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Year 7

Understanding dystopias

I can understand and identify features of a dystopian setting.

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New
New
Year 7

Understanding dystopias

I can understand and identify features of a dystopian setting.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A dystopia is a fictional, futuristic society in which there is great suffering and injustice
  2. The setting is the time and place in which a story takes place
  3. The opposite of a dystopia is a utopia, which is an imagined place where everything is fair and perfect
  4. Dystopian settings are often used to make a point about our current society

Common misconception

Pupils may mistake dystopia and utopia as the words are similar

Explicitly explain the difference between the two and explain that they are antonyms

Keywords

  • Futuristic - a futuristic place is in the future with advanced technology

  • Society - a society is a big group of people living together

  • Suffering - if you suffer, you experience extreme pain

  • Injustice - there is injustice when things are not fair

  • Convention - a rule within a genre

You may want to use another dystopian story that pupils will be aware of instead of The Hunger Games or Noughts and Crosses.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a noun?
A describing word.
An action word.
A punctuation type.
Correct answer: A name, object or place.
A word that describes a verb.
Q2.
What is a verb?
A word to describe a noun.
A word that tells us where something is.
A word to describe how someone does something.
Correct answer: An action word, that tells us what someone or something does.
Q3.
What is a simile?
Saying something is something else.
Using the same sound at the beginning of two consecutive words.
When a word resembles the sound it makes.
Giving human characteristics to an inanimate object.
Correct answer: Comparing two things using the words 'like' or 'as'.
Q4.
What is a simple sentence?
A sentence with a conjunction.
Correct answer: A sentence with a subject and verb.
A sentence with ambitious punctuation.
A sentence with an independent and subordinate clause.
A sentence with only a verb.
Q5.
Which literary technique is this? Directly comparing an object to another thing.
Onomatopoeia
Alliteration
Pathetic fallacy
Correct answer: Metaphor
Adverbial phrase
Q6.
What is the purpose of an adverbial phrase?
Correct answer: To add more information to the sentence.
To describe a noun.
To compare two things.
To make a sentence longer.
To make a sentence shorter.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is setting?
A genre of text.
Correct answer: The time and place that a story takes place.
The time period that a story takes place.
Q2.
Which word means 'a bad and difficult place'?
Correct Answer: Dystopia, dystopia
Q3.
What is the opposite of dystopia?
Correct Answer: Utopia, utopia
Q4.
Choose the main characteristics of dystopia.
Freedom
Correct answer: Suffering
Peace
Nature
Correct answer: Injustice
Q5.
Pick parts of our society that writers may want to show in their dystopian novels.
Beauty of nature
Inspirational people
Correct answer: Homelessness
Equality
Correct answer: Climate destruction
Q6.
Which sentences depict utopia vs. dystopia?
Correct Answer:Her stomach growled.,Dystopia

Dystopia

Correct Answer:They were trapped inside.,Dystopia

Dystopia

Correct Answer:The flowers glistened.,Utopia

Utopia

Correct Answer:His hands were calloused.,Dystopia

Dystopia

Correct Answer:Everyone is welcome here.,Utopia

Utopia

Correct Answer:Dark fog suffocated his mind.,Dystopia

Dystopia