Future Worlds: Dystopian

Literature Circles
Grade: 7 / Class: 7A & 7C / English Language Arts
March 10, 2015 April 26, 2015
Teacher: Kait Turnbull
Teacher Associate: Carrie Netzel
School: RI Baker

Table of Contents
Personal Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Unit Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Unit Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Resources / Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Objectives / Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Learning Activities / Instructional Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unit at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Assessment and Evaluation Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Extension Enrichment / Special Considerations / Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Connections to Other Areas (Curriculum / LA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Bulletin Board & Display Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Appendices
Appendix A: Lesson Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Appendix B: Evaluation Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Appendix C: Other Teaching Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Appendix D: Student Exemplars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Personal Philosophy
I believe that in order to provide effective and successful teaching within English
Language Arts a teacher must include the following elements in each of their units:
1.

Student involvement

2.

Variety in lessons

3.

Teacher participation

Student Involvement:
I believe that involving students in assessment is one of the key ways to promote success
in the classroom. Students can be involved in assessment in a variety of ways: through self and
peer-assessment, through helping create rubrics by brainstorming assessment criteria, and by
having students help generate examination questions. According to Kari Smith (2009),
assessment becomes a learning tool when students are involved in the process (p. 1-2). The
effectiveness of student involvement in assessment results from an increased motivation in
students. Students who are involved in the assessment process are able to learn by repeatedly
reviewing the material, and often feel a sense of pride that pushes them to work harder because
they helped create the assessment material (Smith, p. 2). In my own unit, I plan on involving
students in assessment by allowing them to help me create rubrics for our summative
assessments. I will also involve students in assessment by having them fill out self-assessments
throughout the unit, and engage in peer-evaluation for the final project.
Variety in Lessons:
In order to help keep students engaged and interested in class, I plan on having variety in
my lessons. I have planned my unit in a manner that a class should constitute of several 15-20
minute activities, rather than dedicating entire classes to lecture or silent reading. I believe that

changing the activities throughout class will keep my student fresh and attentive. If I do see my
students fading in class I plan on using brain-breaks that will get my students up and moving,
even for just a few minutes. Not only should variety be provided in lessons, but throughout the
school year. By teaching may different types of units throughout the school year, there is a higher
chance of each student being involved in a unit which they truly enjoy. The reason why I believe
variety is important is because it should help increase student participation and engagement,
while also allowing the opportunity for students to learn something new.
Teacher Participation:
An effective English Language Arts class includes a teacher who is willing to participate
in the class activities. I believe that teachers who participate in class encourage their students to
participate too. For example, if students are reading, I believe I should also be reading. If I
choose to use my students reading time to complete other tasks such as planning I am only
encouraging my students to complete other tasks besides reading. I believe that teachers must
teach by example. If my students are writing a quick write response, I should write one too and
use it as an exemplar: So what if I make a mistake? Mistakes are okay to make, I just want to
see all of you engaging in writing and trying to improve your craft!
I believe that active participation on the teachers behalf will not only model your
expectations, but also show your students that no one is good at everything, and that making a
mistake is both natural and okay to do.
Bibliography
Smith, K. (2009). From test takers to test makers. Educational Leadership: Multiple Measures,
67(3), 26-30.

Unit Overview
This particular unit is a thematic unit, with the topic of dystopian future worlds. The
central emphasis of the unit will be answered by the following essential questions:

How are the issues of today explored in science fiction?

How close are we to these worlds, and are we doomed to have the same dreadful fate?

Students will understand that science fiction, such as dystopian novels, explores todays issues
by creating worlds in which our seemingly unassuming issues have multiplied into catastrophic
challenges for future generations. Science fiction attempts to bring awareness to todays issues
by showing how disastrous of an effect they could have in the future. Through this, students will
understand that we need to take care of our world so that we do not find ourselves doomed to the
same dreadful fate.
Content will be presented through several approaches, such as: modelled reading,
literature circles, partner trades, and shared reading. Content will also be presented through the
following summative projects: reader response log, visual project (book cover or movie poster)
and a short dystopian story. Content will also be examined through the use of literature, such as:
novels, articles, short stories, and internet research websites.
All six language arts are included in the unit in the following ways:
1. Listen Students will listen to the modelled reading of the anchor text, listen to class
discussions, listen to group discussions and partner trades, as well as listen to various
audio texts and videos.
2. Speak Students will have plenty of opportunity to speak, ask questions, and share ideas.
Speaking will occur during group and class discussions, presentations, gallery walks,
partner sharing, and peer-review sessions.

3. Read Students will be given the opportunity to read almost daily. Students will read
independently in their book clubs, read shared reading texts and articles, read
instructions, and will be reading peers work during peer review sessions. Students will
also be presented with different reading strategies during modelled reading hearings.
4. Write Students will be given the opportunity to write on a daily basis. Writing
opportunity will include: reader response logs, quick writes, jotting discussion sparks,
graffiti responses, visual project text, and the final short story.
5. View Students will be given plenty of opportunity to view different forms of text and
displays. The bulletin board will be filled with visual displays, including: signpost
reading strategies, inquiry questions, dystopian visuals, and dystopian quotes. Students
will also be able to view each others work through presentations, gallery walks, and
peer-review sessions. Quick writes will also be an effective way to incorporate the
language art of viewing. In some quick writes students will be asked to view an image or
picture and make a quick write response or story to go along with the image.
6. Represent Students will be able to represent/communicate ideas and information
through a variety of media, including: reader response logs, the visual project, the short
story project, presentations, quick writes, and graffiti responses.
Unit Rationale
This unit addresses my students interests by choosing a text that they are all interested in:
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. The Scorch Trials is the second book of The Maze Runner
series. My teacher associate just finished reading The Maze Runner to both of my language arts
classes, and the students have requested that she continue reading the series to them. I will be
using The Scorch Trials to both anchor my dystopian literature circle unit, and model reading
techniques to my students. This unit will address my students needs to listen, speak, read,

write, view and represent in order to explore literature, and the perceptions gained through
literature. The students learning needs for this particular unit are summarized by the following
general learning outcomes:
1. Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts,
ideas, feelings and experiences.
2. Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and
respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
3. Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to manage ideas and
information.
4. Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to enhance the clarity
and artistry of communication.
The unit will focus on Alberta Educations first, second, third, and fourth general learning
outcomes, and will use future worlds/ dystopian content to reach these objectives. This content
will be used because it will encourage critical thought on human impact on the future, as well as
on other topics such as: symbolism, government systems, and vocabulary. The content will also
allow students to listen to texts and discussions, speak about texts and their events, read
individually and in partnerships or groups, write short stories and other responses to the
literature, view various related images, and represent content and understanding through quick
writes, visual projects, reader responses, and a short story.
This particular unit connects to my teacher associates previous language arts unit on
short stories through the use of a short story project and short story exemplars such as: Theyre
Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson. The unit also ties into the social studies curriculum through
the mini lesson on government types.

Resources and Materials

In order to implement this thematic unit, the following resources and materials will be
used:
Anchor Text for Modelled Reading:

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Literature Circle Texts (Grouped according to Fountas and Pinnell reading levels):

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman (for students above reading level

Level Z)
Dark Life by Kat Falls (for students at reading level Level W/X)
Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes (for students approaching reading level

Level U/V)
Take Over by Vicki Blum (for students below reading level Level T)

Teaching Resources and Materials:

Theyre Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson (Short story)

The Robots Among Us (digital and print article from Scholastic)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Divergent by Veronica Roth (dystopian

exemplars)
The Maze Runner Official movie trailer (YouTube)
The Scorch Trials book trailer from jamesdashner.com
Materials such as: SmartBoard, Microsoft Powerpoint, duotangs, discussion sparks

worksheets, and short story organizers

Scholastic Stepping Up with Literacy Place Teacher Guide to literature circles
The Institute A Dystopian Short Film YouTube (by a high school student)

Websites Consulted / Used:

jamesdashner.com
scholastic.ca
pinterest.com
education.alberta.ca
Objectives and Goals

The units intended learning outcomes and related provincial curriculum/Program of

Studies can be found in the Assessment and Evaluation Plan

Learning Activities and Instructional Strategies

Introductory Activities:
The students first exposure to the unit will be through a partner trade graffiti response.
The students will be making graffiti responses on a large sheet of paper to the following
statement: Our book club unit is going to be on other future worlds. We will be reading and
talking about how the issues of today might have an impact on our future. For example, the
garbage we produce today could overwhelm our world . . . like in Disneys movie Wally. I would
like you to think about some of todays issues and how they could impact our future. Please
write, draw, and graffiti your responses on the large pieces of paper provided. We will then
review The Maze Runner using the movie trailer and student responses/discussion, then move
into talking about The Scorch Trials and making predictions about the units anchor text.
The activities used to introduce the unit will include: graffiti response to the issues
science fiction may explore, modelled reading with the anchor text, partner trades, discussions,
reader responses to the texts (written in a response log), three word reviews, and hashtag
responses. Activities that will build background knowledge and experience include: reviewing
The Maze Runner by watching the movie trailer and discussing the novel, the graffiti response to
todays issues that science fiction may explore, and a mini lesson exploring what the term
dystopia means.
Developmental/On-going Activities:

The primary instructional and learning strategy that will be implemented in the unit is
literature circles. The students will be grouped according to Fountas and Pinnell reading level
results (that my teacher associate is currently completing) and will then be given level
appropriate novels to read. Along with the literature circles, major learning activities will
include: creating a visual project (book cover or movie poster), participating in book club
sessions, filling out an on-going reader response log that includes quick writes, discussion
sparks, hashtag responses, and exit slips, as well as participating in various group and class
discussions. The use of The Scorch Trials as an anchor text for modelled reading will be used
throughout the unit. The major requirements for the unit include a reader response log, a visual
project, and the final project: a short dystopian story.
Culminating Activities:
The content and skills of the unit will be pulled together in the form of a short dystopian
story which will be written by each of the students. In the final project, students should explore
todays issues and how they could impact our future worlds. Students should display an
understanding that we as humans have the potential to assist or hindrance our future world, as
well as showing an understanding of the term dystopia through their storys setting. In order to
bring closure to the unit I will challenge my students by asking if what you see is what you get
is true, and I will challenge them to visualize a positive vison for the future while noting what
must be done in order to create that positive vision. I want to end the unit on a positive note,
telling my students that each of them contain the potential to help create a positive and healthy
world.

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Extension Enrichment / Special Considerations / Differentiation

The units instructional strategy of literature circles allows for the needs of diverse
learners to be met through the use of leveled reading texts and groups according to Fountas and
Pinnells recommendations. The pace of the students reading will also be considered by
assigning pages to read according to what the students should be able to achieve according to
their individual reading levels. The unit also allows for several assignments and activities that
will appeal to different learner types: the visual project is aimed at visual and kinetic learners, the
short story is aimed at reading/writing learners, the reader response is aimed at visual and
reading/writing learners, quick write activities such as writing musical chairs should resonate
with kinetic, aural, visual and reading/writing learners.

I will also be able to differentiate instruction according to my students needs. For

example, I can give advanced warning about questions if needed, or ask for only one example of
a text instead of three if needed. I will be able to more thoroughly differentiate my instruction
after I have been in the classroom for a while and have learned more about my students
individual learning needs.

Connections to Other Areas (Curriculum and Language Arts)

As previously stated, this unit connects to my teacher associates previous short story unit
because this unit makes use of short story exemplars and has a short dystopian story as the units
final project. The unit also relates to my teacher associates on-going focus on modelled reading
because the anchor text, The Scorch Trials, is used to model the different reading strategies that
are available to readers. This unit could also have ties cross-curriculum to social studies because
it touches on different government systems and types in a one day mini lesson.
This unit will also have a few connections to the Information and Communication
Technology curriculum, specifically through the use of the internet to research government types
and systems. When researching, students will meet the following outcomes:
C.1 - Students will access, use and communicate information from a variety of technologies.

3.1
3.2
3.4

plan and conduct a search, using a wide variety of electronic sources

refine searches to limit sources to a manageable number
access and retrieve information through the electronic network

C.2 - Students will seek alternative viewpoints, using information technologies.

3.1

access diverse viewpoints on particular topics by using appropriate technologies

Students will be expected to conduct a search on the internet which refines the results to find
information regarding different government types and systems. Students are expected to find

26

diverse viewpoints from the varying government systems, and attempt to pinpoint which systems
are most likely to exist in a dystopian society.

Bulletin Board & Display Plans

In order to promote visual learning within my classroom, I plan on putting up several
dystopian-themed displays in the classroom, along with displaying the units inquiry questions,
and a variety of reading strategies.
My ideas for the bulletin board and displays are as follows:
The following display will serve as a visual reference for the units inquiry questions. By
displaying the questions on the board, both my students and I will be able to refer to the inquiry
questions during reading, assignment work, and class discussions.

27

How are the issues of today

explored in science fiction?
The
following
display is of
the six

How close are we to these

worlds, and are we doomed to
have the same dreadful fate?

signposts to
notice and note discovered and written about by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst. These
signposts are common in many adolescent texts, and help readers by giving clues about how the
texts characters are changing and what the theme of the book may be. These signposts have been
used by my teacher associate throughout the school year, and I will implement them during the
units modelled reading. I will display this chart to help remind my students what the signposts
are and what each of them means.

28

I also plan on displaying a variety of

dystopian-themed

images

and

quotes

throughout the classroom in order to help my

student formulate an understanding of what a dystopia, or other future
world society, may look like. Here are a few examples of the images
and quotes I would like to display:

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Reflections
In anticipation of my unit, I
would like to take this opportunity to contemplate how this unit
plan will go and the potential short-comings that may occur. In
order to end on a positive note, I would like to begin with the possible short-comings of the unit.
Looking forward I can see that there could be a few problems with the readings.
Unfortunately there are not enough books for each student in book classes to have their own
copy to take home, therefore, the books will have to stay at school and all readings must be done
in class. I am a bit worried that some of the students may not finish all their readings in time for
the unit end. In order to remedy this problem, I have scheduled flex days in my unit at a glance,
and I am also prepared to give five to ten minute reading breaks at the beginning of social class
so that my students can complete their readings.
Along with the number of books, I also see there being a challenge with the books
themselves. Unlike the literature circle we did in our C&I Education course, my students are
given their literature circle books based on reading level, not interest. I am worried that some of
the books may not resonate with their readers due to a lack of interest. If this does occur I plan
on working with the student and my teacher associate to find a suitable solution. Perhaps the
student will be able to read a different dystopian novel that is both interesting to them, and within

30

their Fountas and Pinnell reading level. Issues such as these will be evaluated on a case by case
basis.
While my first two potential issues have to do with the units resources, the third issue
that may arise is associated with environment. I am worried about getting my students into a
seating arrangement that is conducive to both literature circles and non-language arts classes. My
classroom is rather small for twenty-nine students, so I feel as though finding an effective seating
arrangement could be problematic. I plan on facing this potential issue by discussing more with
my teacher associate, looking online for suggestions, and physically trying different seating
arrangements after-hours in order to determine the best arrangement for my classes.
Other potential road blocks to success include: unexpected events and situations,
mismanagement of time, issues of pacing, classroom management challenges, disorganization,
and behavioural challenges. In order to face these challenges (and create a positive, successful
learning environment) I will make use of organizational resources, ask for help and advice, work
hard to establish positive working relationships, and research different classroom management
strategies.
Now that I have considered the potential short-comings and challenges that my unit may
face, I would like to consider its potential successes. I believe that heading into the unit aware of
the challenges that I may face is the first step toward success. By taking the time to consider
what might go wrong, I have provided myself with the opportunity to deliberate on how I would
handle such challenges. I believe that using a text that my students are interested in to anchor my
unit will help my unit be successful. The students greatly enjoyed The Maze Runner; therefore,
they have a vested interest in the series. By using a text my students enjoy I will be more likely
to have involved learners, which should lead to a more successful unit. I also believe that using

31

books that fit with the students reading levels will make the units books more accessible to all
learners. I want all of my students to achieve in their literary journey, and if they have books that
they can comprehend, it is more likely that my students will comprehend the unit as a whole.
Not only to I see success coming from the units texts, but also from the instructional
strategy implemented. I believe literature circles are a wonderful way to make learning more
accessible and more engaging. My students will be given the opportunity to read their own
books, hear about other groups books, hear the anchor text, and participate in a wide variety of
learning activities. The group work that accompanies literature circles allows students to peerteach through discussion and activity-based learning. It is my hope that the opportunity for peerteaching and peer-learning will create a more informal and interactive learning environment than
the environment that traditionally accompanies single-text novel studies.
There may be many challenges and short-comings facing my unit, but I believe that the
units greatest asset, the implementation and use of literature circles, will allow for many
successes for both my students and myself throughout the unit.

Appendix A: Lesson Plans

39

Appendix B: Evaluation Instruments

The evaluation instruments for the summative assignments: reader response log, visual
project and summary, and short story will be created with the help and input of my students.
These rubrics, once created, will be added to this appendix.

Self-assessments for the book club, short story, visual project/summary, and the reader
response log will be assessed using the following statements: Not so good, needs work, okay,
great! Each self-assessment will have specific characteristics to be assessed. For example, the
short story self-assessment will have the following characteristics:

I wrote a brief narrative

My narrative covered a short time frame
I provided a slice of life in a future world
I had just a few characters
My dialogue was realistic. It sounded like a real conversation
My dialogue moved the plot along and added interest to the story
I made word choices that added atmosphere and richness to the story (like using juicy

words for said)

My story had a consistent viewpoint (1st person, etc.)
I created an appropriate lead that would draw readers into the story.
I concluded the story in an interesting way.

I have not yet compiled all of my evaluation instruments and tools because I highly value
student involvement in the creation of assessments. I believe students are better prepared and
more aware of assignment expectations and criteria when they are allowed to participate in the
creation process. I plan on asking my students to help me come up with criteria ideas. I will then
use their input along with my own to create my evaluation instruments. All evaluation
instruments will be apprehended to this appendix once they have been formulated. I also plan on
making notes about these instruments to note where improvements can be made.

Appendix C: Other Teaching Resources

Along with my anchor book and book club books, I will be using a variety of literature to
help me teaching this unit plan. As mentioned in the materials and resources section of the plan, I
will be using the following:

40

Theyre Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson (Short story)

The Robots Among Us (digital and print article from Scholastic)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Divergent by Veronica Roth (dystopian

exemplars)
The Maze Runner Official movie trailer (YouTube)
The Scorch Trials book trailer from jamesdashner.com
Materials such as: SmartBoard, Microsoft Powerpoint, duotangs, discussion sparks

worksheets, and short story organizers

Scholastic Stepping Up with Literacy Place Teacher Guide to literature circles
The Institute A Dystopian Short Film YouTube (by a high school student)

The Scholastic Stepping Up with Literacy Place Teacher Guide to literature circles was
given to me by my teacher associate. Our school division, Palliser, has purchased many literacy
kits to help teachers implement literacy in the classroom. I have used this guide to act as a
building block, or foundation, for my unit. The guide showed me how to implement literature
circles, and provided me with the leveled book club books. From there I have planned on my
own. I decided to use The Scorch Trials as an anchor text for my unit because it is dystopian and
because the students just finished reading its successor (The Maze Runner) with Mrs. Netzel. The
Scholastic Stepping Up with Literacy Place Teacher Guide has been wonderful because it gave
me a place to start with my unit, but all of the activities for the class have been of my own
devise.
Along with the Scholastic Stepping Up with Literacy Place Teacher Guide, I will be using
various novels, articles, movie trailers, and short films to help present the units overarching
theme: future worlds: dystopia.

Appendix D: Student Exemplars

41

This is where I will place my students work as exemplars for what we have been doing in the
unit. Student work will be placed here only with permission, under FOIP and other privacy
considerations.