"Teaching Science Fiction in High School"

Asked by Zarathustra 31 months ago

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I am a high school special education teacher. I team teach a literature class. Science fiction seems like an area that would interest many high school students. I know that science fiction classes are taught throughout the country, such as in south carolina. I would like some advice on teaching science fiction in high school be it philip k. dick, usula le guin or george orwell.


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"From my experience, suggested readings"
 by mfkap on Jul 18 2007 (31 months ago)
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I took a high school science fiction class in PA about 10 (15?) years ago, and the books we were assigned were: 1984, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Martian Chronicles, I, Robot (pre-movie), and Brave New World.  There might have been a few others, but I don't remember them.  These books are books I am glad I read, and I actually remember.  I am not sure that all the subject matter would be appropriate for all types of students, but if you read or have read the books, I am sure that is something you could determine.

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"I think LeGuin might be a little 'heavy' for HS kids, perhaps."
 by newbie2558817 on Jul 23 2007 (31 months ago)
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To me, the idea is to get them interested in SF first with something basic but good. Isaac Asimov or yes, George Orwell (he's a good choice) are good choices. Asimov has some rather ponderous works (The Foundation series) that may be way too long for their attention.

One of my favorites when I was younger was Anne McCaffery . . . she's kind of science fiction/fantasy. The girls would like the fantasy part and the guys would like the science fiction part (although I liked all of it and I'm a girl!). Her Pern series is great. Fast moving, good characters and character development, etc. Oddly, they were written not in order. You don't get to the actual settling of the planet Pern until later volumes. Still, she's a good storyteller.

And Ray Bradberry who wrote Fahrenheight 451, which was great! He's also the creator of Star Trek. Can't go wrong with him!

I think this is a great idea. My sisters and I have always loved to read (as did our parents), but my brother didn't have phonics so had a difficult time. My mom got him into reading comic books (you know, the old Superman, Spider Man, The Fantastic Four, etc., which he loved), and today he's as much of a reader as the rest of us. He became interested because of the fantasy and the science fiction.

Good luck! What a good teacher you are! And thanks for all your hard work.
Sources: My opinion
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"I think you should go for it. I think there it would be an area of interest. "
 by newbie3128618 on Jul 25 2007 (30 months ago)
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It's been quite a few years since I've been in high school, but even still, I didn't get a lot of exposure to science fiction. In pure hindsight I would have loved to get more exposure. Orwell has so many great works that I'm just purely unfamiliar with, that so many of my peers will use to compare to current events. It's hard for me now to just pick up a book and get the motovation to read science fiction. I think had I experienced more exposure in High School, I would be more inclined to read these works today.
Sources: This is purley my opinion.
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You've probably heard all about this already...Gene Rodenberry created Star Trek, not Ray Bradbury. And girls like science fiction too, not just fantasy. I'm a girl myself, in fact.
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