Fictional Narrative Writing Project: Human Nature and Purpose of Government

This integrated Social Studies and Language Arts unit is designed to walk students step-by-step through the fictional narrative writing process AND It combines literary analysis, fictional narrative writing, as well as listening and speaking skills to facilitate student exploration of one of the fundamental questions of democracy:

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT?

This is an excellent ELA unit to teach alongside any foundations of government unit, as it allows students to collectively deliberate many of the same questions our founding fathers grappled with. To this end, students will engage in a mini analysis of a short film, a Socratic Seminar that requires students take a deep dive into Plato’s “The Republic”, and then plan and write their own short story as they formulate and support their personal beliefs and opinions to the overarching question:

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ABOUT HUMAN NATURE?

Beyond teaching standards, education builds character, develops personal identity, and fosters emotional growth and stability. The questions that guide each lesson in this sequence provide a platform to connect the importance of informed, compassionate, and active civic participation is essential for a democracy to work. Additionally, as students learn more and more about our government and the development of political parties in our country, they will begin to understand how ultimately, our political views reflect not just our values, but the underlying beliefs we each carry about human nature.

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FOR EXAMPLE: 

• Given the opportunity, do you think that the average person will think only of their own needs and personal gain, or will they choose to serve the greater good regardless of personal costs?
• Will they act or choose differently depending on whether or not someone else is watching?
• How much can we, or should we, trust each other?

All of the resources come in print-ready PDFs -AND- editable, digital Google Drive files for your convenience. 

I would be so happy to hear what you think of this resource, and how you used it with your students! 

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