Fahrenheit 451

Students read Fahrenheit 451, their first exposure to the genre of science fiction at the high school level, and discuss the author's messages about humanity, censorship, and technology.

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ELA

Unit 8

10th Grade

This unit has been archived. To view our updated curriculum, visit our 10th Grade English course.

Unit Summary


This unit on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury marks students’ first exposure to the genre of science fiction at the high school level. As they read about the lives of the characters in Bradbury’s dystopian futuristic society, they will explore how he uses the genre of science fiction to convey his messages about humanity, censorship, and technology. Additionally, close attention will be paid to Bradbury’s use of structure, diction, and figurative language to paint a vivid picture of the life in the society he has created. Students will read, discuss, and take a stand on such issues as censorship, technology, and knowledge. They will defend their positions with evidence from the novel, other supplementary texts read in class, as well as their own personal experiences. The target tasks emphasize short written responses to questions about the literature. Students will, therefore, have multiple short at bats at improving their writing on an almost daily basis. Since providing written feedback on this volume of writing can be prohibitive depending on the number of students a teacher teaches in a day, it is recommended that the teacher place an emphasis on providing enough time for students to respond to the target tasks in class while the teacher can circulate and provide feedback. Additionally, several target tasks in this unit ask the students to evaluate a position or argument. If this skill is new to students, they may need some additional instruction on how to craft a written response that thoroughly evaluates an author or character’s position.

At Match, students have a Composition class 4 days per week in addition to English class. Below, we have included Supplementary Composition Projects to reflect the material covered in our Composition course. For teachers who are interested in including these Composition projects but do not have a separate Composition course, we have included a “Suggested Placement” to note where these projects would most logically fit into the English unit. While the Composition projects may occasionally include content unrelated to English 10, most have both a skill and content connection to the work students are doing in their English 10 class. 

These accompanying Composition projects build upon each other to prepare students for the culminating project of the unit: an original argument essay about the role of free speech and censorship in society. In order to prepare to write their own argument essay, students will first spend time analyzing techniques used by a variety of authors and speech makers. The rhetorical analysis students will do includes elements of both reading and writing with an overarching focus on developing the bank of techniques students are able to recognize, analyze, and ultimately use themselves.

Texts and Materials


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Core Materials

Supporting Materials

Assessment


This assessment accompanies Unit 8 and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.

Unit Prep


Intellectual Prep

  • Read and annotate Fahrenheit 451
  • Read and annotate this unit plan.
  • Take the exam and write an exemplar response for the exam essay.
  • Read and annotate the paired fiction and nonfiction, making note of ways in which these works will deepen students’ understanding of Bradbury’s novel and/or the thematic topics it raises.
  • Create anchor charts for each thematic question and hang in the classroom. Leave space for student thoughts to be added on or around each chart.
  • Create a character list to be posted in the classroom.
  • Read the Composition Projects affiliated with this unit plan and annotate with connections to the novel and themes read in this unit.

Essential Questions

  • Freedom of Speech: Is censorship, in any form, justified?
  • Technology and Humanity: Is more technology always a good thing? What are the costs and benefits of technology?
  • Knowledge: Why are reading and knowledge important for society? What are the dangers that can come with a lack of knowledge?

Writing Focus Areas

English Lessons Writing Focus Areas

Within this unit of study, the writing prompts are largely literary analysis, with very few lengthy writing assignments and more emphasis on producing small bursts of writing on daily target tasks. This focus on shorter amounts of writing can allow the teacher to focus on very specific grammar or writing points. Some suggested teaching points are listed below, but the teacher should use our Composition Writing Rubric and his or her own students’ writing to select the most appropriate teaching points.

  • Using precise and advanced vocabulary
  • Using transition words effectively
  • Selecting short quotations and/or references to the text to support arguments

Composition Projects Writing Focus Areas

The composition projects paired with this unit focus on rhetorical analysis. In a rhetorical analysis writing, we explain the techniques a speaker uses to persuade an audience in a particular context. 

  • Analysis: Demonstrates clear and logical reasoning
  • Analysis: Framing of evidence is effective and smoothly incorporated
  • Coherence: Structure and organization align with the purpose
  • Diction: Includes precise language and advanced vocabulary
  • Conclusion: Conclusion ties to and supports the topic/position

Vocabulary

Literary Terms

simile, metaphor, diction, irony, metaphor, symbol, characterization, theme, allusion, dystopia, anti-hero, science fiction

Roots and Affixes

ped- (pedestrian); con- (contemptible) sub- (subaudible)

Text-based

corruption (whole novel), stolid (1), singed (2), pedestrian (7), subconscious (8), refracted (8), pulverized (11), olfactory (22), muzzle (23), antisocial (26), transcription (27), proclivities (30), objectivity (33), odious (33), condemnation (37), jargon (39), stagnant (41), cacophony (42), mass (51), melancholy (53), censorship (55), dictum (55), exploitation (55), censor (56), breach (56), titillation (56), tactile (58), torrent (59), sieve (67), subside (68), philosophies (73), toil (75), diverted (77), profusion (79), insidious (82), cowardice (86), contemptible (87), subaudible (92), honed (100), distilled (100), reckoning (102), discourse (104), rigidity (108), perpetual (109), anesthetized (114), phosphorescent (119), dilate (127), cadence (140), rarity (141), avenged (142), incriminate (145), bombardment/bombardier (151)

Idioms and Cultural References

minstrel man (2), centrifuge (42), praying mantis (45), water under the bridge (48), pratfall (53), Little Black Sambo (57), Uncle Tom’s Cabin (57), flue (57), Caesar (82), Praetorian Guard (82), Vesuvius (89), cesarean section (92) , holier-than-thou (108), valise (129), séance (131), status quo (150), Ecclesiastes and Revelation (144 & 153), phoenix (156)

Content Knowledge and Connections

Students will need to fully understand what censorship is and that it has many forms. Students will also learn about the concept of a utopia and a dystopia and the genre of science fiction.

Previous Fishtank ELA Connections

Future Fishtank ELA Connections

  • This the first novel where the motif of hands and guilt comes into play. Montag is ashamed of his hands and what they have done. This is a clear allusion to 10th Grade ELA - Macbeth.

Lesson Map


Composition Projects


1

Analysis

(PROCESS WRITING)

Explain how Barack Obama persuades his audience in the opening of his 2008 “A More Perfect Union” speech. Use evidence and examples from the speech to support your analysis.

An effective rhetorical analysis:

  • Identifies the rhetorical technique
  • Explains how the author uses the technique
  • Provides an example of the technique
  • Explains what makes this technique appropriate for the audience
  • Concludes by connecting back to the overall purpose of the speech 

W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.1.c W.9-10.1.e W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.9-10.6

3

Analysis

(PROCESS WRITING)

Reread the speech given by Captain Beatty on pp. 51–59 of Fahrenheit 451. Write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the persuasive techniques used by Captain Beatty to convey his attitude toward society and convince Montag of his position. 

An effective rhetorical analysis:

  • Accurately identifies the literary devices (metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, personification, etc.), rhetorical devices (repetition, rhetorical questions, anaphora, parallelism, etc.), rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, pathos), and powerful diction used by Captain Beatty.
  • Explains how Beatty uses the techniques
  • Provides examples of each technique
  • Explains what makes each technique appropriate/effective for the audience
  • Concludes by connecting back to the overall purpose of the speech 

W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.1.c W.9-10.1.e W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.9-10.6

4

Analysis

(PROCESS WRITING)

In his letter “I Am Very Real,” author Kurt Vonnegut writes, “If you are an American, you must allow all ideas to circulate freely in your community, not merely your own.” 

Consider the value that Vonnegut places on the free circulation of all ideas. Then write an essay in which you develop your own position on censorship and the free circulation of ideas. Use appropriate, specific evidence to illustrate and develop your position.

An effective argument essay:

  • Identifies the author’s position and claims
  • Provides examples to support each claim
  • Addresses possible counter-claims
  • Is structured purposefully to support the development of the claims
  • Utilizes powerful diction and other rhetorical devices and appeals
  • Concludes by connecting back to the author’s original position and claims

W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.1.c W.9-10.1.e W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.9-10.6

Common Core Standards


Core Standards

L.9-10.4
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.2
RL.9-10.3
RL.9-10.4
RL.9-10.5
RL.9-10.7
RL.9-10.9
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.3
W.9-10.1
W.9-10.1.a
W.9-10.1.b
W.9-10.1.c
W.9-10.1.e
W.9-10.4
W.9-10.5
W.9-10.6
W.9-10.9
W.9-10.10

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