Fahrenheit 451
Unit III: Conflict and Unrest
Welcome to the spring semester of 8th grade in Honors English 8!
As we begin our new unit on Conflict and Unrest, Honors English 8 will begin reading our unit's anchor text, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Please refer to the reading schedule and notes below to help encourage your child to keep up with his/her reading assignments.
This particular novel is a challenge for many students. Bradbury writes in long, complicated sentences and his writing is highly metaphoric. If you find your child struggling to comprehend the novel, please refer him/her to the following reading strategies, and encourage your child to reread and seek assistance by attending tutorials as soon as their comprehension breaks down. It is more challenging to understand the novel as a whole, so getting help quickly is very important so we can address their misunderstandings before they proceed.
Part 1: The Hearth & the Salamander
January 14th-22th
Pages 1-65
Tracking for: Similarities between the story’s society and our society.
Reading Method: In class, out loud w/ student self-monitoring of comprehension
Discussion: Comprehension
Product: A two-column chart listing the similarities and differences between today's society and the future one described in the novel.
Part 2: The Sieve and the Sand
January 22th - 28th
Pages 66-106
Tracking for: All the conflicts found in the story – from the personal to the societal
Reading method: Independent, marking for conflicts
Discussion: Small book club groups, comprehension and interpretation
Product: Specific notes detailing all conflicts that exist in their novels.
Part 3: Burning Bright
January 28th - 31st
Pages 107-158
Tracking for: A self-selected, over-arching idea (use notes and shared ideas to select tracking concept, confer with the teacher)
Reading method: Independent, while collecting key quotes that support their self-selected tracking idea.
Discussion: Small and whole group, interpretation.
Key question: What does this text attempt to tell us about human nature?
Product: Two-column chart with quotes that reflect their over-arching idea on the right-side, and on the left-side, there should be analysis (2 to 4 sentences) explaining how each quotation connects to their chosen over-arching idea.
*Students will use this product to help them write their final essay on Fahrenheit 451, which will count as a test grade.
Reading Check Dates
*No notes or books allowed. Retakes are also not allowed.
Part I: Tuesday, January 22nd
Part 2: Monday, January 28th
Part 3: Thursday, January 31st
Read Removed from Distractions!
Self-Monitoring Comprehension
Post-It Notes
Read the novel with a pack of Post-it notes next to you. When you become confused reading a passage, quickly place a Post-it note by this section. BUT keep reading until you reach a good stopping point, such as the end of a chapter. Then go back to the sections that confused you. Reread them as many times as you need to understand what is happening.
What Do Know For Sure? What Don't You Know? Chart
After reading a solid section of the novel--like a chapter, two chapters, every 20 pages, etc., the student should stop and create a two-column chart on a sheet of paper. In the column on the right, challenge yourself to write out everything you know happened for sure in that section of the novel (Students often underestimate their comprehension). In the column on the left, list out all of the questions that you had about section.
Now, reread the text looking for the answers to your own questions. Each time you reread the section and make an educated guess at what is happening, your comprehension improves.
REMEMBER: The best readers are not the ones who understand the book the first time out--it's the reader who takes the time to monitor his/her comprehension and puts in the time/effort to reread the text.
What on earth is happening in this book??? Help!
SPARKNOTES
Sparknotes is a great resource for students. However, students are encouraged to use this as a resource to help them, NOT as a substitute for actually reading the novel.