The Future of Us

The Future of Us Novel Study Project!

Introduction

Welcome to The Future of Us Novel Study Project created by English Education students Annie Supalla, Reilly Maloney, and John Dodd from Western Illinois University. Here you will find helpful information on how to teach this novel written by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler.

We have based our information on this website for students in 9th grade, but it could easily be adapted to students in any grade level you wish to use this novel with.

Our main goals for the unit include:

Students will become deeply engaged with the text they read via class discussions, journal responses, mini-lectures, projects, etc.
Students will begin to think about their future, which helps them to set goals and make plans (i.e. where they will go to college what they want to do for a career, etc.)
Students will think critically about the choices they make today, and how this can/will effect their futures.
Students will analyze the ways in which they present themselves via their writing choice/style.
Students will gain a better understanding of technology and the important role that it plays in our world today.

These are just a few of our goals that we hope students will achieve throughout this unit, but we felt that these 5 goals are the most important and provide a nice framework for this unit.

Some of the Illinois Common Core Standards that this book address are the following:

CC.K-12.R.R.2 Key Ideas and Details: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
CC.K-12.R.R.3 Key Ideas and Details: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
CC.K-12.R.R.4 Craft and Structure: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
CC.K-12.R.R.6 Craft and Structure: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
CC.K-12.R.R.9 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.