Parable of the Sower Lesson Plan

Company Towns

Kind of Activity:

Research

Objective:

Students will research and report on a historical aspect of the novel.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2

Structure:

In Chapter 11, we learn that KSF has agreed to privatize the town of Olivar in exchange for protection and resources. This marks the return of company towns: places where practically all stores and housing are owned by a single company. The notion of a single entity controlling all commerce within a residential area has historically led to some very exploitative behavior.

Either as groups or individuals, students will research company towns in America throughout the 19th and early 20th...