THE HANDMAID'S TALE, Full Unit for Homeschool or Independent Learning
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Description
Use the hit Hulu series and hot topic current events to experience this feminist, dystopian classic. This take-home unit includes every single thing you need to teach this terrifying, captivating, and mind-blowing book. I’ve loved this book for 25 years, taught it for 10 and now I’ve adapted the whole unit to be used as an independent learning unit, including optional use of the TV series and modern events. This unit includes:
- Daily “Do Now” personal journal prompts tailored to each chapter subject
- Short answer response questions on each chapter
- Current event connections ripped from the headlines!
- A link to the full text online (it's available for free)
- Exit activities to complete after each reading session
- NEW: Exact time stamp cues for showing scenes from the Hulu series, with episode numbers and minute marks for every chapter! (MAJOR time saver)
- Daily online review quiz-games for at home individual use. (Kahoot) Students simply click the link you send them and take the exam individually from home.
- 5 ongoing formative writing assessments called “Argument Papers”, which are complete assignments including resource articles (current events) in a ready-to-print packet format with rubrics.
- Final paper including 8 essay question options and a rubric. I’ve revised these over the years, and they truly encourage compelling student work!
My students love this unit and consistently make insightful connections to the world today. They demonstrate improved writing skills, show close-reading skills and practice in-depth literary analysis. Don’t spend your time coming up with questions, finding where the scenes are in the show, searching for news articles, and formatting handouts! This cohesive, highly engaging and clearly structured unit on a haunting novel can be completed 100% from home.
See also the FULL IN-CLASS VERSION INCLUDING READER'S THEATER ROLES
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Daily Pacing and Structure of Each Lesson: Each lesson includes the following elements.
Do now: a short thought-provoking journal entry to write before reading. 5-10 min
Review Quiz: Review the last session’s reading with a fun Kahoot quiz. Kahoot is an online quiz that students can take and see their answers live. Just click the link to the quiz and play it. 10 min
Stop and Jot moments (1-2 min ea.) When a particularly juicy, meaningful, or complex part of this text is read, it’s important to take note. When you get to this point: “Stop and Jot” and answer the questions. Students should write on sticky notes and leave them in the text (if they have their own copy of the book), or in their notebook journals. 1-2 min ea.
Comprehension Questions: After reading, 5-10 comprehension questions which range from factual recall to interpretative to thematic. 15-20 min
Visual or supplemental material for today’s reading: Each lesson includes supplementary materials, whether they be photos, videos, artifacts, or articles to deepen understanding of the story. In this way, you can explore the many references in the text and engage your visual learners. There are also hour and minute marks from the Hulu series to use for each section.
Exit ticket question/ activity (30 seconds-2 min); This activity is completed after the reading session and may be a tie-in from the “do now” at the beginning of the lesson. 30 sec-2 min
