Kayla Pfeifer

Dr. Justin Henry

EDU 34600

17 November 2019

Unit Plan – Science Fiction

Theme: Is our ideal world truly our most beneficial world? – Students will read pieces that

influence them to reflect on this question and conclude what their ideal world is and whether it

would function if it were reality.

Time: This would be a four-week unit. If semesters run in about sixteen weeks, then this would

take up one quarter of the semester, leaving room for three more units. In a 32-week, yearlong

curriculum, this unit would be one of eight units.

State Standards: (From the Arizona Department of Education – English Language Arts

Standards) 9-10.RL.2; 9-10.RL.5; 9-10.RL.6; 9-10.W.2; 9-10.W.9; 9-10.W.10

Unit Rationale: The purpose of this unit is to influence students to consider how fictional

worlds can relate to the real world, even if it is through fictional aspects. Through their reading,

students will pick up on characters who develop alongside the storyline and ideas which are

challenged by authors. Through writing, students will be able to independently determine their

outlooks of the stories and why certain ideas should or should not work when implemented into

society.

Goals: Students will be able to determine what the deeper meanings are of the science fiction

pieces they are required to read. Students will understand what makes science fiction unique

from other genres so that they can creatively write it themselves. Students will be able to obtain

information from the readings that they can use in classroom discussions and Socratic seminars.
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Objectives: Students will hold discussions within groups where they will respond to lists of

questions. These questions will challenge how they find meaning within their readings. Students

will be given an assignment where they must write their own science fiction piece, including

either a utopian or dystopian society. The class will have a Socratic seminar toward the end of

the reading where students can freely state their opinions on events in the story, current events

and issues which relate to the story, and what they predict to find in the story. At the end of the

unit, students will write about their ideal society and why it may never truly become a reality,

reflecting on the readings from the unit.

Lessons/Main Activities: I would like to have six main lessons within this unit. Three of these

lessons would focus on reading and reflection, and the other three lessons would be writing-

oriented and require students to apply their thoughts and creativity to the lessons. Since I would

like to have as much room for creativity among my students as possible, I would like to have one

main classroom discussion on the focused reading and about two for small groups on the shorter

readings.

Assessment: The final assessment for this lesson would be the main essay where students

determine their ideal society and how realistic or unrealistic it would be. Students will refer to

their previous readings for each point in their essay.

Differentiated Instruction Anticipated: Since this unit allows for plenty of creative room, I

think that this would be an easier unit for differentiated instruction. For example, those who may

have a reading disability could be provided with an audio file version of the reading. Students

who miss a discussion could make it up through a short reflection assignment so that they are

given credit for their work. When students are not being given independent writing, I would like
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to have them work in groups or partners as much as possible, which would help the students who

are struggling with reading and comprehension.

List of Materials: Students will need: A copy of the required text (possibly Fahrenheit 451 by

Ray Bradbury); access to the internet and a computer with a Word program or Google Docs;

writing materials

I will need: Copies of the required texts; a projector; a printer; a scanner; a computer with

internet access; writing materials

Sources:

Lorcher, T. (2018). “The Veldt” Lesson Plans: Conflict Analysis. ELA Common Core

Plans. https://www.elacommoncorelessonplans.com/the-veldt-lesson-plans-conflict-

analysis.html