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Unit Plan
Brave New World
By Aldous Huxley
Chapters 16-18
Will SchaubSED 525EN Fall 2008
Prof. Kathleen Rowlands
Table of Contents
1. Unit Introduction p. 3
2. Unit Planning Overview p. 6
3. BNW Lesson Plan Day 1 p. 10
4. BNW Lesson Plan Day 3 p. 15
5. BNW Lesson Plan Day 4 p. 20
6. BNW Lesson Plan Day 6 p. 23
7. BNW Lesson Plan Day 9 p. 28
8. Unit Assessment Tools p. 32
8. Final Written Assessment and Rubric p. 33
9. Unit Planning Commentary p. 34
2
Unit Plan Introduction
Course: 12th Grade English- Modern Literature
Unit Topic: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: Chapters 16-18
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, is the centerpiece of the 12th Grade Modern
Literature course I teach at John Francis Polytechnic High School. We operate on a block
schedule in which 16 weeks of instruction are compressed into eight weeks: 95-minute
classes, five days a week. The course is supplemented with short stories (e.g. “The Veldt”
by Ray Bradbury), poetry, and critical viewings of films and television episodes
reflecting the themes identified and discussed in Brave New World. This two-week unit
focuses on the final three chapters (16-18).
This unit addresses the following English-Language Area Content Standards for
California Public Schools:
Reading 2.4 Make warranted and reasonable assertions about the author's arguments by using elements of the text to defend and clarify interpretations.
Literary Response and Analysis 3.2 Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim.
Writing 1.3 Structure ideas and arguments in a sustained, persuasive, and sophisticated way and support them with precise and relevant examples.
Speaking Applications 2.3 Deliver oral responses to literature.
Unit Objectives:
• When asked about themes debated in Chapter 16, SWBAT discuss the role of art,
history, liberty, and happiness in society.
• When discussing societal values, SWBAT compare and contrast the World State to our
society.
3
• When assigned a theme from the text, SWBAT cite three pieces of textual evidence
where the theme is discussed,
• In making an oral argument, SWBAT make a persuasive case demonstrating knowledge
of ethos, pathos, and/or logos.
• In making a movie poster for Brave New World, SWBAT demonstrate understanding of
theme, mood, and genre in their artistic decisions.
• When asked Huxley’s social commentary in BNW, SWBAT state a position and
support it with textual examples.
• SWBAT explain Ethos, Pathos, and Logos and identify examples in the text BNW.
• SWBAT relate themes from BNW to the film Gattaca.
• When asked about social commentaries in BNW, SWBAT identify multiple examples
and reference in text.
• SWBAT display knowledge of BNW in a short persuasive essay from the POV of a
character in the text.
The unit provides students with integrated experiences on all four areas of English-
Language Arts: Reading, Writing, Talking and Listening. It frames instruction by first
establishing what the students already know in these targeted areas. On day one the
students are asked to define key terms and identify themes presented in the text. This will
inform me where we should begin the discussion of theme and social commentary.
We do not have extensive technology available to us in our classroom. Specifically, we
have no computer projector, so PowerPoint presentations are impossible. We do,
however, have a television and a DVD player so we can view scenes from the film Brave
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New World and other films with relevant content. Titles I’ve identified for potential
viewing include The Island, Gattica, and Total Recall. I plan to have the students spend
one class designing and constructing a movie poster for Brave New World as a way to
use Gardner’s multiple intelligences to understand the themes of the book and concepts
such as tone, mood, symbolism, and imagery.
Group work, pair sharing, class discussion, debate, in-class and prepared writing will be
combined to allow all students to participate and access the curriculum. Students are
asked to show knowledge of the material, and to analyze, discuss, evaluate, and make
personal connections to the themes presented in the book to address the higher
intelligences in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
The lessons are designed to connect written responses to the reading, incorporating
appropriate scaffolding and modeling. Group work and pair sharing will be used to give
students practice crystallizing and articulating their thoughts as well as the opportunity to
listen and learn from their classmates. Written, oral, and artistic evaluations will assess
the students’ understanding. The summative assessment will be an in-class written work
designed to allow me to determine the students’ proficiency in each of the targeted
Content Standards. To properly respond to the prompt, the students will need to
understand the themes presented in the book and the social commentary Huxley is
making. They will also need to demonstrate knowledge of persuasive techniques (ethos,
pathos, logos), speaker, audience, and purpose in crafting their persuasive argument.
5
Name: Will Schaub
Unit Plan Overview
Unit Topic: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Chapters 16-18Course: 12th Grade English- Modern Literature
Standards addressed: • Reading 2.4 Make warranted and reasonable assertions about the author's arguments by using elements of the text to defend and clarify interpretations.• Literary Response and Analysis 3.2 Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim.• Writing 1.3 Structure ideas and arguments in a sustained, persuasive, and sophisticated way and support them with precise and relevant examples.• Speaking Applications 2.3 Deliver oral responses to literature.
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5Objectives When
asked about themes debated in Chapter 16, SWBAT discuss the role of art, history, liberty, and happiness in society.
When discussing societal values, SWBAT compare and contrast the World State to our society.
When assigned a theme from the text, SWBAT cite three pieces of textual evidence where the theme is discussed,
In making an oral argument, SWBAT make a persuasive case demonstrating knowledge of ethos, pathos, and/or logos.
In making a movie poster for Brave New World, SWBAT demonstrate understanding of theme, mood, and genre in their artistic decisions.
Summary of Student Activities
1) Define Key Terms: Cyprus Experiment, Malthusian Theory, Iceberg Model, and Violent Passion Surrogate (VPS).
2) Fill in
1) Pair share about dialectical organizer.
2) Quickwrite: “What makes you happy?”
3) Venn diagram: Source of Happiness. BNW vs. Our
1) Lit Circles- Chapter 16.
2) Class discussion about lit circle findings.
3) Cite 3 references in the text to one theme from the list.
1) Quickwrite: “How does society condition us?”
2) Discuss with class. List points on board.
3) Group work: BNW Survivor. In Lit Groups,
1) Class discussion of movie poster components.
2) Groups make movie poster for BNW with consideration to: genre, audience, tone, mood, imagery,
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definitions in New Vocabulary sheet
3) Complete Dialectical Graphic Organizer in regards to social debate between Mustapha Mond and John the Savage.
Society. each member plays a character: Bernard, Lenina, Helmholtz, John, or Linda. One gets sent to Iceland. Each argues to stay. Take vote. Share results and reasoning.
hook, tag line, etc.
3) Present posters to class
Assessment Graphic Organizer will be checked.
Read quickwrites and check Venn diagram to establish baseline understanding of concepts.
Lit circle accountability forms will be collected and reviewed for understanding of the chapter.
Informal assessment of persuasive techniques in group work.
Assessment of posters and design-making process as presented to class.
7
Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10Objectives When asked
Huxley’s social commentary in BNW, SWBAT state a position and support it with textual examples.
SWBAT explain Ethos, Pathos, and Logos and identify examples in the text BNW.
SWBAT relate themes from BNW to the film Gattaca.
When asked about social commentaries in BNW, SWBAT identify multiple examples and reference in text.
SWBAT display knowledge of BNW in a short persuasive essay from the POV of a character in the text.
Summary of Student Activities
1) Who Said It? Handout.
2) Discuss as class
3) Vocabulary Bingo
1) Ethos, Pathos, & Logos Handout- personal definition- class definition- example in text
2) Find your own examples
3) John v. Mustapha Mond- study exchange on p. 240- Ethos, Pathos, Logos? Where?
1) Preview key terms from film- DNA- Genetic code- Genetic screening- Genetic engineering
2) Screen Gattaca for the students
3) Gattaca discussion questions (if time allows)
1) Discuss Gattaca, relate to BNW. Hand in questions.
2) Jigsaw: Huxley’s Social Commentaries• Art/Literature• Independent Thought• God/Religion• Individual vs. Society• Nature of Happiness
1) Review written assessment prompt and rubric
2) Timed writing assessment
3) Final thoughts on BNW
Assessment Handout will be collected and checked for understanding.
Short response: who wins the debate on p.
Gattaca discussion questions to be completed as
Informal assessment of discussion in expert groups and home groups.
Written assessment will be evaluated for content and
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240? Why? (See if students identify ethos, pathos, logos or if they just state opinion.)
homework and handed in.
execution. (See rubric.)
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DAILY LESSON PLAN
Teacher’s Name: Will Schaub Class/Period: Modern Literature, Period 2
Unit: BNW Chapters 16-18, Day 1 Date: 12-8-08
Agenda: 1) Define Key Terms, 2) Vocabulary List, 3) Dialectical Organizer
California Content Standards: Literary Response and Analysis 3.2 Analyze the way
in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using
textual evidence to support the claim. Reading 1.0 Students apply knowledge of word
origins to determine the meaning of new words encountered in reading materials and use
those words accurately.
Objectives: When asked about the themes debated in Chapter 16 of Brave New World,
SWBAT discuss the role of art, history, liberty, and happiness in society.
Materials Needed: Overhead projector, transparency, BNW, New Vocabulary handout,
Activities:
Time Teacher Procedures Student Responsibilities
15 min. On the overhead projector, write
the key terms Cyprus
Experiment, Malthusian Theory,
Iceberg Model, and Violent
Passion Surrogate. Have
students locate where each term
is found in these chapters. Guide
class discussion and write
agreed upon definitions and
page numbers on the
transparency.
Students will look up the key terms in their
texts and discuss definitions and
significance. They will copy the class
definitions and page numbers from the
transparency.
30 min. Hand out New Vocabulary list.
Have students write in their own
definitions to all words they’re
familiar with. For the remaining
words (there will be plenty) they
can use dictionaries, consult
Students will fill in their own definitions to
all words they are familiar with. For the
remaining words, they will consult with
each other and look in the dictionary to
determine meaning.
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with each other, whatever they
need to understand the meaning.
(Note: no complicated
dictionary definitions.)
15 min. Go over entire list to ensure that
students have correct definitions
and understandings of all new
vocabulary words. (40 in all.)
Students will fill in any remaining
definitions they weren’t able to find, make
additions, corrections, and ask any
questions about specific words.
30 min. Model on the overhead projector
how to make a Dialectical
Organizer for the themes
debated by Mustapha Mond and
John in Chapter 16. Have them
use their texts to go through the
chapter and identify the issues
debated by the two characters.
Model a few for them then have
them continue on their own.
(Themes include: appreciation
of history, heroism, liberty,
truth, happiness, social stability,
drama, art, individual rights,
societal responsibility, science,
and equality.) The two agree on
almost nothing. The students
should be able to identify some
of these disagreements.
Students will make a Dialectical Organizer
on their paper contrasting the positions
taken in Chapter 16 by Mustapha Mond and
John. They’ll copy the first few examples
from the overhead projector, then, using
their books, they will look for further
examples themselves.
Homework: Complete the Dialectical Organizer for Chapter 16 and turn in. Graded on a
10 point scale.
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Assessment or Evaluation: I’ll check their organizers for comprehension and ability to
identify the issues presented in the chapter. We’ll revisit the vocabulary words next week
in Vocabulary Bingo.
Lesson Plan Commentary/Reflection: This will be our fifth week on Brave New
World, and we’ve been working on understanding the underlying message the whole
time. I hope the students will be able to identify the issues debated in the chapter. The
social and philosophical discussion is very straightforward and blatant in Chapters 16 and
17, and the students should be able to identify what the issues are and how the two
characters feel. What continues to be a challenge for them is identifying what Huxley’s
greater point is. A few of the students have identified that the book is speculating about
the future of our own society but most have not. 31 of my 33 students are English
Language Learners and for many of them simply deciphering the plot is a challenge.
12
BNW Vocabulary List
Word DefinitionCallow
Geniality
Viviparous
Effusive
Prodigious
Heinous
Maudlin
Portentous
Furtive
Heretical
Indissolubly
Cordiality
Tremulous
Abstemious
Atonement
Reparation
Quaff
Parody
Paroxysm
Abjectly
Magnanimity
Resonance
Innocuous
Surreptitious
Cadge
Imperious
Pallid
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Soliloquize
Indefatigably
Sibilant
Deferential
Rudimentary
Sententious
Florid
Zealous
Porous
Sultry
Duly
Apoplectic
Curtly
Suffuse
Tactile
Squalid
Inscrutable
Incongruous
Truculent
Crevice
Scamper
Stigma
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DAILY LESSON PLAN
Teacher’s Name: Will Schaub Class/Period: Modern Literature, Period 2
Unit: BNW Chapters 16-18, Day 3 Date: 12-10-08
Agenda: 1) Lit Circles Chapter 16, 2) Class Discussion, 3) Citing Themes in Text
California Content Standards: Reading 2.4 Make warranted and reasonable assertions
about the author’s arguments by using elements of the text to defend and clarify
interpretations.
Objectives: When assigned a theme in Brave New World, SWBAT cite three pieces of
textual evidence where the theme is discussed.
Materials Needed: BNW, Lit Circle Accountability Forms, Paper & Pen
Activities:
Time Teacher Procedures Student Responsibilities
40 min. Have students get into their Lit
Circles to discuss Chapter 16 as
per their prepared roles. Remind
them that they each must fill out
their portion of the
Accountability Form and/or
attach their work. (This is a
dense chapter with many issues
discussed.) Circulate during
group work to assess
understanding, keep students on
task, and answer any questions.
Students will get into their Lit Circles and
discuss Chapter 16 from the point of view
of the roles they’ve prepared. They will
each fill in their individual portions of the
Accountability Form and each group will
answer the group questions on the form.
They will attach any work to the form as
necessary.
20 min. Lead the class in a discussion of
the Lit Circle findings. Have
individual circles share the
questions the Director brought
in. What did they learn? Which
passages were identified? What
was their significance? (With
The Lit Circles will share the issues
discussed in their groups and what was
discovered. (The intellectual debate of the
book comes to a head in Chapters 16 and
17. There may be considerable debate about
the positions put forth by the characters in
these chapters.) They will hand in all their
15
prodding, these conversations
can be very enlightening with
the students doing virtually all
of the intellectual work.) Guide
students in connecting these
themes to Huxley’s
commentary. What’s it all
mean?
work.
30 min. While still in their lit circles,
have students identify passages
relating to specific themes- each
group member with a different
theme. Discussion Directors:
history, Passage Masters:
happiness, Connectors: social
stability, Illustrators: art,
Graphic Designers: equality.
Have them cite the passage and
page number. Encourage them
to work independently.
Students will use their texts to find specific
passages dealing with their given topic.
They will need to cite the page number and
beginning and ending of the passage. They
are to work alone and hand in their papers
before leaving.
Homework: Read and take notes on Chapter 17.
Assessment or Evaluation: I’ll check their Lit Circle Accountability Forms. 5 points for
everyone who was present and participated. I’ll also check their citing work. 5 points if
completed. Each of these pieces of work will inform me on their understanding of the
chapter and the issues being discussed by the characters.
Lesson Plan Commentary/Reflection: Chapters 16 and 17 are quite dense. Huxley
really lays out his arguments here and it’s important to me that the students understand
16
not only what’s happening but why Huxley bothered to write the book. I’ve had good
success thus far with the lit circles. The accountability form seems to be an effective tool
to encourage them to do the reading and discuss the significance. The citing work is an
attempt to make them go back and study the text. The concept of rereading material still
seems like a foreign concept to my kids. This exercise makes them reread the passages
and analyze them for meaning.
17
Literature Circles
Group #: Date:
Book:
Chapter(s):
Discussion DirectorName:____________________List at least 2 open-ended questions about today’s reading. Discuss in the group.
Passage MasterName:_____________________Identify at least 1 passage by page # and opening and closing words from today’s reading. Why’d you pick it? Discuss in the group.
ConnectorName:_____________________Make at least 1 connection between today’s reading and your own life. Discuss in the group.
IllustratorName:______________________Share a visual you’ve found or created that relates to today’s reading. Share it with the group. Attach it to this sheet to hand in.
18
Graphic DesignerName:______________________Identify the major concepts from today’s reading. Present them to the group in a graphic (visual) design. Discuss with the group. Attach it to this sheet to hand in.
Things that went well:
Things we need help with:
Members who were absent or did not participate:
On a scale of 0-5 points, our group should receive:_____ Why?
All group members must sign:1)_________________________2)_________________________3)_________________________4)_________________________5)_________________________
DAILY LESSON PLAN
Teacher’s Name: Will Schaub Class/Period: Modern Literature, Period 2
Unit: BNW Chapters 16-18, Day 4 Date: 12-11-08
Agenda: 1) Journal – quickwrite, 2) Class Discussion, 3) BNW Survivor, 4) Discuss who
won. Why?
California Content Standards: Literary Response and Analysis 3.2 Analyze the way
in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using
textual evidence to support the claim. Speaking Applications 2.3 Deliver oral responses
to literature.
19
Objectives: When speaking about Brave New World, SWBAT make a persuasive case
demonstrating knowledge of ethos, pathos, and logos.
Materials Needed: Journals, BNW, Paper & Pen
Activities:
Time Teacher Procedures Student Responsibilities
15 min. Have students quickwrite in
their journals about the prompt:
How does society condition us?
Students will respond to the prompt in their
journals.
15 min. Have student share their
thoughts with the class. (We’ve
discussed conditioning in BNW
before so they should have
something to say. If students
are initially shy, try asking how
many boys wear dresses. Why
not?) List the points on the
board.
Students will share their thoughts about
aspects of our society that condition our
behaviors.
40 min. Introduce class to BNW
Survivor. Have students get into
their lit groups. The scenario is
that Mustapha Mond is sending
one character to Iceland and the
group must vote which
character goes. Each student in
the group will play the role of
Bernard, Lenina, John,
Helmholtz, or Linda. Each has a
turn to argue their case for
staying. When each character
has spoken, they vote by secret
ballot to see who’s exiled.
Students get into their groups and pick
which character they will play. All 5
characters must be represented. They have
10 minutes to prepare their argument, then
each character has 5 minutes to make his or
her case for staying in society. After each
character has spoken, they’ll take a vote by
secret ballot to see who’s voted out of
society.
20
20 min. Poll the groups to see who was
exiled. Is it the same character
in each group? Why did people
vote the way they did? Did
some students make good use
of ethos, pathos, and logos?
Groups will report which character was
voted out of society and why. They’ll offer
their rationale for their voting and discover
if there were particular arguing techniques
that were successful.
Homework: Bring any art supplies, magazines, etc. that you may want for tomorrow’s
poster-making activity.
Assessment or Evaluation: Assessment of students’ persuasive techniques will be
informal observation. I’ll collect the students’ writing journals at the end of the semester
and students will get 5 participation points for every journal entry completed.
Lesson Plan Commentary/Reflection: I’m trying to help the students connect the issues
in BNW to their own life experience. I’ve heard them say things like, “In the book, they
don’t even know about God,” with no inkling that a belief in God could be considered a
conditioned belief. This is also an extension of my semester-long effort to get them to see
that what we’re studying in the classroom is not hermetically sealed from the real world. I
find an article or two a week in the newspaper dealing with something we’ve studied to
try to bridge the chasm between their world and the world of academia. The Survivor
game should be fun (I’ve never tried it before), and I hope it will help them to continue to
develop their persuasive skills. We’ve covered ethos, pathos, and logos at the beginning
of the term, so they should be familiar with the terms and what they mean. The final
writing assessment will require them to demonstrate knowledge of these techniques, so
I’m trying to give them some opportunities to develop these skills.
21
DAILY LESSON PLAN
Teacher’s Name: Will Schaub Class/Period: Modern Literature, Period 2
Unit: BNW Chapters 16-18, Day 6 Date: 12-15-08
Agenda: 1) Who Said It? handout, 2) Class Review, 3) Vocabulary Bingo
California Content Standards: Reading 2.4 Make warranted and reasonable assertions
about the author’s arguments by using elements of the text to defend and clarify
interpretations.
Reading 1.0 Students apply knowledge of word origins to determine the meaning of new
words encountered in reading materials and use those words accurately.
Objectives: When discussing social issues presented in Brave New World, SWBAT cite
examples debated by Mustapha Mond and John the savage.
Materials Needed: Who Said It? handout, BNW, Vocabulary Bingo sheet, New
Vocabulary List
Activities:
Time Teacher Procedures Student Responsibilities
45 min. Hand out the sheet Who Said
It? Have students work
individually to identify the
speaker for each quote, note the
page number, and state the
significance. (All the quotes are
from Chapters 16-18, but this
will probably be a challenge for
many students.)
Students will use their texts to identify the
speaker for each quote, cite the page
number, and state the significance of the
quote.
15 min. When the students have
completed their sheets, go over
the list and identify the speakers
and importance of each quote.
(These are the big themes of the
book. If they can speak
intelligently on this, they’ll be
Students will share their thoughts about the
identities of the speakers and the
significance of each quote.
22
prepared for the final writing
assessment.)
30 min. Hand out the Vocabulary Bingo
sheet. Have the students take
out their vocabulary list and
randomly write one definition
in each of the 24 open squares
on their Bingo sheet. They can
pick whatever 24 definitions
they want and put them in any
squares. When they’ve finished,
read aloud a word from the
vocabulary list and write it on
the board. If a student has the
definition for that word on their
sheet, they’ll mark it. Continue
reading words aloud and
writing them on the board until
someone gets a row or a
column filled. Check their sheet
against the list on the board to
make sure they actually have
Bingo. (Many of the words are
challenging. They can use their
vocabulary list if you want.)
Students will randomly fill definitions from
their vocabulary list into the 24 open
squares on their Bingo sheets. They can
pick any 24 definitions they want and write
them in whatever squares they want. When
they hear a word from the vocabulary list,
they’ll check to see if they have the
definition on their Bingo sheet. If they do,
they’ll mark it. When they have a row or a
column filled (or a diagonal), they win.
Homework: Read Chapter 18.
Assessment or Evaluation: The Who Said It handout will be collected and checked for
understanding. 10 points, if completed.
23
Lesson Plan Commentary/Reflection: The handout is another attempt to make the
students reread the material and analyze its meaning. It’s a rather laborious process, and
10 quotes is a lot for them to comment on, but if I assign it as homework only a handful
of my students would do it. If they can identify the significance of these quotes, the final
writing assessment should be a breeze for them. The vocabulary Bingo is just a fun way
to make them look at those words again. Almost all of my students are English Learners
and their academic language is not strong. I don’t expect them to incorporate many of
these words into their daily dialogue, but they should be exposed to them and have some
idea about their meaning. I plan to offer homework passes to individual winners as
motivation for them to participate.
24
Who Said It?Brave New WorldChapters 16-18
For each of the following quotes you must:• Identify the speaker.• Find it in the text and cite the page number.• Explain what it means and why it’s significant.
1) “Beauty’s attractive, and we don’t want people to be attracted by old things. We want them to like the new ones.”
2) “But that’s the price we have to pay for stability. You’ve got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art.”
3) “Why don’t you make everybody and Alpha Double Plus while you’re at it?”
4) “You cannot pour upper-caste champagne-surrogate onto lower-caste bottles. It’s obvious theoretically. But it has also been proved in actual practice. The result of the Cyprus experiment was convincing.”
5) “He’s being sent to an island. That’s to say, he’s being sent to a place where he’ll meet the most interesting wet of men and women to be found anywhere in the world.”
6) “But God’s the reason for everything noble and fine and heroic.”
7) “In a properly organized society like ours, nobody has any opportunities for being noble or heroic. Conditions have got to be thoroughly unstable before the occasion can arise.”
8) “Anyone can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears- that’s what soma is.”
9) “I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin.”
10) “I shall go away tomorrow too. Anywhere. I don’t care. So long as I can be alone.”
25
VOCABULARY BINGO
B I N G O
26
DAILY LESSON PLAN
Teacher’s Name: Will Schaub Class/Period: Modern Literature, Period 2
Unit: BNW Chapters 16-18, Day 9 Date: 12-18-08
Agenda: 1) Gattaca questions, 2) Expert groups, 3) Home groups, 4) Class discussion
California Content Standards: Literary Response and Analysis 3.2 Analyze the way
in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using
textual evidence to support the claim.
Objectives: When asked about social commentary in Brave New World, SWBAT
identify multiple examples and reference the text.
Materials Needed: Gattaca questions, BNW
Activities:
Time Teacher Procedures Student Responsibilities
15 min. Have the students get out their
Gattaca movie questions and
review them as a class. What
did they get out of the movie?
Can they relate it to the themes
presented in BNW?
Students will share their responses to the
Gattaca questions. They’ll discuss their
opinions about the message of the movie
and cite specific details from the film to
support their positions.
30 min. Have students get into a Jigsaw
study group. Assign all
Discussion Directors the expert
group looking at Art &
Literature, Passage Masters:
Independent Thought,
Connectors: God & Religion,
Illustrators: Individuals vs.
Society, and Graphic Designers:
Happiness. Have each expert
group gather together with their
texts to study their topics in
Chapters 16-18. They’ll have
Students will break into five expert groups
discussing the topics: Art & Literature,
Independent Thought, God & Religion,
Individuals vs. Society, and Happiness.
They’ll research their topic together,
identifying passages in the text where it’s
discussed, what Huxley’s intention is, and
how to teach their topic to their home
teams.
27
30 minutes to identify passages
dealing with their topic, what
Huxley is saying, and discuss
how to teach it to their home
groups.
30 min. Have students reassemble in
their Lit Circle groups, which
should have a member from
each of the expert groups.
Instruct them to take turns
teaching their home group
about the topic they studied
with their expert groups. They
won’t have the prompt, but you
can advise them that this is very
pertinent to the writing they’ll
have to do tomorrow.
Students will reconfigure into their home lit
circle groups. They’ll take turns teaching
the group what they’ve studied in their
expert groups. They’ll want to take notes to
use in their final writing assessment
tomorrow.
15 min. Ask the class what they’ve
learned about these topics.
Remind them that tomorrow
will be an in class writing
assignment that will draw on
everything we’ve studied in
Brave New World. Ask
students to list some topics that
we’ve covered. Write the list on
the board.
Students will discuss the themes from the
expert groups and what was learned. They’ll
brainstorm themes and topics discussed thus
far in Brave New World. They’ll copy to
list that is compiled on the board.
Homework: Review Brave New World text and all notes.
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Assessment or Evaluation: I’ll check the Gattaca questions. 10 points, if completed. I’ll
informally assess the discussion in the expert and home groups. Tomorrow’s writing
assignment will reveal what they know and what I could have taught better.
Lesson Plan Commentary/Reflection: It’s a very collaborative day. The Jigsaw should
be a good way to cover each topic in detail if the students take the work seriously. I am
concerned that we’re getting close to the holidays and my students sometimes decide to
check out early. The writing assessment is a fairly hefty chunk of their grade though, and
their last chance to improve their score. The final assessment isn’t a particularly
intimidating prompt, so if they’ve done the reading and paid attention in class, they
should be fine.
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Gattaca Discussion Questions
1) What type of “head start” do the people in the movie give to their unborn children?
2) How is discrimination portrayed in the movie? Who is discriminated against and why? How is it like our own society? How is it different?
3) There are currently tests to genetically screen patients for a predisposition for diseases such as breast cancer, colon cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. The list is growing rapidly. What are the potential benefits from this genetic screening? What are the potential problems?
4) What message does the movie send about genetic profiling?
5) What message does the movie send about people with disabilities?
6) How do the themes explored in Gattaca relate to those in Brave New World? Is there a similar message? If so, what is it?
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Unit Evaluation Tools:
• Mustapha Mond/John the Savage Dialectical Concept Map
• Happiness Quickwrite
• Happiness Venn Diagram
• Chapter 16 Literature Circle Accountability Form
• Movie Poster and Presentation
• Who Said It? – Handout
• Short Written Response to p. 240
• Gattaca Discussion Questions
• Final Written Assessment
For a discussion of the formative and summative assessment tools listed above, please see the Unit Plan Commentary.
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Brave New World Writing Assignment
Having completed Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, reflect on the themes we’ve discussed in considering the following hypothetical exchange:
Before leaving society to live in the lighthouse, John (the Savage) goes to Lenina and attempts to convince her to join him.
Assignment: Write a short (1-2 page) narrative from either John’s or Lenina’s POV. Why does John want to leave society? Why does he want Lenina to go with him? How will he convince her to go? Does she want to join him? Why or why not? Will she convince him to stay? If so, how?
Some points you might consider in your argument are your character’s position on:
• Religion• Truth• Freedom• Independent thought• Community responsibility• Happiness• Security and stability• Personal feelings for the other
You may use your text if you wish.
REQUIREMENTSMAX
POINTSYOUR
POINTS
Presents a persuasive argument. 10
Use of Ethos, Pathos, and/or Logos. 10
Accurately reflects character’s world view. 10
Demonstrates knowledge of character’s personal history.
10
Demonstrates knowledge of speaker, audience, and purpose. 10
MUGS (Mechanic, Usage, Grammar, & Syntax) 10
TOTAL 60
You have 45 minutes. Staple this sheet to your writing and hand it in.
Unit Planning CommentaryBrave New World, Chapters 16-18
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The central focus of this unit is to encourage my students to identify the themes
and social issues presented by the characters in the text and to make a reasoned
assumption about the commentary Huxley is making. Brave New World is clearly a
cautionary warning about the consequences our society may be heading toward as a result
of moral decay, the breakdown of the family unit, an overdependence on science and
technology, and the gradual replacement of thought provoking art with brainless
diversions. It also sounds a clear warning bell against the perils of communism and the
subordination of individuals’ rights. For my particular students, however, none of this is
self-evident. They’ve explained to me that they read literally and don’t like to analyze.
Although I sympathize with them, my students need to know that every author writes for
a purpose and it’s our job to find meaning in the text.
The unit starts with the pre-reading activities of defining key terms and new
vocabulary words. The complexity of discussion increases as we begin to identify the
themes discussed in the text and attempt to relate them to our experience in our own
society. Work in the Literature Circles and analysis of specific passages begins to teach
to the higher intelligences in Bloom’s Taxonomy. In Days 3,6, and 9, I’ve scheduled
activities that require the students to re-read the text and analyze specific passages for
significance. To accommodate students with differing strengths in Gardner’s multiple
intelligences, I’ve scheduled activities that allow students to demonstrate understanding
using the visual arts and oral presentations. I’ve scheduled films, graphic organizers,
group work, and games to give students of various learning styles access to the material.
Nearly all of my students are English Learners so I’ve scheduled lessons to introduce new
vocabulary words and engaging ways to become more familiar with academic language. I
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spend time everyday explaining instructions and material as thoroughly as I can to ensure
that all of my students understand.
The assessment tools incorporated into this unit plan provide my students a
variety of ways to demonstrate understanding of the material. For the visual learners there
are Dialectical Organizers and Venn Diagrams. For the visual artistic learners there is the
movie poster and the illustration and graphic design built in to the Literature Circle
Accountability Form. For my students with strength in logic and analysis there are
quickwrites about the nature of happiness and societal conditioning. And for the
linguistic learners there are written responses. The final writing assessment may prove a
challenge to some of my English Learners, but I’ve provided many other assessment tools
for them to demonstrate their content knowledge. The prompt is not overly academic and
should not prove to be too intimidating for them. I specifically chose content standards
for this unit that would address reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and I feel that
I’ve designed lessons that teach to each of these areas.
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