High School Sci-Fi Literature Lesson Plans? 36
JBoelke asks : "I currently teach science fiction at the high-school level, this is my first semester teaching the course and I have been shocked by the lack of resources available. The reference book I am using for story selection is Groking the Future, which was made in the 1970's. It has been rather difficult to get the selections of stories recommended. I did not take a science fiction literature course in college and I was wondering if anyone from the of Slashdot community had, and could recommend provide me with contact address of the professor and University, so I could ask for their curriculum? I know these books may be more complicated for high-school students but I can modify the curriculum." Similar to this thread from 2000, this question focuses more on the curriculum aspect, rather than book recommendations. While I'm sure recommendations not mentioned in the previous thread would be appreciated, actual lesson structure ideas would be better.
University of Kansas & William Gibson (Score:4, Informative)
I unfortunately did not take his course while there, I just missed it. Alas.
Re:University of Kansas & William Gibson (Score:5, Informative)
Other Resource from KU's English Dept. are Here [ku.edu] and include lots of info for the english teacher of science fiction, even at the High School level.
Literary analysis of Sci Fi is similar to many other kinds of analysis, with the added issue of bringing people into a complex and scientific environment (and problems / solutions involved therewith), believablity, the role of coincidence (as Dostoyevsky said, the quality == less coincidences), etc.
Re:University of Kansas & William Gibson (Score:2)
Makes me a little dubious about their course when they can't get the cover details about their texts right.
Re:University of Kansas & William Gibson (Score:2)
** ENDER'S GAME SPOILER WARNING **
But these are really a different series - they all center around Bean, and tell the story of how Peter rose to become Hegemon. They are parallel to Ender's Game, but they don't follow the same path as the next three novels.
wow (Score:1)
I found this from a high school's course selection web site:
Hanover High's Sci-Fi Lit course [hanoverhigh.org]
SCIENCE FICTION
Grades: 10-12
CR: 1/2
Prerequisite: None
Phase: 2
Science Fiction is an important genre in modern literature. In this course, students will read and view some of the classics as well as m
Re:wow (Score:2, Interesting)
Now you try and explain that to a teacher that she
Probably no need to dumb it down (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm assuming that this is some sort of elective class, considering how most normal lit classes avoid scifi like the plague. If so, I would actually recommend keeping the college level material as much as possible. The re are a few reasons for this...
First off, I would hope making the class a bit challenging will be an effective counter to those in the administration and other teachers in your department who are likely to view a new course in scifi literature as trivial fluff, taking valuable resources away from their pet projects.
Then there are the students to Consider. Since I'm assuming this is an elective course, you won't have to cater to the lowest common denominator quite as much as in a requited core course. Now, it may be a stereotype that nerds like scifi, but it's not entirely unfounded in my experience. If you can get them interested enough, the kids from that demographic should have no problem with college level material.
And of course, if you don't make the course challenging, you're likely to start attracting people just looking for an easy course they can blow off.
If you must make changes, I would advise making them via some leniency on the grading end, rather than using simpler content or asking dumbed down questions.
No reason to exclude the KISS principle. (Score:1)
My first exposure to Hemmingway was through something of a personal challenge from a teacher I liked in high school. He understood something of the fact I wasn't a great reader, and thought I could benefit from The Old Man and the Sea. Well I didn't and still don't much care for that book.
A quick googling brought up (Score:2)
Glancing through, it appears the lesson plan has it's moments, though it's not entirely too deep (jobs of the future?), but the bibliography included seemed to supply some good jumping off points for the submitter.
Google, and ye shall find.
sci-fi eh? (Score:1)
Dream class (Score:2, Insightful)
Darn right! (Score:3, Funny)
How many high-quality, well-written books are there an the various chroniton particles used in Star Trek? About how the force works at a cellular level? There are far, far too few science fiction resources available to teach young people how to properly understand the technobabble in their favourite science fiction shows and books.
Re:Darn right! (Score:2, Interesting)
sword and sorcery (Score:1)
mostly we read the books, and find the major themes, how the author develops them via different linguistic techniques with the ultimate goal of writing our own fantasy story at the end of the semester
chip
lessons from "Stranger in a Strange Land" (Score:3, Insightful)
And sleeping with multiple women is great! -not that they need to learn that.
Base reading around themes (Score:4, Insightful)
Wow. Big question and sort of hard to answer since you don't state what the course objectives are. With that in mind, here's what I would do if I were you...
I would base the reading around various big themes that are relevant to adolescents who are trying to figure out theirselves and their relation to the world. Fortunately, Science Fiction excels in looking at these "big picture" issues. Some examples:
There's so much you can do here both in terms of education and engendering a life-long appreciation for literature (and I certainly believe that Science Fiction is literature). As some others have mentioned, I wouldn't worry too much about grade-level appropriate reading here, unless you are dealing with more of a middle-school crowd. Good Science Fiction is naturally challenging, and the kids (yound adults really) will appreciate being challenged.
Heh (Score:2)
Re:Heh (Score:1)
That's what's so great about science fiction -- there's something there to offend everyone! :-)
Canticle (Score:2)
KnightStalker writes :-)
Canticle might get you fired if you're in a very liberal school district. Someone who wouldn't blink at the pseudo-science-religion in Stranger in a Strange Land might get upset at what could be interpreted as Catholic apologetics.
Luckily, with the US educational system emphasis on Latin and understanding various theologies, there's a great chance that nobody will understand that Canticle is actually about the Catholic church. :)
Great book, btw, but I see any book (especially
Re:Base reading around themes (Score:1)
Honestly. That's the sort of stuff schools ought to be teaching. HHGG ought to be compulsory for every schoolkid to read AND listen to. Nothing else matters.
a suggested book for helping with curriculum (Score:1)
Kent State University (Score:1)
don't neglect the oldies! (Score:2)
I'd just like to take this opportunity to say that you shouldn't neglect the old-school stuff like Verne, Wells, E.E. Doc Smith, Lin Carter, and E.R. Burroughs. There's some great stories there, despite having very out of date science. Later classic authors should include Heinlein, Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, among many others. Don't just cover the new stuff!
Speculative fiction (Score:1)
My Syllabus (parts of it) (Score:2)
English 256: Science Fiction Literature
Art Schuhart
Asst. Prof. of English
English 256-01
Office: CC122A
Office Hours: MW 1:30-2:30pm
TR 10am-12pm
The remainder of the contact information is at http://www.nvcc.edu/
Required Texts:
The Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Garyn Roberts, ed.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells
Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
(Frankenstein and
Re:My Syllabus (parts of it) (Score:2)
Just in case, I'll include the list of short stories. I highly recommend you contact my professor to find out why he chose these stories. Our classes have a great deal of discussion and debate, and it'll be important for you to understand the focus-of-the-week. I'm presenting the list as it appears, without the weekly divisions.
Good Sci-Fi book (Score:1)
A kind of Frankenstein parable, Heart of a Dog is the story of a stray dog that gains a human intelligence after a prominent Moscow professor transplants human glands into the unfortunate canine's body
Include Joe Haldeman's "Forever War" (Score:1)
I took a Literature of Fantasy course at Boston College as an elective for my English degree, and while good, it tended to ease kids in via "Alice in Wonderland" and such. n the other hand,
Re:Include Joe Haldeman's "Forever War" (Score:1)
(FWIW, Forever War is also one of my favorite books of all time.)
Re:Include Joe Haldeman's "Forever War" (Score:1)
Did you ever have Prof. Brown? I took a religious history class from him on Lutheranism, and he told us all sorts of stuff like how was a retired Marine, and was a Pentecostal minister who sometimes spoke in tongues: *awesome* class.
Science Fiction curriculum (Score:1)
A few questions for you (from another teacher) (Score:1)
Is it a semester-length class or a year-long course? In my own lesson planning, length of the class greatly limits how much actual reading material I can cover. If the class is only one semester long, I might suggest choosing several short stories coupled with one to three novels. If the class will run the full year, then you will have greater leeway in choosing a wider variety of novels and authors.
As for t
Re:A few questions for you (from another teacher) (Score:1)
Re:A few questions for you (from another teacher) (Score:1)
I like the framework you have here--it sounds very interesting.
This is where things get weird now: Do you teach, by any chance, at Eagle Hill? I ask because I had a student recently leave my school (in California) for Eagle Hill. Your description, "boarding school for students who have a learning disability" sounds just like the place he described to me. He was a great kid, and one of those that I had established a real, meaningful connection with. If this is th