role our government plays in American society

knowledge of the important elements of a society Identify examples of change or advancement in society Describe their imagined societies Apply knowledge of fictional societies to an examination of their own society or community Identify real-life examples of unit concepts Evaluate the positive and negative consequences of societal changes Integrate information in articles into an evaluation of content Comprehend news articles from a variety of viewpoints Summarize information in articles Analyze specific language used in text Evaluate the authors purpose or intention in word choices

Performance Objectives Participation in class discussion

Teacher Goals: Ensure that students have opportunities to write notes and ideas prior to discussion; allow students to discuss ideas in small groups prior to full class discussion Demonstrate close reading skills with whole class; students will practice close reading skills in LC groups as they take turns selecting quotes from text to examine with groups and examining authors word choice and style with group Read and analyze supplemental texts as a whole class or in LC groups, and provide guided reading questions or focus points while reading; specifically identify and discuss themes, symbols, characters, and settings of texts; engage students in discussion of texts and ask questions that lead them to make connections Clearly present directions for LC group work, and individual student work that will be assessed; provide guiding questions or prompts for each section of reading for students to respond to

Analysis of text through close reading

Make thematic, symbolic, and setting connections between supplementary texts and media to primary text

Writing in notebooks in response to text or journal questions

Involvement in group work

Clearly present directions for LC group roles and expectations; assign each group a focusing topic so that they have something to center discussion on; provide text of instructions and expectations for work; provide note-taking organizers for student LC roles Give students opportunity to individually imagine future society to help them formulate ideas; discuss initial writing as a class; provide clear directions and expectations for group project

Participation in and contribution to group society project

Instructional Strategies and Modes of Assessment: Journal writing Class discussion PowerPoint presentation Group simulation activity Small group work/discussion Graphic organizers Close reading textual analysis Theme-based essay Student presentations Literature Circle Weekly notes

Materials/equipment: White board and markers Teacher laptop and projector Poster board or large paper Colored markers Copies of 1984 Copies of project assignment description Copies of supplementary reading Copy of DVD to show in class Copies of Literature Circle Roles Copies of LC graphic/note organizers