DAY 3

Behaviorist Lesson Plan:

CREATING DYSTOPIAN WORLDS: HOW BRADBURY INTRODUCES THE SOCIETY OF ​F451

Teacher Thinking… Students and Teacher doing…

Lesson Plan Element: Anticipatory Set
How will I get students’ Part I​ of the “Creating Dystopian Worlds” handout
attention and focus their ● In lieu of a journal entry today, the students will be
learning? accessing their prior knowledge and brainstorming a list
of characteristics found in dystopian societies.
● They will start by writing out a list on their own, and then
we will come together as a class to collaborate.

This brainstorming exercise will focus the students’ attention on

the qualities that authors include in their work that makes their
texts distinctly dystopian. These are going to be the aspects we
keep coming back to throughout the lesson today. This will also
get students to pause and think back over what they have already
read and learned about how authors create dystopian worlds.1

Objective and Purpose

State the ABCD learning
objective (s) and the
purpose for learning. How
many do I need?
Lesson Objective(s):
1) Students will identify dystopian society characteristics in
pages 1-28 of ​Fahrenheit 451​ and cite textual evidence
that illustrates these characteristics.
2) Students will more closely examine the methods used by
Bradbury to set the stage for his novel and compare his
methods to those of other authors.

Lesson Purpose(s):
1) By citing textual evidence to illustrate the presence of
these dystopian characteristics, students will practice
using the text to support claims.
2) By more closely examining the methods used by other
authors to create their dystopian worlds, students can
begin to think about how their own writing styles and
methods compare as they look toward writing their own
dystopian short story.

1
​A good source when talking about what authors do to create their dystopian worlds and will be helpful when
students begin writing their own dystopian stories: ​How to Build a Dystopian World. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from
https://nybookeditors.com/2016/02/how-to-build-a-dystopian-world/

What kind of information
must I provide so students
can meet the objective?
What ways might I show the As we move into ​Part III​ of the “Creating Dystopian Worlds”
students the process or skill? handout, I will model an example for the students using “The
What errors and
misunderstandings do I
anticipate? How might I
correct them?
How will I monitor their
progress? Will this be
informal or formal?
Individual or whole group?
Input/direct instruction
Most of the direct instruction will have taken place prior to this
lesson. Students will be pulling from previous instruction on the
characteristics that define a dystopia as well as the elements that
make up a story's exposition.
Prior to this lesson, I will also have taught them about pulling
textual evidence from the text and citing it to support claims.
Modeling (I Do)
Veldt,” another Bradbury text they will have read previously in
the course. As I go through the process of identifying the
characteristic and citing the textual evidence that supports it, I
will vocalize my internal dialogue so students can follow along
and copy the example on their own handout.
EXAMPLE:
Dystopian Textual Support How Do You Know?
Characteristic(s)
Advanced “They walked The name “HappyLife”
technology; down the hall of suggests that the people
Appearance of their HappyLife who purchase it believe
perfect society; Home, which it will improve their life
futuristic had cost them and their happiness.
thirty thousand Also, a house that does
dollars with all of your chores for
everything you and looks out for
included. This your well-being sounds
house which like something from a
clothed and fed “perfect” world. While
and rocked them we have some automated
to sleep and tools now, this house is
played and sand definitely more advanced
and was good to than currently exists.
them” (1).
Checking for Understanding
While the students are working in their small groups on ​Part III
of the handout, I will be walking around and listening in on the
conversations and discussions taking place. When we come
together as a group for discussion, I will continue to gauge their
 understanding informally. When they turn in the handout after all
parts are completely, I will be able to individually and more
formally evaluate their understanding.

Guided Practice (We Do)

What kinds of practice
problems might I provide
for the skills being taught?
How can I organize them so
they vary in complexity?
We will then do a second example together, again using “The
Veldt” as our text since all the students will already have this
story in their binders, easily accessible. I will continue to vocalize
my own thoughts as I record their suggestions and we complete
an example together.2

Independent Practice (You Do)

What kinds of work should
students practice
independently toward
mastery? Will this be done
in class or for homework?
Students will complete ​Part III ​in small groups and Part IV
entirely on their own during class.
The annotations assignments for​ t​ he novel the students are
completing throughout this unit will help solidify their looking to
the text for support to claims and improve their close reading
skills.3

Evaluation and Closure

What should I remind them
of that we covered during
the lesson? How will I do
one last check for
understanding?
As we wrap up the “Creating Dystopian Worlds” assignment and
move into the novel reading portion of the class, I will recap what
we discussed about the dystopian characteristics that are most
prevalent in ​F451 ​thus fair and encourage them to continue to
notice these elements as we continue reading on. I will suggest
that they continue identifying places in the text where Bradbury is
presenting these key dystopian characteristics and how he does
so.

They will also be required to address another example like the

ones from today’s lesson as part of their Discussion Board #1
post for homework.4

Notes: ​This lesson was adapted from a lesson I originally created to compare Bradbury and
Collins (the beginning of ​F451​ and ​The Hunger Games​) for an interview with CECFC.
Time and Space: ​94 minutes; Desks will be adjusted to accommodate four groups

2
Dewey (2015)
3
Langer (2011)
4
The idea to replace traditional reading quizzes with discussion board posts serves multiple purposes: discussion
boards allow for more discussion in general, and provide students with a chance to continue conversations started in
class as well as start new conversations on the topics of their choosing in a setting that might be less stressful and
give less assertive students a chance to have their voice heard (​Walsh-Moorman, 2016). Additionally, switching out
reading quizzes for discussion boards aligns with my goal to have this unit be strongly discussion-based, and
students will still be held accountable for completing the assigned reading.
Materials: ​Journal Prompt Ppt, Creating Dystopian Worlds handout, Discussion Board #1
Assignment, Discussion Board Grading Rubric

 
Logistics/Ops

Materials:​ Journal Prompt Ppt, Creating Dystopian Worlds handout, Discussion Board #1
Assignment, Discussion Board Grading Rubric
Space:​ Desks will be adjusted to accommodate four groups

Activity Time Description: What will I do? What will students do?
Review: How can I formatively assess that students met the
learning targets while getting them to capture their thinking?

Journal 0 min Part I of “Creating Dystopian Worlds” handout will serve as

today’s journal.

Creating 60 min 1) Instead of a journal entry today, we will complete ​Part I

Dystopian of the handout “Creating Dystopian Worlds.” After
Worlds students have been given time to brainstorm individually,
we will come together as a class and share our ideas on
the characteristics that define a dystopian world. Students
will add to their list as they hear others’ ideas. ​(10
minutes)
2) Next, is ​Part II​, we will review as a class the main
components of a story's exposition and how an author
presents these elements. Students will record the
elements as we review them. ​(5 minutes)
3) For ​Part III​, the class will be divided into four groups of
five [I would probably try to compose each group of a
couple more proficient students with a couple more
emerging students.] Each group will be assigned a
section from the beginning of each of the two novels:
Group 1: Pages 1-7
Group 2: Pages 8-14
Group 3: Pages 15-21
Group 4: Pages 22-28
4) Before turning them loose, I will model an example for
them from “The Veldt,” another Bradbury text they have
read earlier in the year.​ (5 minutes)
 5) Each group will complete Part III together and fill out the
chart. Teachers will walk around checking in and offering
help. ​(20 minutes)
6) Share out: After completing Part III in their small groups,
we will come together as a class and share the evidence
we have found. Each group will share their two
best/favorite examples. Students are encouraged to make
notes of evidence presented by other groups and need to
make sure that they have at least three examples for each
novel. ​(10 minutes)
7) Next, students will complete ​Part IV​ individually.
Students will have until the end of class to complete this
part, staple it to the handout, and get the entire packet
turned in. ​(10 minutes)
8) Turn in before we begin reading together.

Read novel 20 min I will read aloud while the students follow along.
Students should be working on their Part 1 Annotations
Assignment as they come across particularly effective uses of
literary devices.

Explain and 10 min ● Explain the logistics of using the discussion board
Assign platform.
Discussion ● Distribute grading rubrics and go over the requirements
Board #15 ● Distribute Discussion Board #1 assignment and answer
any questions.

Homework 1 min -Finish reading p. 29-65

-Complete Part 1 Annotations handout (due Tuesday at the
beginning of class)
-Complete Discussion Board #1 (due Monday at 11:59pm)

Exit Ticket 0 min Part IV of “Creating Dystopian Worlds” handout will serve as
today’s exit ticket.

5
Note: Specifics in terms of what discussion board platform will be used and the amount of extra credit to be issued
on the discussion board assignment would be determined by the specific school I would be teaching in.