The War of the Worlds Lesson Plan

Cancel the Narrator?

Kind of Activity:

Classwide Discussion

Objective:

To stimulate students into thinking more about the book’s writing style and point of view and how they compare to current writing trends.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5

Structure:

The teacher should introduce this activity by presenting the following scenario: If aliens were to invade today and the narrator of The War of the Worlds were writing about it—and perhaps sharing his thoughts on social media—do you think he would cause outrage? After all, he doesn’t believe we should judge invading aliens “too harshly” even...