Dystopian Lit Unit 4: The Handmaid’s Tale & On Such a Full Sea
Stage 1 Desired Results
ESTABLISHED GOALS
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11- 12.2
Determine two or more themes or central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how
they interact and build on one another to
produce a complex account; provide an
objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11- 12.3
Analyze the impact of the author's
choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a
story is set, how the action is ordered, how
the characters are introduced and developed).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine and convey complex ideas, concepts,
and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization,
and analysis of content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational
texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
Ongoing Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-1.4
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.4
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.1
Transfer
Students will be able to independently use their learning to…
Assess the role of a hero in literature as well as analyzing the hero’s journey
Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will understand that… Does a dystopian novel need a hero?
-Traditionally, there is a hero’s journey that is How closely do dystopian novels resemble our
followed in literature world?
-Not all stories have a hero What is the role of women in dystopian
-Not all heroes are obvious literature?
-These two novels are progressively more Why do we choose to resist, or not resist?
realistic than our previous novels
-Not all dystopian regimes are fought back
against
RELATED MISCONCEPTIONS
Heroes can be hard to spot in these texts, and
certainly do not follow a traditional hero’s
journey, so students might have difficulty.
Acquisition
Students will know… Students will be skilled at…
-What the hero’s journey is (traditionally) -Analyzing character development over the
-The elements that make up a literary hero course of a text
-How to analyze the progression of a -Analyzing a character as a hero (or not)
character on the hero’s journey
-Identifying realistic elements in a work of
-How to identify similarities between a
fictional world and our world fiction
-Explaining the roles of women within the
texts
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3
Stage 2 - Evidence
Evaluative Criteria Assessment Evidence
-Citing textual evidence PERFORMANCE TASK(S):
-Analyzing the hero’s journey Students will write an essay examining the main characters of these novels as heroes by
-Analyzing character development assessing their progression along the hero’s journey as well as their character development

-Citing textual evidence OTHER EVIDENCE:

-Analyzing texts Short answer questions
-Participating in in-class conversations Reading responses
-Making connections to the text Journal entries
In class discussions