Brave New World by Aldous Huxley page created by Nicole Gwyn
"We can make a new one with the greatest ease-as many as we like. Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself."
Before Reading:
The following are resources to consider sharing with your students before they begin reading Brave New World. These links provide excellent background information of the topics discussed in the book as well as of the book itself. The links are useful tools in helping students to create a deeper and more meaningful experience with the text.
1. Using the Matrix to Explore Dystopian Societies (lesson plan) This lesson plan from NCTE's website, Read Write Think, uses scenes from the movie The Matrix to introduce, establish and explore themes of dystopian societies. This would be a great activity to introduce the societies described in Brave New World.
2. Creating a Technology Autobiography (assignment) This assignment from Read Write Think helps students understand the importance of technology in their lives by asking them to create a technology autobiography. This assignment lays the ground work for a related lesson plan (below) that uses Brave New World to explore the implications of the importance technology plays within our society. Though the link connects to a longer unit plan which focuses more on technology standards than English Language Arts, the lessons can be shortened significantly or customized to incorporate only the autobiography assignment itself.
3. Exploring Fictional Technology (lesson plan) This lesson plan from Read Write Think, an extension of the assignment above, uses Brave New World to explore the implications of our being a technology dependent society. The lesson asks students to tap into their existing knowledge of the ways in which they use technology and relate it to their personal beliefs of how they believe society should use technology. Though the entire lesson requires 4-5 days of instruction, it can be modified and used as a pre-reading activity used to get students thinking about some of the book's major themes.
4. Brave New World Pre-Reading WebQuest This WebQuest is a very thorough resource which provides information about author Aldous Huxley, background information of the psychology within the novel, and the important role persuasion and propaganda play within the text. After completing this assignment students will be better equipped to understand the many outside references made within the book.
5. Brave New World Anticipation Guide and Basic Vocabulary Worksheet This anticipation guide asks students to evaluate their beliefs on a number of topics ranging from government regulation to the issues in human cloning. In answering these questions students will begin to anticipate the major themes within the novel and as a result be more receptive to the understanding of these themes as they read. Also attached to the anticipation guide is a worksheet outlining the novel's basic vocabulary with which students may need to be familiar prior to their reading.
While Reading:
The following are resources which could be utilized as students read Brave New World. All of the links provide useful information, activities or supplements, which when accompanied with the reading of the text, allow for a greater understanding of the major workings within the novel.
7. Brave New World Study Guide This short study guide asks readers to answer comprehensive questions about the text and define important vocabulary words as a means to ensure they are gaining the information needed from the text.
8. Brave New World Cyber Guide This cyber guide provides students with four activities in which both groups and individuals learn about major themes within the text. Propaganda and advertising, ethics surrounding cloning, and the drug use in Brave New World are all touched upon as students participate in writing prompts and deliver oral and visual presentations on the topics they discovered.
9. Blogtopia (Blogging assignment) In this assignment, students make their own blogs which they use to promote a Utopian society they have created using rules, principals and general guidelines they learned from the novel. Working with the guidelines, students create their idea of a perfect society, fully equipped with its own slogan, monetary system, constitution or any facet of civilization they so choose to incorporate into their ideal worlds. After creating their worlds within their blogs, students venture out into their classmates' Utopias (blogs) and comment on what their peers have made.
10. Brave New World WebQuest (Creating Utopian Society) This WebQuest asks groups of students to create a Utopian society, develop a proposal for their society, and then submit their proposal in front of their classmates who will determine whether or not to accept the proposed Utopia. The WebQuest helps students better understand the proponents of Utopian societies while teaching
11. Brave New World Teacher's Guide This guide provides teachers with assistance in teaching the novel by providing an outline of important information that should touched upon as students read. The guide also provides several student activities for teachers to consider incorporating into their lessons before, during, and after the reading of the book.
12. Clip of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World Interview This short YouTube clip highlights author Aldous Huxley's personal thoughts of the novel which may help students to better understand his purpose and intentions within the book.
13. PBS Brave New World Lesson Plan This lesson plan from PBS's website helps students in their understanding of Utopian societies as they continue their reading of Brave New World. Using historical information of past Utopian societies and the information they have learned in their reading, students "develop their own plans for a visionary and Utopian society."
14. Brave New World Chapter by Chapter Reading Guide This student guide helps students in their reading by posing important questions for thought to be considered after reading each chapter in the book. This guide could be especially helpful if the bulk of the reading is being done outside of the classroom.
After Reading: The following are links to assessment tools for use with students after they have read the novel. These resources are valuable in allowing students to demonstrate the knowledge they have learned throughout their reading of the text and provide a way to determine whether they have met the criteria needed for English Language Arts Content Area Standards.
15. Brave New World Jeopardy! This link connects to a game of Jeopardy! customized with questions about Brave New World. The game would be a fun and helpful review for students after they finish reading the novel, to help them prepare for the exam.
16.Brave New World Essay Ideas This website lists several ideas for essay topics which students can use to demonstrate their understanding of the main themes and concepts of the text.
17.Brave New World Explications This worksheet asks students to identify the significance and meaning of many quotes throughout the book. This would be a great assessment tool to use to ensure students understood the significance of the themes within the novel.
18. Applied Practice in Brave New World This PDF file is a condensed version of a larger booklet which creates ACT style questions from the novel Brave New World. This type of practice assessment would prove especially useful in a classroom whose students have yet to take the exam.
19. Feminism in Utopias This handout references the use of two episodes of the Twilight Zone in which the premises resemble the plot of Brave New World. The writing prompt on the handout asks students to begin taking the steps of looking at the novel through a feminist lens and invites them to apply what they have observed in both shows and the book to a school of literary theory.
Brave New World Adaptations:
The following are links to adapted instances of Brave New World found in pop-culture. Any of these ideas would make great additions in helping to teach students the relevance and timeless message of this novel.
20.Iron Maiden's Brave New World (song/album) This website showcases an interview with Iron Maiden lead singer Billy Dickinson who explains the link between his song's title and the novel, Brave New World. This site allows students to see the wide impact Huxley's novel has made in all facets of society.
21.Huxley: The Dystopia (game) This Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter (MMOFPS) is a game which derived its name from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Though the game's plot is not the same as the plot in the book, its Dystopian setting and class separation of the characters are a nod toward the novel. This link again allows students to see the wide impact Huxley's writing had within our society.
22.Brave New World (1998 movie) - This link connects to the IMDB website for the 1998 film version of Brave New World which was released in the US, but only in television format. This could be an interesting resource for students to watch and compare to the novel with a culminating paper as an assessment. As a side note, there are rumors that another version of the film is under production, this one Starring Leonardo DiCaprio with director Ridley Scott.
23.Brave No World (play) - This play is an adaption of Brave New World, aimed toward teenagers and their views on today's society. It combines music and "rants" to create a specialized, more current theatrical version of Huxley's classic.
page created by Nicole Gwyn
Before Reading:
The following are resources to consider sharing with your students before they begin reading Brave New World. These links provide excellent background information of the topics discussed in the book as well as of the book itself. The links are useful tools in helping students to create a deeper and more meaningful experience with the text.
1. Using the Matrix to Explore Dystopian Societies (lesson plan) This lesson plan from NCTE's website, Read Write Think, uses scenes from the movie The Matrix to introduce, establish and explore themes of dystopian societies. This would be a great activity to introduce the societies described in Brave New World.
2. Creating a Technology Autobiography (assignment) This assignment from Read Write Think helps students understand the importance of technology in their lives by asking them to create a technology autobiography. This assignment lays the ground work for a related lesson plan (below) that uses Brave New World to explore the implications of the importance technology plays within our society. Though the link connects to a longer unit plan which focuses more on technology standards than English Language Arts, the lessons can be shortened significantly or customized to incorporate only the autobiography assignment itself.
3. Exploring Fictional Technology (lesson plan) This lesson plan from Read Write Think, an extension of the assignment above, uses Brave New World to explore the implications of our being a technology dependent society. The lesson asks students to tap into their existing knowledge of the ways in which they use technology and relate it to their personal beliefs of how they believe society should use technology. Though the entire lesson requires 4-5 days of instruction, it can be modified and used as a pre-reading activity used to get students thinking about some of the book's major themes.
4. Brave New World Pre-Reading WebQuest This WebQuest is a very thorough resource which provides information about author Aldous Huxley, background information of the psychology within the novel, and the important role persuasion and propaganda play within the text. After completing this assignment students will be better equipped to understand the many outside references made within the book.
5. Brave New World Anticipation Guide and Basic Vocabulary Worksheet This anticipation guide asks students to evaluate their beliefs on a number of topics ranging from government regulation to the issues in human cloning. In answering these questions students will begin to anticipate the major themes within the novel and as a result be more receptive to the understanding of these themes as they read. Also attached to the anticipation guide is a worksheet outlining the novel's basic vocabulary with which students may need to be familiar prior to their reading.
While Reading:
The following are resources which could be utilized as students read Brave New World. All of the links provide useful information, activities or supplements, which when accompanied with the reading of the text, allow for a greater understanding of the major workings within the novel.
6. Brave New World Full Text This is a link to the full text of Brave New World provided by Huxley.net, the author's unofficial website.
7. Brave New World Study Guide This short study guide asks readers to answer comprehensive questions about the text and define important vocabulary words as a means to ensure they are gaining the information needed from the text.
8. Brave New World Cyber Guide This cyber guide provides students with four activities in which both groups and individuals learn about major themes within the text. Propaganda and advertising, ethics surrounding cloning, and the drug use in Brave New World are all touched upon as students participate in writing prompts and deliver oral and visual presentations on the topics they discovered.
9. Blogtopia (Blogging assignment) In this assignment, students make their own blogs which they use to promote a Utopian society they have created using rules, principals and general guidelines they learned from the novel. Working with the guidelines, students create their idea of a perfect society, fully equipped with its own slogan, monetary system, constitution or any facet of civilization they so choose to incorporate into their ideal worlds. After creating their worlds within their blogs, students venture out into their classmates' Utopias (blogs) and comment on what their peers have made.
10. Brave New World WebQuest (Creating Utopian Society) This WebQuest asks groups of students to create a Utopian society, develop a proposal for their society, and then submit their proposal in front of their classmates who will determine whether or not to accept the proposed Utopia. The WebQuest helps students better understand the proponents of Utopian societies while teaching
11. Brave New World Teacher's Guide This guide provides teachers with assistance in teaching the novel by providing an outline of important information that should touched upon as students read. The guide also provides several student activities for teachers to consider incorporating into their lessons before, during, and after the reading of the book.
12. Clip of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World Interview This short YouTube clip highlights author Aldous Huxley's personal thoughts of the novel which may help students to better understand his purpose and intentions within the book.
13. PBS Brave New World Lesson Plan This lesson plan from PBS's website helps students in their understanding of Utopian societies as they continue their reading of Brave New World. Using historical information of past Utopian societies and the information they have learned in their reading, students "develop their own plans for a visionary and Utopian society."
14. Brave New World Chapter by Chapter Reading Guide This student guide helps students in their reading by posing important questions for thought to be considered after reading each chapter in the book. This guide could be especially helpful if the bulk of the reading is being done outside of the classroom.
After Reading:The following are links to assessment tools for use with students after they have read the novel. These resources are valuable in allowing students to demonstrate the knowledge they have learned throughout their reading of the text and provide a way to determine whether they have met the criteria needed for English Language Arts Content Area Standards.
15. Brave New World Jeopardy! This link connects to a game of Jeopardy! customized with questions about Brave New World. The game would be a fun and helpful review for students after they finish reading the novel, to help them prepare for the exam.
16.Brave New World Essay Ideas This website lists several ideas for essay topics which students can use to demonstrate their understanding of the main themes and concepts of the text.
17.Brave New World Explications This worksheet asks students to identify the significance and meaning of many quotes throughout the book. This would be a great assessment tool to use to ensure students understood the significance of the themes within the novel.
18. Applied Practice in Brave New World This PDF file is a condensed version of a larger booklet which creates ACT style questions from the novel Brave New World. This type of practice assessment would prove especially useful in a classroom whose students have yet to take the exam.
19. Feminism in Utopias This handout references the use of two episodes of the Twilight Zone in which the premises resemble the plot of Brave New World. The writing prompt on the handout asks students to begin taking the steps of looking at the novel through a feminist lens and invites them to apply what they have observed in both shows and the book to a school of literary theory.
Brave New World Adaptations:
The following are links to adapted instances of Brave New World found in pop-culture. Any of these ideas would make great additions in helping to teach students the relevance and timeless message of this novel.
20.Iron Maiden's Brave New World (song/album) This website showcases an interview with Iron Maiden lead singer Billy Dickinson who explains the link between his song's title and the novel, Brave New World. This site allows students to see the wide impact Huxley's novel has made in all facets of society.
21.Huxley: The Dystopia (game) This Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter (MMOFPS) is a game which derived its name from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Though the game's plot is not the same as the plot in the book, its Dystopian setting and class separation of the characters are a nod toward the novel. This link again allows students to see the wide impact Huxley's writing had within our society.
22.Brave New World (1998 movie) - This link connects to the IMDB website for the 1998 film version of Brave New World which was released in the US, but only in television format. This could be an interesting resource for students to watch and compare to the novel with a culminating paper as an assessment. As a side note, there are rumors that another version of the film is under production, this one Starring Leonardo DiCaprio with director Ridley Scott.
23.Brave No World (play) - This play is an adaption of Brave New World, aimed toward teenagers and their views on today's society. It combines music and "rants" to create a specialized, more current theatrical version of Huxley's classic.