by Susan Barber and Matt Brisbin (repost from APLitHelp.com)

This year, I have had to rethink my teaching. I moved from a suburban to urban school, left a 4×4 block where I had my AP students everyday all year and now teach on an A/B block only seeing my students every other day, and I have five sections of AP Literature this year – yes, five – with students representing a wide range of skills and abilities. While I have always been a proponent of choice reading, independent novels have been a huge savior for me this year. The thought is I can work on elements of poetry, prose, close reading, etc. during my reduced time with students, yet students are still responsbile for reading and building their bank of novels for Q3. 

In December, my students read a dystopian choice novel. By giving the parameters of dystopian, we were able as a whole class to focus on the genre. We began the unit reviewing the characteristics of dystopia literature talking through the different types of dystopias with a presentation I made using the information from Read, Write, Think. Commonly chosen books in the class included:

The Handmaid’s Tale – Atwood

Oryx and Crake – Atwood

The Parable of the Sower – Butler

V for Vendetta – Moore and Lloyd

1984 – Orwell

Brave New World – Huxley

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheet – Dick

A Clockwork Orange – Burgess

And a few of my struggling readers read –

The Hunger Games – Collins

Farhenheit 451 – Bradbury

(All of these are linked here for students to preview and choose).

This three week unit had weekly check ins by students writing a literary response in their writer’s notebook. The first reponse was based on setting because most dystopian novels establish setting quickly. 

The second week’s response focused on the protagonist.

After each journal, students discussed in their family groups what they had observed in their reading, theme development, and predictions for how the novel would end. Even though students were all reading different novels, the common thread of dystopias tied them all together enough for students to benefit from the discussion. These class and group discussions also introduced students to several different books that they quickly added to their TBR list. 

Finally, I pulled several Question 3 prompts that could work for dystopian novels and students wrote an essay as a culminating activity. We used this opportunity to talk about thematic development, writing thesis statements, and providing evidence for essays without resorting to plot summary.

The highlight of the dystopian unit, however, is a simulation that Matt Brisbin passed on to me. I reached out to my PLN as I started brainstorming this unit, and Matt quickly responded. When I read the game, I knew this was something my students would enjoy as well as help them experience life in a dystopian society. After making a few adjustments since we were not specifically focused on 1984, we dove into the Grady dystopia. I asked Matt to share about his game and am thrilled to pass this along knowing that you will love it.

Bringing the World of 1984 to Your Students – Matt Brisbin 

“But it was alright, everything was alright, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” –George Orwell, 1984

It’s true. I have to confess that I do love Big Brother. Well, at least reading about him. In fact, teaching 1984 to my students is always one of the most memorable experiences of the year because, unlike other books, I am able to give them a small taste of what it is like to be a part of the world of Oceania with the 1984 simulation.

Before introducing the game to my classes, I typically wait until they’ve read several chapters, so they have an understanding of the strict laws of the dystopian future. Just after they’ve finished reading about Winston frantically scribbling in his stolen journal in a corner of his apartment, hidden away from the ever watching telescreen, I ask them if they could imagine what it would be like to always be watched. If they had no privacy from the invisible thought police that threatened to turn them in for the slightest infraction of the most ridiculous rules. And after a short discussion, it is time for them to actually find out over the next two weeks of 1984, the game.

Since my school is on a rolling block schedule, I’ve found that two weeks is about the perfect amount of time. Any longer, and my students would get pretty tired of the rules, but if it were any shorter, the novelty of the game wouldn’t have worn off enough to give them a real taste of what it is like to constantly be watched by big brother.

The premise is actually relatively simple: students are each given a envelope with their roles inside. They aren’t allowed to open the envelopes in class, but the game begins as soon as they walk out of the room. Students will either be chosen to be a member of the party, or a member of the thought police. Normally, I try to keep the ratio at one thought police for every ten party members. It is important that you, the teacher, know who the thought police are, so that you know who to expect when they report back. I once had a student go rogue once he found out that he was a Thought Police which threw a wrench in the whole experience, so make sure not to pass out the roles at random. The game is to be played during school hours within the confines of the school campus, but once students go home for the evening, or go to any after school activities, the game is off.

During the school day, all students in my classes are to follow a set of pretty ridiculous rules. For example, one rule is that students must always carry their books or their book bags in their right hand at all times. Another is that if they ever pass any garbage on the ground, they must always stop to pick it up and throw it away at all costs. The complete list is attached above. The thought police must watch their classmates throughout the day and try to catch them breaking one of the rules. Each night, the thought police each need to report each of the infractions to me via email, which I’ll then post anonymously at the beginning of class the next day so students will know if they’ve been caught.

So what’s to keep students from breaking the rules? At the conclusion of the simulation, every student will be required to write a one page reflection on how this experience has helped them to better understand the novel. For each infraction they make, the length of their reflection grows. And just before we write the reflections, I let each of the students take a guess at who the thought police are. If someone guesses the identity of one of the thought police, that student’s reflection will go back to a single page, and the student who was the thought police will have to write twice as long of a reflection as they normally would have.

The reflections are fun to read. Not only do students gain some wonderful perspective about 1984, but many of them report back having felt a bit of their own paranoia while at school. I once had a student inform me that in a moment of weakness, she confided in her friend, who was also part of the class, and told her that she wasn’t one of the thought police. Her friend simply replied, “Oh, that’s interesting,” and promptly walked away. On her reflection, the first girl said that she took the response to mean that her friend must be one of the thought police, so she made extra certain to be following each of the rules while they were together at school (which was nearly all day long). When I looked on the second girl’s reflection, she said that she felt like her friend was trying to trick her into letting her guard down so she would catch her breaking the rules, and therefore she made sure to always be on guard around her friend.

As fun as the game can be for the students, it is important that as the teacher, you keep an eye out for kids who might be taking the game too far, or are using their power as a thought police to isolate or target their classmates. If you feel like you have a student who might not be able to emotionally handle the game, you might want to check in with them first and give them the chance to opt out if need be. Something else that I’ve done, is that I don’t always list every student who is reported by the thought police. If I feel like the same names are popping up too often, I’ll spread out the infractions to a few other students. Finally, you may consider letting some of your colleagues in on what you’re doing since their students might be acting a bit strangely for a few days.

As I mentioned earlier, this simulation is almost always one of the most memorable things that we do each year. My students have fun with it, but it also serves the purpose of letting them experience the paranoia of living in a dystopian novel, and hopefully shows them the importance of avoiding this kind of future at all costs.

Matt Brisbin has taught English at McMinnville High School, in McMinnville, Oregon, for the last sixteen years and has taught AP Literature and Composition for the last ten years. He also works for the College Board as a consultant and reader for the AP Literature and Composition Exam. He is a regular contributor to the APLitHelp (rest in peace) and #teachlivingpoets blogs, TEDx speaker, and is also a co-author of the Instructor’s Guide to the high school edition of the 2019 Norton Literature Anthology. In his spare time, Matt enjoys reading, playing pickleball, searching for the perfect cup of coffee, and spending time with his kids, Hadley and Axel, and his wife, Erin. 

Susan Barber teaches AP Lit at Midtown High School in Atlanta, Georgia. Susan also serves at the AP Lit College Board Advisor. In addition to reading, writing, and investing in the next generation, she loves watching college football with her family especially when Alabama is playing.