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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





8. Unit Assessment Tools p. 32

8. Final Written Assessment and Rubric p. 33

9. Unit Planning Commentary p. 34

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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.

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• 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.

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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.

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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.

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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



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:


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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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



Agenda: 1) Journal – quickwrite, 2) Class Discussion, 3) BNW Survivor, 4) Discuss who

won. Why?



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:


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.

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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.

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DAILY LESSON PLAN



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:


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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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VOCABULARY BINGO

B I N G O

26

DAILY LESSON PLAN



Agenda: 1) Gattaca questions, 2) Expert groups, 3) Home groups, 4) Class discussion



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:


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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