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Learning Goals:

Students will create their main characters

Students will develop their hero’s journey

Relationship to Final Project:

Students will create outlines for their short stories

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Learning Goals:

Students will understand the genre of dystopia by reviewing model texts

Students will work to create their own dystopia through various creative writing prompts

Relationship to Final Project:

Graphic organizer provides brainstorming activities for creating a dystopian world

This brainstorming will guide students in developing their short story concept

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Students will write short works of fiction that imagine a society where people work together, solve problems, and create thriving communities. If you choose to grade their pieces, the recommended rubric includes categories for imagination (originality of their world), problem-solving (how their character and society navigate conflict), idealism (a future where people thrive), and craft & clarity (structure, language, and creativity).

Prompt: Your main character lives in a dystopian society but somehow stumbles across a better world, where the major problems of their community are solved. When they stumble back into their dystopian reality, they are faced with a major problem they can’t unsee—they now know a better life is possible. How will your character expose the truth and find a better way forward for their community?

Word Maximum: 2,500 words

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Use slides 2-12 in the Writing Democracy slide deck.

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This lesson sequence can be extended depending on students’ needs. For example, students may require two class periods per lesson sequence. All slides, reference text excerpts, and handouts are included for download in this Padlet.

Day #1 → Dystopian Worldbuilding

Students will examine sample dystopian texts in order to familiarize themselves with this genre of writing

Students will utilize a Worldbuilding Tool handout to help them create their fictional worlds

Day #2 → The Hero’s Journey

Students will create their main characters, who will lead their community in the path towards utopia

Students will create solutions for their fictional worlds and determine the implementation of such changes

Students will brainstorm their main characters' roles in their worlds using a Hero's Journey graphic organizer

Day #3+ → Drafting the Story

Students will reference their Worldbuilding Tool and Hero’s Journey handouts, as well as a recommended short story checklist, to start their rough drafts

Students will pair up to give and receive peer feedback

Students will apply peer feedback and complete their final drafts for submission

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Ask: In a perfect world, everyone would contribute to their community to help it thrive. What's a way in which you're proud to contribute to your world (volunteering, helping siblings with homework, giving advice to friends, etc.)?

You can structure this as a class discussion or turn and talk

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Explain: In this mini-unit, you'll use creative writing to tell the story of a fictional world—which can be based on fantasy, reality, or a combination of the two—in which a core challenge or issue must be solved. The inhabitants of your world will need to work together to resolve this core issue.

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Use slides 13-17 in the Writing Democracy slide deck.

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Group Discussion: What is Dystopia? (5-10 min)

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Group Discussion: What is Dystopia? (5-10 min)

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Go over dystopia definition (Slide 4): A world where something has gone wrong—there are unfair rules, strange problems, or a government that controls too much.

Ask students to brainstorm words/concepts/ideas to come to mind with “dystopia”

Ask students: What is the opposite of dystopia?

Refer to definition of utopia on Slide 4 and explain to students that their goal will be to eventually transform their dystopian society into a utopia

Ask students: What's the relationship between dystopia and utopia? How can one turn into the other? Do these two types of societies look very similar to or different from each other?

Ask: Do you think we're living in a utopia, dystopia, or somewhere in between?

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Reading & Discussion: Sample Texts (10 min)

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Reading & Discussion: Sample Texts (10 min)

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Split students into small groups of 3–5 members each and assign each group to read one of the three excerpts above

Students should have hard copies of each reading to reference

Students should complete their assigned reading (either aloud or silently), then brainstorm their thoughts on the following questions:

What is the issue of this dystopia? What do you find disturbing?

What needs to potentially change?

Bring the class back together and have each group report their conclusions

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Movement Break: Dystopia “Would You Rather?” (5 min)

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Movement Break: Dystopia “Would You Rather?” (5 min)

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Have students complete five rounds of “would you rather” (slides 6–10) by designating a side of the room for students to move to for each answer choice. Feel free to spend longer on this activity and use it as a launchpad for debate.

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Independent Writing: Worldbuilder Tool (20-25 min)

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Independent Writing: Worldbuilder Tool (20-25 min)

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Before students begin writing, briefly talk through each section of the graphic organizer

Tell students that this will help them later on when crafting their short stories

Encourage students to use their dystopian world to reflect on and critique issues that they're passionate about in the real world, as the model texts do

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Day #1 - World Builder - Hard Copy (grades 9-12)

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Peer Feedback (Remainder of Session/Extension)

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Peer Feedback (Remainder of Session/Extension)

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Students pair up to share some highlights from their Worldbuilding Tools. Encourage them to use the prompts in Slide 12 to guide the way they provide feedback.

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Ask students: Who is your favorite character from a book, tv series, video game, movie?

Refer to Slide 14 on the slideshow

Students should pair up and answer the questions questions on the slide

Encourage students to view this exercise as a warm-up activity for them to imagine their own main characters in the dystopian worlds we started last session

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Introduction to the Hero's Journey (10 min)

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Introduction to the Hero's Journey (10 min)

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Have students take out their Worldbuilder Tool from the previous session, and distribute Hero's Journey handouts

Ask: has anyone heard of the Hero's Journey?

Guide the group to a definition: a quest that a main character undertakes to solve a problem (while learning about themself along the way)

Read aloud, or ask volunteers to read aloud, the Hero’s Journey prompt and the first section of the graphic organizer (Dystopian Troubles)

Explain: their Hero Story Guide is meant to serve as a brainstorm page. Provide a choice for students: they can create a list of responses or write in complete sentences

Please note: the brainstorm prompts are meant to inspire students; they do not have to use these

Once students have written responses to the Dystopian Troubles section, conduct a pair/share or whole group share

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Day #2 - Hero's Journey - Hard Copy (Grades 9-12)

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Go over the sage archetype, as detailed on Slide 15

Ask: What are some examples of sage characters from popular media?

If no one volunteers, you can bring up Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series

Ask: Can you think of any real-life individuals whom you think embody the sage archetype?

Potential examples may include Greta Thunberg and Anthony Fauci

Turn and talk: Based on what you know about your world so far, would your story benefit from having a sage? Why or why not?

If your group is particularly interested in fiction-writing, consider introducing the concept of deus ex machina (literal translation: "God from the machine"): a plot event in which a powerful force swoops in and solves a major problem for the main character. The issue with this kind of event is that readers want a hero who is proactive and drives the narrative (i.e. someone who solves their own problems); this is an essential part of why the Hero's Journey model resonates. Ask your students: how can you write a sage character without falling into the deus ex machina pitfall?

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Group Activity: Exquisite Corpse (10 min)

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Group Activity: Exquisite Corpse (10 min)

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Explain: Students will be working together to create original fantasy creatures. Break them into groups of four and guide them through the steps detailed on Slide 16, setting a timer for two minutes for each section of the paper. Enjoy the unveiling of the finished creatures at the end!

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Art Sprouts | Art Education Resources for Parents and Teachers

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Exquisite Corpse For Kids: 4 Surrealist Games To Boost Creativity In The Classroom

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Learn how to play four creative versions of Exquisite Corpse, a collaborative Surrealist game for kids. Perfect for classrooms, these activities inspire creativity through writing, drawing, collage, and photography.

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Independent Writing Time: Hero’s Journey (20-25 min)

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Independent Writing Time: Hero’s Journey (20-25 min)

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Students should spend the rest of the class period completing their Hero's Journey graphic organizers

Optional: set a timer to go off after 10 minutes. At that point, students can pause in their writing and spend 2 minutes talking with a partner to share what they have so far. Repeat every 10 minutes of writing time

Optional: project background video for calming creative writing ambience. Some fun recommendations include:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amwA16ye148&list=RDamwA16ye148&start_radio=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3W40FIN-Dk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6omG4RZqROE&list=RD6omG4RZqROE&start_radio=1

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Fantasy Realm Ambience and Music | fantasy music and nature sounds #fantasyambience

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Learning Goals:

Students will build on previous session learnings to bring together worldbuilding and character into story

Students will provide and incorporate constructive peer feedback

Relationship to Final Project:

Drafting and polishing final story

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Use slides 18+ in the Writing Democracy slide deck.

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Turn and talk to answer one (or, if you're done early, both) of the questions on Slide 18.

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Independent Writing Time: Rough Drafts (20-25 min)

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Independent Writing Time: Rough Drafts (20-25 min)

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Explain: Using their Worldbuilding Tools and Hero's Journey graphic organizers for reference, students will write their rough drafts of their short stories

Review the “Short Story Rough Draft” checklist with the class, available at the top of the rough draft handout above and on Slide 20

Provide your students with the handout if you think it would be helpful to them; otherwise, ask them to handwrite the draft on blank paper or type it up

Optional: Pause each 10 minutes for a 2-minute pair/share

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Four Corners Activity: Refer to Slides 21–23 for questions and corner options. In each round, once students arrive at their corners, they discuss for 30 seconds and then go on to next questions. Feel free to spend longer on this activity by using each question as a springboard for debate.

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Students pair up to share some highlights from their rough drafts and provide peer feedback using the prompts on Slide 24.

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Independent Writing Time: Revising & Polishing (Remainder of Class)

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Independent Writing Time: Revising & Polishing (Remainder of Class)

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Students apply peer feedback and continue their rough drafts

Once they're ready, students type up their final drafts for submission

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To give your students the opportunity to take pride in their stories, hold an open mic in which students can volunteer to read their pieces to the full class. You can give students the options to read their whole stories, excerpts, and/or favorite sentences; some students may benefit from the options to summarize their concepts.

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Have each student display their final story on their desk, then walk around and read their peers' stories. Leave post-its around the room and encourage students to leave specific compliments ("I loved the way you showed your character's personality in Scene XYZ," not "good job") around each piece. When the gallery walk concludes, give the students a few minutes to read their compliments.

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Compile an anthology with all the stories and print a copy for each student. If your school has a library, or if you have a relationship with your local public library, see if you can add a copy of the anthology to circulation.

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If you're grading your students' stories, here's a suggested rubric.

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Use this slide deck for the full mini-unit.