A World of What If- Introduction to Fahrenheit 451 and Speculative Fiction

 

Kicking off novels that challenge students to the extent that Fahrenheit 451 does can be difficult. Really difficult. It's imperative to have a strong hook to capture students' interests early. One way I begin peaking student interest is by introducing the idea of speculative fiction; this lesson is designed to personalize the introduction to Fahrenheit 451 and speculative fiction by having students imagine a world devoid of what they hold dear.

 

After students use Keynote to represent their values (abstract and physical), they move into groups to create a longer list of possible concepts/items.

 

The students then jump into the introduction to Fahrenheit 451, written by Neil Gaiman. One way I have students break up a reading such as this is by having them pull out key lines in each section we read. For this exercise, I had students pull these lines out in groups.

Finally, students are ready to apply the reading to their own piece of writing.

 

Students choose one of the concepts or items from the first group exercise and use that to create their "World of What If."

This is a fun and personal way to introduce the idea of speculative fiction; students activate their learning and explore concepts that are prominent throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451.

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