Do you love reading Dystopian Fiction?  Join this fun and exciting summer book club where we will devour some of the best books out there!  Dystopian fiction is a great opportunity for students to take fictional literature and be able to learn about society, how society changes over time, politics, and governance.  How will the choices they make impact the future?

Students will choose which book they want to read from the following list:
Legend, by Marie Lu
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Divergent, by Veronica Roth
1984, by George Orwell
The Giver, by Lois Lowry

**If a learner wishes to read a dystopian book that is not on the list, please contact the teacher via the Outschool message system to discuss.

Each week, students will read a predetermined set of chapters from their book.  After they finish their assigned reading, they will have an activity to complete that is designed to enrich the reading experience and provide insight not only to their book, but also to the real world.  Students will learn about what a dystopia is and why it is an important part of literature through their own reading and by discussions with students who are reading other dystopian fiction novels.

Week 1 - What is Dystopian Fiction?
Students will become acquainted with the ideas behind what makes a book Dystopian fiction.  We will take a look at how each book begins, how the worlds are set up, what is happening in the society in the book that differs from ours.  Students will be able to read and respond to other students who may have read different books and see what other types of societies can be included in this genre.  

Week 2 - Let's Summarize!
This week in class we will work on our summarization skills by having them use 150 words or fewer to describe what they read for the week.  Students will submit an art project showing the main character(s) of their book doing something that symbolizes or directly represents the main themes of the book.  This art project can be done in any medium that the student prefers: drawing, painting, singing, dancing, acting, etc.  

Week 3 - Similarities & Differences
Students will compare and contrast the setting of the book with the real world.  They will come up with different ideas on what they would do differently to improve the world in the story and ours.  Students will submit a tour guide for the world in their book, highlighting areas to avoid, how to act, and what a tourist should make sure they see.

Week 4 - Higher Order Thinking Skills
Using Bloom's Taxonomy, students will create six test questions about their book that relate to each level of Bloom's Taxonomy.  Students will submit an assignment where they will choose a major event in their book and describe what will happen to the characters and the plot if that major event never happened.  

Week 5 - What can we learn from your book?
As the students finish their books, they will reflect on the lessons we can learn as individuals and as a society.  They will submit a review for their book where they discuss their likes and dislikes of the book, and whether they recommend it to others in their age group.