About the Genre
Science Fiction
- Literary genre utilizing laws or theories of science and technology, or scientific concepts often looking toward the future, space, or a different universe or dimension.
- Stories that often tell about science and technology of the future involving partially true fictions laws or theories of science
- Settings:
- In the future
- In space
- On a different world
- In a different universe or dimension
- https://mail.bvu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=YWlLGkpP0ESt7UHjlNy-RezJDZ0atNAI_yc-01bmD6048EUZNWmqIH-kTeTd7D16F6digAmiQvw.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.readwritethink.org%2ffiles%2fresources%2flesson_images%2flesson270%2fgenre_sheet.pdf
Modern Fantasy
- Literary genre that is an imaginative or fanciful work, possibly dealing with unnatural events or characters. Usually takes place in an alternative world. There is some overlap between "fantasy" and "modern fantasy" which combines fantasy and science fiction
- Contains elements that are not realistic
- Talking animals
- Magical powers
- Often set in a medieval universe
- Possibly involving mythical beings
Use in the Classroom
- Science fiction is becoming very popular among students. It is important to choose novels that have good literary elements. However, it is also to your advantage to choose novels that students desire to read, novels that might spark an interest in independent reading beyond the classroom. By being in touch with what the students want to read, teachers will mroe than likely meet less resistance along the way from reluctant readers while still satisfying the learning standards and preparing students for the world of higher learning and careers.
- https://mail.bvu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=YWlLGkpP0ESt7UHjlNy-RezJDZ0atNAI_yc-01bmD6048EUZNWmqIH-kTeTd7D16F6digAmiQvw.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.oswego.edu%2fDocuments%2fwac%2fDeans'%2520Awards%2c%25202012%2fgrad%2520-%2520literacy.pdf
Book List
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Reference Information
- Publisher: Scholastic Press (2009)
- ISBN-10: 0439023483
Grade Level
- Interest Level: Grades 6-8
- Grade Level Equivalent: 7
- Lexile Measure: 810L
- ATOS Level: 5.3
- Text Complexity: Grades 4-5
Themes
- Family Life
- Homelessness and Poverty
- Survival
- Violence
- Government
Qualities of Writing
- This book is written in a way that hooks the reader and keeps their interest throughout the entire text
- The book is one that cannot be put down
- It easily engages students
- Because it is in a series, it also encourages students to continue reading
Difficult Components of the Text
- This book is very futuristic and could cause some confusion for students
- There are also a lot of violent parts of the text that might be hard for students to read. For example there are parts in this text where we are told about arrows going into people. We are also told, in detail, about people being mauled by dog-like creatures.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Reference Information
- Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (2011)
- ISBN-10: 9780062024039
Grade Level
- Interest Level: Grades 8-12
- Grade Level Equivalent: 9
- Lexile Measure: 700L
- ATOS Level: 4.8
- Text Complexity:
Qualities of Writing
- This book provides a lot of detail so that the reader is able to form a vivid mental image of the text in his/her head
- The different factions can be related to because each of the factions are a realistic representation of the type of people that are in society.
Difficult Component of the Text
- There is some violence in this book that is too violent for the classroom. There is a specific part in which there was a girl who got knives thrown at her and couldn't flinch. There are also parts where people have to fight each other until one goes unconscious. These violent scenes are a little extreme for most students.
- There would definitely need to be some guidelines tin place in order to bring these books into the classroom
Resources
- http://www.thehugoawards.org/ -- Book Awards
- http://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/science-fiction -- Book List
- http://bestsciencefictionbooks.com/top-25-best-science-fiction-books.php -- Book List
- http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson927/SciFiDefinition.pdf -- About the Genre
- http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson270/genre_sheet.pdf -- About the Genre
- http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2007-07/tst0602_38.pdf -- Use in the Classroom
- http://www.davidbrin.com/sfteaches.html -- Use in the Classroom