English 9, Week 2

“Amusing Ourselves to Death: Living in the Age of Classic Dystopian

Literature”: Fahrenheit 451 excerpts

TUESDAYNo school Monday

each of the girls did her homework

Copy the sentence above into the second page of your spiral and then label the parts of speech:

• noun, • pronoun (type and

case), • verb (type and tense),

• adverb, • adjective, • preposition, • conjunction (type), • gerund, • participle, • infinitive, • article

Target for Tuesday

• Target: I will learn the definitions of “utopia” and “dystopia.”– Conditions: I will read the opening pages of

Fahrenheit 451 and discuss whether this fits the qualities of utopia or dystopia.

– Criteria: completes a pre-reading inspectional outline, and shows textual evidence to show whether this is utopia or dystopia

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Warm Up

1. Watch the video.2. How do you

define “utopia” and “dystopia”?

3. What books or movies have you read that fit these descriptions?

4. Share.

Pre-Reading Inspectional Outline• These are the four

texts we are reading (excerpts only from all but Anthem).

• In your group, complete the inspectional outline for the book you’ve been given.

• Discuss.

Taking High School Notes

• In your English section of your 3-ring binder, create a divider for Anthem Unit Notes.

• I’m going to show you a method of note-taking that you may use in all of your high school classes: Cornell-style notes.

• Get out a blank sheet of loose-leaf paper to take your first notes. Set up the page to mimic the note page on the next slide.

Cornell Notes

How can we define science fiction?

• The literature of change.• Sci Fi asks, “What if . . .”• It describes the impact of technology or

science on people in the future.• It explores alternate realities.• Though it is a genre of fiction, it is connected

with the principles of science.

Setting

Science fiction typically removes the reader from the currently-known world. Instead it may be set in one of the following:• The future• In space• On a different world• In a different universe or dimension

Other names or related genres

Science Fiction is also commonly known as the following• Speculative fiction• Futuristic fiction• A sub-genre of fantastics or fantasy fiction• Closely related to fantasy (magic is a central

element), horror, and classical romance.

A general timeline of classics and their authors

1818: Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley1864: Journey to the Center of the

Earth, by Jules Verne1898: War of the Worlds, by H.G.

Wells1932: Brave New World, by Aldous

Huxley1938: Anthem, Ayn Rand1949: 1984, by George Orwell1953: Fahrenheit 451, by Ray

Bradbury

1965: Dune, by Frank Herbert1979: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the

Galaxy, by Douglas Adams1985: Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott

Card1990: Jurassic Park, by Michael

Crichton2008: The Hunger Games, by

Suzanne Collins2011: Divergent, by Veronica Roth

Ray Bradbury• An American author, playwright and icon

BASIC BIO

Born in August 1920 in Waukegan, Ill. Graduated from high school in Los Angeles, ending his formal education. Sold newspapers on L.A. street corners for four years before becoming a full time writer in 1943. First gained fame with The Martian Chronicles, published

in 1950, which “ describes the first attempts ofEarth people to conquer and colonize Mars” (Ray Bradbury).

Beyond the bio Found inspiration in space exploration, his birthplace of Waukegan, and Los Angeles, where he did most of his writing.

“I received so much inspiration from (Los Angeles) that it is a wonderful feeling to be a permanent part of my hometown,” Bradbury said after being honored with a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood (Wong).

Blended science fiction with technology and critiques of society, affecting communities across the country.

“We want to make our city the best it can be. By reading great literary works like Ray Bradbury's we can foster dialogue among our city's diverse groups, and we can create a community that's unmatched by any in this great nation,” said L.A. Mayor James Hahn (Wong).

Beyond the bio Wrote to improve humanity and human conditions on earth, including education and literacy.

"I'm working to prevent a future where there's no education," Bradbury said from his Los Angeles home. "The system we have has gone to hell, so I'm trying to encourage teachers and parents to rebuild it. We're not teaching kids to read and write and think” (Moore).

Used futuristic imagery and various environments to affect people’s thoughts.

"He's always been a writer who wanted to improve the human condition by showing the way people really behave," colleague Ben Bova said. "He's not interested in rocket ships and ray guns except as a means of putting people in a different milieu” (Moore).

THE MODERN SCI-FI MOVEMENT Began in the U.S. in the mid-1950s, prompted by end of World War II. Born from the post-Depression era, when Americans began using more technology, including TVs, and became interested in the space race with the former Soviet Union. Included social commentary on technological changes and the dangers technology presents.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, 1953. Print.Bradford, Tom. “Review.” Chicago Review 22.2/3 (1971). 160-166. Web. 12 June 2010.Clark, Tracy. "Ray Bradbury: Overview." Contemporary Popular Writers. Ed. Dave Mote. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 June 2010.Crane, Stephen. “The Open Boat.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New

York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007. 1000-1016. Print.Gaines, John. “A History of Science Fiction: Ray Bradbury & Arthur C. Clarke.” Librarypoint. 3 Feb. 2010.

Web.Harper Collins Publisher. “The Bradbury Chronicles.” Harper Collins, n.d. Web. 10 June 2010.Mesic, Penelope. “Cosmic Ray.” Book Magazine. Dec. 1998/Jan. 1999. Web.Moore, Roger. “Ray Bradbury Can Still Burn Through Paper.” The Orlando Sentinel. 20 Aug. 2000. Web.Ray Bradbury. Harper Collins and Authors on the Web, 1998. Web. 12 June 2010.Rockwood, Bruce. “Law, Literature and Science Fiction: New Possibilities.” Legal Studies Forum. 23.3 (1999). 267-279. Web.Smigelski, Joseph. Letter. The Huffington Post. 8 June 2010. Web. 12 June 2010.Sullivan, Anita. “Ray Bradbury and Fantasy.” The English Journal. 61.9 (1972). 1309-1314. Web. 12 June 2010.“The 2007 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Special Awards and Citations.” Pulitzer.org. Pulitzer, n.d. Web. 12 June 2010.Wong, Julie. “Ray Bradbury Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.” Office of Mayor James Hahn. 1

April 2002. Web. 14 June 2010.

Works cited

WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAYBlock Schedules

each of the girls did her homework

Wed/Thurs Part 1• Identify sentence parts– Subject– Verb (transitive or

intransitive)– Direct object– Indirect object– Predicate nominative– Predicate adjective– Appositive/phrase

– Prepositional phrase (adjective or adverb)

– Gerund phrase– Infinitive phrase– Participial phrase– Object of preposition– Object of infinitive– Object of gerund– Object of participle

each of the girls did her homework

Wed/Thurs, Part 2• Identify clauses and

sentence type– Independent– Adverb dependent– Adjective dependent– Noun dependent

– Simple– Compound– Complex– Compound-complex

District Writing Assessment

• Take the district pre-test.• Note: scoring will be completed on all

categories of the rubric this year.• When you have finished, read “Harrison

Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and answer the questions.

FRIDAY

each of the girls did her homework

Friday, Part 1• Add punctuation and

capitalization– Commas– Semicolons– Apostrophes– Underlining– Quotation marks

– End marks

each of the girls did her homework

Friday, Part 2• Diagram the

sentence

Target for Friday

• Target: I will learn about the role of firefighters in the futuristic Fahrenheit 451.– Conditions: I will read the first 10 pages of F451.– Criteria: accurately complete the exit slip

explaining why “it was a pleasure to burn”

Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Warm Up

• Watch the film trailer. • What do firefighters do?

Warm Up

• Watch the movie trailer for Fahrenheit 451.• What do firefighters do? Can you tell?

Fahrenheit 451

• Read excerpt #1 of Fahrenheit 451: pages 3-13.

• What do firefighters do?• Identify and describe:

– Guy Montag– Clarisse McClellan.

• What smelled like perfume to Montag?

• Clarisse asked Montag if he was happy. Was he?

Exit Slip

• What does it mean, “It was a pleasure to burn”?