Unit 5: "Science or Fiction?"
Suggested Objectives
- Compare and contrast the settings, characters, and unusual circumstances among science fiction stories and describe the unique nature of this genre.
- Analyze how a science fiction story evolves over the course if a text, and discuss how this is similar to and different from the other novels read.
- Compare and contrast the ways in which two authors present information on the same topic (E.g., astronomy in Beyond Jupiter and Summer Stargazing).
- Conduct research on an astronaut or science fiction author of choice and present findings to the class in a multimedia format.
- Write a science fiction story.
Suggested Works
LITERARY TEXTS
"Classic" Science Fiction
"Modern" Science Fiction
Audiobooks
INFORMATIONAL TEXTS
Planets/Stars
ART, MUSIC, AND MEDIA
Music
Media
"Classic" Science Fiction
- A Wrinkle in Time (Madeline L'Engle)
- Dune (Frank Herbert)
- The War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells)
- The Invisible Man (H.G. Wells)
- I, Robot (Isaac Asimov)
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (Enriched Classics) (Jules Verne)
"Modern" Science Fiction
- The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm (Nancy Farmer)
- My Favorite Science Fiction Story (Martin H. Greenberg)
- Eva (Peter Dickinson)
- The House of the Scorpion (Nancy Farmer)
- Fly By Night (Francis Hardinge)
- George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt (Lucy and Stephen Hawkins)
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
- Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
- The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (Arthur C. Clarke)
- The Giver (Lois Lowry)
Audiobooks
- A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)
- Among the Hidden (Shadow Children Series, #1) (Margaret Peterson Haddix)
- The Invisible Man (H.G. Wells)
- The Giver (Lois Lowry)
INFORMATIONAL TEXTS
- "Elementary Particles" from the New Book if Popular Science
- "Space Probe" from Astronomy & Space: From the Big Bang to the Big Crunch (Phillis Engelbert)
- Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream (Tanya Lee Stone)
- Robo World: The Story of Robot Designer Cynthia Breazeal (Women's Adventures in Science Series) (Jordan D. Brown)
Planets/Stars
- Beyond Jupiter: The Story of Planetary Astronomer Heidi Hammel (Women's Adventures in Science Series) (Fred Bortz)
- Summer Stargazing: A Practical Guide for Recreational Astronomers (Terence Dickinson)
- Stephen Hawking: Cosmologist Who Gets a Big Bang Out of the Universe (Mike Venezia)
- Stars & Planets(Carole Stott)
- The Physics of Star Trek (Lawrence M. Krauss)
ART, MUSIC, AND MEDIA
Music
- Gustav Holst, The Planets (1914-1916)
Media
- War of the Worlds (Orson Wells, The Mercury Theatre on Air, October 30, 1938)
Sample Activities and Assessments
Additional Resources
- Finding the Science Behind Science Fiction Through Paired Readings (ReadWriteThink) (RL.7.9)
- Science-Fiction Author Ray Bradbury Was Born in 1920 (ReadWriteThink) (W.7.7)
- Text Message, Recommendations for Adolescent Readers Podcast: Episode 2- Teen Time Travel (ReadWriteThink) (RL.7.9)
- Star Wars Creator George Lucas Was Born in 1944 (ReadWriteThink) (RI.7.6)