Science Fiction Unit
![Picture](/uploads/5/8/7/4/5874633/9874734.jpg)
Science fiction is a literary genre rarely covered in the classroom. As a genre which combines fiction with scientific ideas, it is surprising that more teachers do not utilize this genre in instruction. In my experience, students have enjoyed learning about science fiction, reading science fiction stories and applying them to their own lives. For this reason, I developed a unit entirely focused around science fiction, specifically of the alien invasion/space colony variety.
This unit is primarily formed around one book, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. The version of the text used is an adapted and abridged version, made for advanced ESL learners. After forming the unit, I taught a shortened version of it, consisting of the War of the Worlds book, while teaching at Albany High School. This shortened version took approximately 4 weeks to complete.
Ideally, to teach the entire unit, a period of 2 months would be beneficial. I would integrate grammar instruction, peer review of writing tasks and group projects.
In implementing the unit, I had to alter some of the activities within it. For the sake of saving time and in light of an impending PBL, I eliminated the group project element, keeping only the writing activity to supplement tests and vocabulary quizzes.
Attached here is my complete unit plan for the Science Fiction Unit. The section on War of the Worlds, the book, is the section that I implemented in the classroom. I developed materials, however, for all aspects of the unit.
![]()
|
These are pictures my students made based on the description of the tripod aliens in War of the Worlds. Some were a little more accurate than others...
|