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General Curriculum Outcomes (Grade 12)

5- Students will be expected to interpret, select, and combine information using a variety of
strategies, resources, and technologies
7- Students will be expected to respond critically to a range of texts, applying their understanding
of language, form, and genre
8- Students will be expected to use writing and other forms of representation to explore, clarify,
and reflect on their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and learnings; and to use their imaginations
Specific Curriculum Outcomes (for English 12)
12.5.1- Access, select, and research, in systematic ways, specific information to meet personal
and individual learning needs
12.7.1- Critically evaluate the information they access
12.7.2- Show the relationships among language, topic, purpose, context, and audience

Note the relationship of specific elements of a particular text to elements of other texts
Describe, discuss and evaluate the language, ideas, and other significant characteristics of
a variety of texts and genres

12.8.1- Use writing and other ways of representing to explore, extend, and reflect on

Their experiences with challenging texts and issues

The writing processes and strategies they use
The basis for their feelings, values and attitudes

Teacher Goal- The purpose of this unit is to teach students about the sub-genre of science
fiction that is known as speculative fiction. A speculative fiction novel is one that tells the story
of the future with a twist- some kind of major societal change which can often seem
overwhelming. These novels can range anywhere from supernatural societies to overturned
governments. Within this unit plan, students will be given the opportunity to find at least 2
speculative fiction novels to learn about futuristic writing and how this kind of writing comes to
be. Students will then be required to write their own short stories about the future with some
sense of speculation to show they understand how authors create realistic but yet fictional
elements for the dystopian future in their story.
Context- A two week period, consisting of 12- 1 hour classes. These classes will be divided into
some reading classes, discussion classes and finally writing classes. The students will be required
to read two novels from the suggested list of readings and discuss why the presence of certain
elements are important. The unit plan will be concluded with a writing assignment for the
students to create their own dystopian future like the ones they have read in their novels.
Speculative fiction novels

The Handmaids Tale- Margaret Atwood

Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
Enders Game- Orson Scott Card
The Giver- Lois Lowry
The Shape of Things to Come- H.G. Wells
1984- George Orwell
Oryx and Crake- Margaret Atwood
The Man in the High Castle- Philip K. Dick
World War Z- Max Brooks

Day 1 lesson:
Discussion about what speculative fiction is. This class will include a lecture period in which the
teacher will provide the students with a description of what speculative fiction is and how it
plays into the genre of science fiction as a whole.
Science fiction: is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginative content such as futuristic settings,
futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel
universes and extraterrestrial life. It often explores the potential consequences of scientific and
other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas
Speculative fiction: is a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural,
fantastical, and futuristic elements
These definitions show the specifications of speculative fiction as a piece of writing within the
larger genre of science fiction as it does not have to include any of the elements of science,
technology, space or time travel, or any extraterrestrial life- although some novels may include
these elements. The defining factor of speculative fiction is the futuristic elements that provide
a story of a futuristic world.
After identifying what speculative fiction is, students will be asked to discuss within the class
that role speculative fiction has in modern culture. The main example that may be heard is The
Hunger Games series or the Divergent series, as they depict future societies after a world-altering
war or act of destruction. This will help students develop a modern understanding of speculative
fiction as depicted in current books and film.

The class will conclude with the choosing of two books from the designated list of novels given
at the beginning of the class. If a student has a suggestion for a different book (other than Hunger
Games and Divergent as these books were discussed in the class), then they can bring it forward
to the teacher for approval. These two books will be their main assignment for the remainder of
the unit plan.
Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4:
Designated reading days for the first book in their study. Students will be given this time to read
and record their thoughts from the first book they have chosen. Students will be asked to record
any parts of their novel that they find interesting, but to pay the closest attention to the details
describing the futuristic society that is depicted in their stories. Students will be asked to record
what aspects of society are described and what they think about these elements of the story. This
will be used in the discussion on day 5.
Day 5:
This class will be used to discuss some of the key elements students have discovered in their
futuristic societies. Within groups of students who read the same book, they will discuss why
they believe the author created that society the way that he/she did. They will be asked to
consider these questions:

What was the society like? Was the new society a positive one or a negative one?
What role did the protagonist play in the story? Were they an active member in
supporting this society, or were they against it?
How did the general population react to the protagonist? Was there blind faith in the
system that surrounded them?
What was the outcome of the future society?
Did the future society remind you of anything? Were there any aspects of this society that
seem to be inspired from somewhere else in history?
And finally, do you think this society is something that is realistic? Is it possible that this
society could develop in our future?

These questions are meant to get students thinking about why speculative fiction is written the
way that it is. They will have to ask themselves what kind of possibilities can be in store for
future societies. They will also learn how speculation often comes from personal beliefs
regarding the past and how it influences the future. Students will need to look at why authors
speculate their future histories as possibilities.
For example, The Handmaids Tale tells of a radical Christian theocracy taking over the United
States, and students may come to understand how this could happen through the history of
radical Christian action in the USA and their current hardline views towards certain politics.
1984 is another example where many people believe the theory of Big Brother is happening
throughout the world now as government surveillance is seen in dozens of countries.

Day 6, Day 7 and Day 8:

This is the second week of the assignment. Students will begin reading their second book after
discussing the question previously outlined on day 5. When reading their second book, the
students will be expected to consider these questions, but also consider the differences between
their first book and the one they are currently reading. They will need to record answers to the
following example questions:

What is similar between the first and second book? What makes them different?
How is the protagonist portrayed differently? Are they similar or different?
Is this book any more plausible than the last? Why or why not?

Students will be able to read the second novel with the previous knowledge of speculation and
plausible circumstances which may help them understand more about the development of the
futuristic society presented in the second book. Students will be expected to have the questions
answered for the first and second book when they come into their final project.
Day 9, Day 10 and Day 11:
On day 9, students will begin drafting their own futuristic societies such as the ones they have
learned about in their two novels. Since time is short, students will not need to create entire
characters and stories but merely a draft of a future society. They will need to pick the country
they would like to place their society in, decide the government style and any significant aspects
that differentiates this new society from the one in which we live in. The students should make
some specific predictions about what goes on in the future and how the society came to this
place- whether through war, governmental takeover or economic collapse. These future societies
need to be prepared for the twelfth and final day.
Day 12:
The final day of the unit will be spent in discussion with students about their future societies.
They will be placed in small groups to eliminate social anxiety of presenting in front of the class.
Within each group, students will discuss what they have created and how it will come to be.
Other classmates will be given the opportunity to contribute some aspects to their classmates
societies and provide positive support of each others writing.
The students will conclude the unit with a group discussion on what they have learned from this
unit and how they have come to understand the role of speculation in literature.