Post reading activities Brave New World Post reading activities

Letter to Huxley Reading involves an emotional response. You like or dislike a book. You are bored or excited by its contents. What is your emotional response to Brave New World? Write a ½ page letter to Aldous Huxley describing your reaction to his novel. Good letter writing begins with a powerful introduction to get the reader’s attention. A body of supporting ideas follows the introduction and a conclusion that ties everything together finishes the letter. The body may be the most substantial part, but the introduction and conclusion emphasize key points and give the letter cohesion. Construct your introduction, body, and conclusion based on your answers to some or all of the following questions:

Letter to Huxley What is your overall opinion of the novel? What are the three main reasons for your opinion? Is the plot a strong one? How might it be improved? What elements of the tale are realistic? Which are purely fictional? Did you like the novel’s ending? Explain. What elements of Brave New World do you like the most? What elements would you change? (Point of view, style, plot, characters, setting, tone, etc.)

Fishbowl directions Each student is responsible for participating in the fishbowl process. On the next slide you will see the discussion questions; look over the questions and decide which ones you want to discuss with your peers. Jot down some notes on your classwork. You will be required to participate in at least two discussion topics. Each student is responsible for adding at least four thoughtful pieces of commentary to the discussion. You may enter the discussion as many times as you wish, however every student needs to participate in at least two discussion topics. No hogging a topic! Each student is responsible for taking notes on at least four of the discussion topics. Notes can include questions, ideas that you like or disagree with, something that you find interesting, etc. You must have at least four notes for each discussion topic (that’s 16 notes people). Bullet points are ok.

Fishbowl discussion How are our minds manipulated by outside sources such as the media, government and peers? Is this always "bad" for us? What would it truly be like if all your desires were fulfilled? Would it really be paradise? Why or why not? What is the purpose of having a society based on a consumer mentality? Why is there constant surveillance of the citizens and nobody is allowed to be alone? What purpose do these control tactics serve? What steps should a government take to keep order among its people? Where does one draw the line between protection and personal freedom? Why is it important to conform? Why is it important to be different? Give examples where each is beneficial. Which parts of this society do you find most disturbing? Which parts hit close to home (they seem so close to our own world)? Which part of their society seems far-fetched? What moral lessons and philosophies does Brave New World illustrate?

Classwork list Getting ready to read quickwrite (1 paragraph) 2 In class writing #1 (3 paragraphs) 3 Analyzing stylistic choices (3 questions) 2 Writing a summary & analysis (2, 5-6 sentence entries) 2 Setting paragraph (1 paragraph) 1 In class writing # 2 (3 paragraphs) 3 Twilight Zone comparison (1/2 page response to 3 questions) 2 In class writing # 3 (3 paragraphs) 3 Summarizing & responding (2 paragraphs) 2 In class writing #4 (1-1 paragraph, 3-dicussed, 4-2 paragraphs) 0 Passage analysis (2, ½ page entries) 4 In class writing # 5 (2 paragraphs) 2 Thinking critically (1 paragraph) 1 Fishbowl notes (16 bullet points) 3