Science Fiction – Genre
Lesson Plan #1: Craft Example
I.
Summary: Students will be introduced to the genre of Science Fiction Literature
together with appropriate and real-life parallels for relating its study to
future technological advances and corresponding ethical implications. Critical analysis skills will be developed as
young adolescents are empowered to choose readings that they find meaningful or
relevant to either present or future realities.
II. Getting started/warm up: “Yesterday’s science fiction could become today’s reality….. “ (written on board)
Students will begin this unit by discussing Science Fiction and working towards an operational definition of which there are many:
Sample: “Science Fiction is a form of fiction which deals principally with the impact of imagined science and/or technology upon society or individuals. Sometimes the characters involved are not even human, but are imagined aliens or other products of Earth evolution. The term is more generally used to refer to any literary fantasy that includes a scientific factor as an essential orienting component, and even more generally used to refer to any fantasy at all. Such literature may consist of a careful and informed extrapolation of scientific facts and principles, or it may range into far-fetched areas flatly contradictory of such facts and principles.”
Using the following passage as a springboard, discuss as a class, examples of science fiction predictions that have in time come into existence through the advancement of science. 15 min
The
plotlines of the last decade's SF is the stuff of headlines today. Genomes are
deciphered, lifespans of 130 years promised, sheep (and cats and mice and dogs
and cows) are cloned (and does anyone expect the first cloned baby to be far
off?). Schoolkids trundle off to class with notebooks running ten times the
computational power it took to put a man on the Moon. Wireless Internet is
common enough to become grist for stand-up comics. Engineers use virtual worlds
to evolve new tool designs through a sort of artificial Darwinism.
"Napster fabbers," machines which can turn out simple models of
three-dimensional objects using lasers and gels, promise to do for simple
material goods what their namesake did for music. Globalization is so pervasive
that college students from
III. Review from previous day: “Yesterday, I asked you to go home and think of all the books and/or movies that you would consider to be classified as science fiction. You were encouraged to discuss this with other students/family members and bring in a list today. Let’s go over what you came up with. Who wants to start?” 15 min
IV.
Lesson
Plan: “Let’s brainstorm about
all of the significant recurring issues/themes that fall into the general
science fiction category.”
o
“First let’s read the handout together discussing the main types
of science fiction. As we go along if you think of any examples from your lists
that would fit into each category, raise your hand and we will discuss them
within each context.” 20 min
List all the themes/issues that come up during this
discussion on the board.
o
“What do you think the
criteria would be for good vs. bad science fiction stories?” 15 min
o
“Here are two handouts; the first is a general presentation of
ideas to consider when deciding what makes a science fiction text good. The second is a list of short stories that
fall into the general science fiction genre.” break
o
“Your assignment for the remainder of the class period (which will
be in the computer lab or the resource files) is to research and explore more
about each story and pick one to read and review. Each of you will then next week do an oral 5
minute presentation to the class discussing:
-
Why did you pick this selection?
-
Did you think it was good or bad?
Why?
-
How does this selection rate in terms of the handout about what
makes for a good piece of science fiction?” 30 min
V.
Points/Objectives
of lesson:
NCSCS – Language Arts
Competency Goal 4.02 Develop and apply
appropriate criteria to evaluate the quality of communication/text.
Competency
Goal 4.03 Recognize and develop a stance of a critic by: i) considering
alternative points of view or reasons, ii) remaining fair-minded and open to
other interpretations.
Competency
Goal 5.01 Increase fluency,
comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive reading
program by i) using effective reading strategies to match type of text, ii)
reading self-selected literature, and iii) recognizing underlying messages in
order to identity recurring themes across works.
Competency
Goal 5.02 Study the characteristics of literary genres.
NCTE/IRA Standards
1. Students read a wide range of print to build
an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the
2. Students read a wide range of literature from
many periods in many genres to build and understand many dimensions (e.g.,
philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
4. Students adjust their use of spoken language
to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences for a variety of
purposes (summative assessment – oral reports/critiques).
8. Students use a variety of technological and
informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video)
to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
11. Students participate as knowledgeable,
reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literary
communities.
Evaluation- No specific formal
assessment on this day other than that each student is expected to participate
in the discussion and to genuinely research the short stories during the
classroom/lab time allotted. The summative assessment for this unit will
be the individual student oral presentations based on a critique of their
unique selections from a provided list of Science Fiction short stories.
VI. Materials needed:
·
Types of Science Fiction - Handout
·
What Makes for Good Science Fiction? - Handout
·
Access to Internet and other in-class background resources
pertaining to readings.
·
Selected List of Science Fiction Short Stories - Handout
VII. Guided Practice (teacher/student): “The category I think I would enjoy most is soft science fiction with an emphasis on how technological developments are now current social-ethical realities or soon will be. For example, I like reading fiction about genetic selection. This is an example of a topic I am interested in exploring because, as a society, we are struggling with collective technological vs. ethical questions and health care decisions today that we hopefully will not regret later.”
VIII. Independent Practice (student): “Using the provided list of science fiction short stories, we will now go into the computer lab to explore more about these selections so that each of you will be able to select one to read and critique later during our unit. Keep notes as to why you are choosing a particular selection to review. Are there any questions?”
IX.
Closure/Expectations
(tomorrow’s class): “Tomorrow we will
start reading together in book groups one of my favorite science fiction short
books, The Green Book. I think
you will find it a relatively easy read, but very enjoyable. If you are having problems choosing your
short story selection, please let me know and I will make an appointment with
you tomorrow to speak with you individually.”
References
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/sciencefiction.htm
http://www.mcfly.org/en/Science_fiction
http://phobos.ramapo.edu/%7Ekfowler/sftorals
http://orion.ramapo.edu/%7Ekfowler/sftorals.html
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1987/2/87.02.04.x.html
Kay, A.L. and Michael Golden, “Science Fiction across the Curriculum”, Learning, v20, n4, pp40-43, Nov-Dec, 1991.
* The remaining two lessons
include more student scripting, but for this introductory lesson the questions
are very open-ended and the student responses could vary widely.