ENDER’S

GAME
LESSON 1
1985
Orson Scott Card
Military Science Fiction

lesson plan by Robert A Taylor

LESSON 1
OBJECTIVES
• Students will be introduced to the
background, setting and historical context of
the novel.

• Students will explore the author’s biography

and critical reception of their work.

• Students will analyze and discuss the

significance of the genre.

• Students will discuss chapters 1.

WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION?
Edwin Abbott Abbott was an English schoolmaster, theologian, and
Anglican priest, best known as the author of the novella Flatland. He
was born in London and educated at the City of London School and
at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he took the highest honours
of his class in classics, mathematics and theology, and became a
fellow of his college.

He retired in 1889, and devoted himself to literary and theological

pursuits. Abbott’s liberal inclinations in theology were prominent
both in his educational views and in his books. His Shakespearian
Grammar
(1870) is a permanent contribution to English philology. In 1885, he
published a life of Francis Bacon. His theological writings include
three anonymously published religious romances – Philochristus
(1878), where he tried to raise interest in Gospels reading, Onesimus
(1882), and Silanus the Christian (1908).
 COURSE CONTENT PLAN

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4

Novel setting, background,
historical and literary context,
author biography, critical recep-
tion and genre analysis.
Symbolism
Science Fiction
Chapters 1.
Write an Expository Essay. Gathering evidence and then Symbolism. Critical thinking
Annotation using it to describe a charac- to discover significant quotes
Futurism ter’s traits and significance. linked to novel’s themes.
Essay 1 Theme 1: Humans’ Inhumanity Essay 2
Chapters 2-4 Chapters 5-6 Chapters 7-8

Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Lesson 8

Symbols continued: signify
ideas and qualities, by giving
them symbolic meanings that
are different from their literal
sense. Significance on novel
Chapters 9-10
Close textual analysis, content Meta-analysis: author’s purpose
and style. and intention. Comparisions to
Theme 2: Power of Technology other Sci-fi and the furthering
Essay 3 of the Genre plus the Movie
Chapters 11-12 Theme 3:Duality
chapter 13
Final overview, novel’s themes
and philosophical questions
on symbolism and use of liter-
ary themes. Student reflection.
Students share their Quote,
Theme, Symbol, and Character
analysis. Discussion
Final Essay
Chapters 14-15
COURSE OBJECTIVES

• • Students will read Ender’s Game

• • Students will study and discuss the pre-

outlined text in a literary manner.

• • Students will analyze and interpret the

text for literary devices, deeper meanings and
context.

• • Students will do fill in the organizers for

analysis and discussion.

• • Students will use the Expository writing

style.

• • Students will partake in chapter

discussions.
ABOUT THE BOOK
• Ender’s Game is a 1985 military science fiction
novel by American author Orson Scott Card.
Set at an unspecified date in Earth’s future, the
novel presents an imperiled humankind after
two conflicts with the Formics, an insectoid
alien species they dub the “buggers”. In
preparation for an anticipated third invasion,
children are trained from a very young age by
putting them through increasingly difficult
games, including some in zero gravity.

• The U.S. Marine Corps Professional Reading

List makes the novel recommended reading
at several lower ranks, and again at Officer
Candidate/Midshipman. The book was placed
on the reading list by Captain John F. Schmitt,
author of FMFM-1 (Fleet Marine Fighting
Manual, on maneuver doctrine) for “providing
useful allegories to explain why militaries
do what they do in a particularly effective
shorthand way”.

• Many have stated that it “glorifies and excuses

violence”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American novelist, critic,
public speaker, essayist, and columnist. He writes in several genres but
is known best for his science fiction works.

Card’s works were influenced by classic literature, popular fantasy,

and science fiction; he often uses tropes from genre fiction.
His background as a screenwriter helped Card make his works
accessible and character-focused, though some critics dislike his
characterization. Card’s early fiction is original but contains graphic
violence. His fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts
who make difficult choices, often with the fate of an entire people at
stake. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary
in his columns and other writing.

Because Card began his writing career in screenplays, his early work is
considered accessible and fast-paced with good characters, but also
stylistically unremarkable.
CHAPTER 1
• Two unnamed people are talking about a child who could
be “the one” to save the world from “buggers.” This child is
Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. Card introduces Ender as he is having
a monitor device removed from his body. Ender is cynical about
adults; when someone tells him removing the monitor won’t
hurt, he knows it’s a lie, “But since adults always said it when it
was going to hurt,” he uses the lie “as an accurate prediction.”
He’s right.
OBJECTIVE Although much of the book tells the story through Ender’s eyes, Card starts each
chapter with a discussion between adults. This allows him to share information
Ender would not know and give the reader a broader sense of this world. It also sets
a businesslike, almost harsh tone.

Is this harsh reality one that is inevitable? Is it better to teach truths at an earlier
age? What experiences do you have or know about, with regards to truths and lies
(Similar to Ender’s experiences).
CHAPTER 1:
STRAINED OR UN- • With the monitor gone, Ender feels no one will help him deal
with his threatening older brother, Peter, or the class bully,
USUAL FAMILY TIES Stilson. Both harass him for being a “Third.” In this society
parents need government permission to have three children,
and Ender is his family’s third child.

• After school Stilson and his friends confront Ender. Stilson

grabs him and Ender kicks Stilson in the chest, knocking him
down. Although he knows he shouldn’t hit someone who’s on
the ground, Ender decides to do it anyway so the group will
leave him alone in the future. He beats Stilson repeatedly, then
walks away and begins to cry, thinking, “I am just like Peter.”
EXERCISE 1. List some excuses people use to excuse their behaviors. Do you
think these are valid? Why or why not? Do you think behaviors are
based more on biological nature, or societal factors? What makes
you think this?

2. What are some “excuses” people use for their actions or lives?

3. List excuses you have used in the past for your behaviors. Why do
you think you used such excuses? Do you believe these are valid, now
that you have talked about types of reasons for behaviors?
 SYMBOLS
• This world is unfamiliar, but Card offers a few important clues
in this chapter: Technology is highly advanced, population
is strictly controlled, and the world is under threat from the
“buggers”—a slang term referring to an enemy group. Human
beings commonly use insulting or even racist terms to describe
the opposing side in battle, but at this point it is unclear who
the enemy truly is. Peter’s reference to playing “buggers and
astronauts” suggests the buggers are aliens.

• How can buggers be a symbol? Firstly, what is a symbol in

literature?
WHAT IS A
SYMBOL? • A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or
is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship.
Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by
creating linkages between otherwise very different concepts
and experiences. All communication (and data processing) is
achieved through the use of symbols. Symbols take the form of
words, sounds, gestures, ideas, or visual images and are used to
convey other ideas and beliefs.

• What are some symbols you know of?

BUGGERS
• Buggers represent the unknown. Fear of the unknown is a
powerful force. Everything done to Ender and the other children
is justified by the bugger threat. On Earth, humanity works
together as long as they fear the buggers.

• Why do you believe this to be an important symbol in the book?

• What about in our own world?

• How has fear of the unknown driven you to act? Or even others
throughout history?

• As in Ender’s Game, can fear really be enough to bring people or

“humanity” together? Is it justifiable?
DAILY EXERCISE OBJECTIVE:

What importance does the Genre Science Fiction have?

Is it just for fun, or can it be something more?

Do you have a favorite Sci-fi game/show/movie/book?

What types of risks/adventures would you make in a Sci-fi world?

WHAT DID WE LEARN TODAY?
About the book and author

The significance of the Sci-fi Genre

A brief introduction into symbols, Buggers

Chapter 1.
HOMEWORK

Read Chapters 2-4

Writing Homework:

At school, Ender and his fellow students use “desks” that seem
to be similar to the iPads that are becoming more and more
common in schools today—something every student has that you
can type on, send emails from, and draw on with your finger. This
book was first published in 1985, over twenty years before Apple
introduced the iPad. How could Orson Scott Card have predicted
something as revolutionary as tablet computers at a time when
laptops hadn’t been invented and having a personal computer
at home was unheard of for most people? What does this tell us
about the way technology and science fiction stories can influence
one another?
 Goodbye!
THANK YOU

lesson plan by Robert A Taylor