Dzienius.UPLANrationale.091311

Rationale __It is often said hindsight is 20/20. Many of today’s problems seem obvious now that they’ve already come to fruition. Our current economical, environmental and social issues seem like the obvious product of our past society and behavior. However decades ago, many of these problems would not have occurred to the average person. However, what if people had stopped to analyze the implications of those actions? By looking into texts written about our possible futures, thoughts of what may come can be provoked. It is important as members of society to think about the way things currently are and how they may evolve over time. So the big question of this unit is how can current events affect our future society and what actions should be taken to alter those consequences? As futures leaders and members of our society young people need to develop this ability.__ __As previously stated one of the best ways to develop the ability to examine current events and their possible future implications would be to read literature describing possible future societies. In these texts there is often a description of how these worlds came to be the way they are. Two such works are Phillip K. Dick’s__ Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep __and Suzanne Collins’s__ Hunger Games  __. Both of these novels describe a futuristic society plagued by problems. In Phillip K. Dick’s novel the society that is depicted suffers from over pollution causing a lack of animal and plant life. A similar situation exists in__ The Hunger Games __. In Collins’s work also exists the theme of war and a corrupt government. Environmental issues, war and issues with our government are all issues that exist today as well and could evolve into more serious problems for future generations. Both of these novels also involve action, romance and adventure which will help keep students interested and excited about the reading. __ Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep  __is an adult novel;__ The Hunger Games  __is a young adult literature novel. In pairing the two texts it allows for variation in reading level. Also the main character in__ The Hunger Games __is a youth character and a female while in Phillip K. Dick’s novel the main character is an adult male. This should allow for all the students in the classroom to relate to at least one of the protagonists, instead of having the traditional only male protagonists. __  __For each of the novels students will have a short paper to write. These papers will be used to help the students think about the novels as examples of what could become and also to check reading. Another project the students will be given will be to examine current issues in our society and to predict the possible future consequences of those issues. The final project students will generate is a journal, short story or fake newspaper of a future society which they will design and explain how it came to be. __