I focused on utopian and dystopian societies for my unit
plan because I was unaware that interactivity # 4 will be an expansion of
interactivity # 3. Regardless, I was able to make a tight connection amongst Thomas
More’s On The Best State Of A
Commonwealth And On The New Island Of Utopia, Apple’s 1984 commercial, George Orwell’s 1984, and contemporary government surveillance.
The Understanding by Design framework helped me develop the
essential question and unit goals. First, I thought about the desired results
of the unit plan. The unit goals were easy to identify after establishing the
essential questions, and were a factor in choosing the content and material for
the unit plan. Next, I searched on Google for utopian and dystopian unit plans.
For example, Arts Edge gave me the idea to introduce the concept of a utopia
through John Lenon’s Imagine. The
lyrics of the song provide a smooth segue into Thomas More’s text.
I created a playlist composed of
contemporary movie clips portraying dystopian characteristics on YouTube to
support the themes that run through the texts; students can also add relevant
videos to the playlist. Coogle will allow students to
create mind maps to organize the structure and characteristics of the society
in More's Utopia and Orwell's 1984. Therefore, I would use
Padlet in my own teaching because it has helped me organize my thoughts about
the unit plan, allow students to catch a glimpse of the unit plan, and provides
students with resources.
Grade 9 English: Utopian and Dystopian Societies
Grade 9 English: Utopian and Dystopian Societies
