Utopian and dystopian literature is a rapidly growing sub-genre of popular fiction. Authors often use utopias to convey a message about the world we live in today.
Dystopias are extremely flawed societies. In this genre, the setting is often a fallen society, usually occurring after a large-scale war, or other horrific event, that caused chaos in the former world. In many stories this chaos gives rise to a totalitarian government that assumes absolute control. The flaws in this sort of a dystopia are centered around oppression and restrictions on freedom by central authorities.
Have your students create storyboards where they choose a stance on the community. Is it dystopian or utopian? In the storyboard, the student can depict the elements of a utopia or dystopia, and explain their reasoning.
This storyboard uses examples from the article "Teaching Dystopia".
ELEMENT | EXAMPLE |
---|---|
No Independent Thought | Dreams are suppressed through medication. |
Oppressive Government | Elders are revered and chosen to make decisions that are best for the community. |
Lack of Free Will | Choices are taken away from the people for fear that they cannot handle the consequences. |
"Sameness/Uniformity" | All houses are the same, inside and out! |
Perfect Society | Although everyone is happy, Jonas stresses that because they live in ignorance, their society is far from perfect. |
Citizens are Under Surveillance | The Elders can listen and speak everywhere. |
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows the six elements of a dystopia in The Giver.
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
Proficient 33 Points | Emerging 25 Points | Beginning 17 Points | |
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Dystopian Elements | The six common dystopian literature elements are correctly identified and portrayed from the story. The quotes and/or explanations give context to the scene, and are accurate and appropriate to the element being depicted. | 4-5 dystopian literature elements are correctly identified and portrayed from the story, or some of the elements may not be identified correctly. The quotes and/or explanations give context to the scene, but may be minimal, and are mostly accurate for the element being depicted. | 1-3 dystopian literature elements are correctly identified and portrayed from the story, or most of the elements are inaccurately depicted. The quotes and/or explanations are too minimal, or missing altogether. |
Artistic Depictions | The art chosen to depict the scenes are accurate to the work of literature. Time and care is taken to ensure that the scenes are neat, eye-catching, and creative. | The art chosen to depict the scenes should be accurate, but there may be some liberties taken that distract from the assignment. Scene constructions are neat, and meet basic expectations. | The art chosen to depict the scenes is inappropriate. Scene constructions are messy and may create some confusion, or may be too limited. |
English Conventions | Ideas are organized. There are few or no grammatical, mechanical, or spelling errors. | Ideas are mostly organized. There are some grammatical, mechanical, or spelling errors. | Ideas may be disorganized or misplaced. Lack of control over grammar, mechanics, and spelling reflect a lack of proofreading. |