This Anthem unit plan leads students through engaging explorations of historical context, characterization, point of view, symbolism, language style, theme development, and more. Includes 20 Anthem lesson plans, instructional materials, fun activities, and teacher guide.
The Anthem introduction slideshow provides helpful background information, a preview of the story, and an overview of the learning goals. Before viewing the slideshow, decide if you want students to take notes or to keep the viewing informal.
WRITING PROMPT: Do you enjoy stories about imagined futures, strange possibilities, or hypothetical science? Are such stories just for fun or do they hold deeper importance? Explain your views.
After introducing the novella, have students reflect on key theme subjects and share their own perspectives by completing the anticipation guide.
Implementation suggestion:
For thousands of years, philosophers, social scientists, and leaders have pondered how to make a more perfect society. People are continually trying to improve society in specific ways, but there have also been momentous revolutions.
We will conduct a thought experiment by exploring original ideas to rewrite human society from scratch. You hold the future in your hands. You have been given absolute authority in designing and implementing a new society. You will determine the form of the most ideal society possible. Your society can be small or global, but it should be self-sufficient.
(The handout will work with any short work of speculative fiction.)
Suggestion: Assign each group 1 question from the top, 1 question from the bottom, and 1 excerpt. The group discusses and prepares 3 responses to share with the class.
Alternative: Each student chooses 1 question from the top set, 1 question from the bottom set, and 1 excerpt and responds in writing. The class discusses the questions in order.
Anthem asks us to imagine a society based on some unusual and strictly enforced principles and expectations. Equality refers to these rules (many that he has broken) as they come up in his telling. We will formalize the list of rules based on his explanations.
Part 1: Collect Textual Evidence regarding the rules of the Anthem society.
You may want to model the completion of one entry as a class.
Part 2: Codify the Rules of Anthem.
Codify means to organize an official code or set of rules. In history class you might learn about Hammurabi’s Code, 282 laws from ancient Babylon. You might also hear someone refer to the municipal code, the rules for their town or city.
Even though Rand’s dystopian fiction takes place in the future, full comprehension requires more than imagination. You should understand the state of the world when Anthem was written and published (the historical context). The novella was written and published in the twentieth century when two philosophically opposed systems, Capitalism and Communism, competed for world domination.
Suggestion: Assign each group 1 question from the top, 1 question from the bottom, and 1 excerpt. The group discusses and prepares 3 responses to share with the class.
Alternative: Each student chooses 1 question from the top set, 1 question from the bottom set, and 1 excerpt and responds in writing. The class discusses the questions in order.
At this point in the novella, Rand has formed Equality 7-2521 fully. She creates the character in our imaginations through his thoughts, statements, actions, and interactions. Some of the characterization is direct (stated plainly) and some of the characterization is indirect (you must make inferences and reach a conclusion).
We also understand the conflicts at the center of Equality’s story. He struggles against external forces such as other people and the natural world. He also deals with internal conflicts, the thoughts and emotions that trouble him and make him, well, conflicted.
Make no mistake, many people and organizations are trying to control your thoughts and beliefs. It may be as simple as your parents trying to influence who you hang out with or as insidious as a multi-national corporation convincing you to adopt a self-destructive habit.
In the 20 th century, opposing “isms” (capitalism, communism, and fascism) fought for the hearts and minds of nations and people. Institutions / organizations relied on propaganda, the spreading of one-sided messages. Propaganda takes the form of articles, posters, slogans, etc. that propagate (spread) a message without concern for fairness or truth.
Today we will be watching several short cartoons representing both sides of the Cold War. As you watch, ask yourself…
Warm-up : Can you think of any literary symbols from famous stories or popular culture?
Lesson : Prepare to analyze the symbols in Anthem by explaining the symbolism in a short story.
Short story suggestions:
Suggestion: Assign each group 1 question from the top, 1 question from the bottom, and 1 excerpt. The group discusses and prepares 3 responses to share with the class.
Alternative: Each student chooses 1 question from the top set, 1 question from the bottom set, and 1 excerpt and responds in writing. The class discusses the questions in order.
Main characters often take a personal journey that changes their views and/or personality. Sometimes the journey changes their identity completely. (A name change can signify this.) This journey is known as a character arc.
Fun clip: “Anakin & Luke’s Reflective Character Arcs” (9 minutes) from Cinema Stuff CONTENT WARNING: Star Wars violence
Equality changes profoundly over the course of Anthem; this makes him a dynamic character. Like most real people, dynamic characters’ views and desires change over time. (Any characters who do not really change are called static characters.) Summarize Equality’s personal journey (character arc) using the graphic organizer.
Style of language features prominently in Ayn Rand’s Anthem. She chooses her words carefully to set a tone and create emotional and intellectual responses. The specific language style choices accumulate and build to create the overall effect.
Lesson : Excerpt Experts
Conclusion: You may have noticed that Rand’s writing in Anthem imitates the style of a religious text. She uses words like holy, martyr, miracle, alter, covet, saint, commandment, sacred, hymn, and sin. The sentence structure suggests a sacred prophecy or the testament of a disciple.
When an individual or organization uses “nonsense persuasion” to support a particular cause or point of view it is called propaganda. It propagates (spreads) the idea without any concern for fairness or truth.
NOTE: A reasonable argument that considers different points of view is NOT propaganda.
Helpful link: “Logical Fallacies” (21 slides) from HRW.com
Helpful link: “Valid and Fallacious Reasoning” (15 slides) from Ms. Beaulieu
Propaganda Gallery Activity:
Warm-up : What is reality? Have you ever had a dream that seemed real or a false memory? What if your whole life is a perfectly detailed virtual reality algorithm? What if this is the afterlife, and it is actually a test? How can you be sure that your life is real? Explain your views.
Through: Can you think of any stories that are meant to represent a larger story or concept?
We will study a famous allegory from Greek philosophy. Once you understand Plato’s allegory, explain the meaning of the cave story and make connections to Anthem.
Wrap-up : Deliberate or accidental? Do you think Ayn Rand consciously thought about Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” as she was writing Anthem, or are the connections coincidental? Explain.
You may note an author making references to a well-known event, history, or text. These references are called allusions. Allusions create connections in the mind of the reader to ideas that are already understood. Of course, if the reader has no knowledge of the source material, the added meaning is lost.
Allusion: a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or cultural concept, often without explicit explanation or description. Allusions create a deeper meaning and add context.
Shades of meaning:
Ayn Rand uses symbolism extensively in Anthem — but not in her title. Which people, objects, places, or events in Anthem might have deeper layers meaning? Brainstorm a list of possible symbols; feel free to include minor details.
Use textual evidence to explain the meaning attached to ONE symbol or motif in Anthem.
A symbol is an object, person, place, or event that has a deeper meaning beyond itself. For example, the white whale in Moby Dick is more than an ill-tempered aquatic mammal. The whale represents fate, obsession, and Captain Ahab.
A motif is a recurring (shown more than once) element the author uses for intended effect. It might be a line of dialogue, a description, a comparison, an image, or an idea.
ANTHEM UNIT AND MATERIALS
Warm-up : The word “theme” has different meanings. We are not talking about a prom theme or theme parks or theme music. In literature, the theme is the message. You should express the theme as a complete sentence.
Theme subject: love ➡ Theme: Love stinks.
Theme subject: revenge ➡ Theme: Seeking revenge also punishes the seeker.
List theme subjects found in Anthem — include even the less important subjects.
Lesson : Use the handout to trace the development of one theme subject in Anthem. By providing the pertinent information, you will both identify the full message (theme) and explain how it is communicated.
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Teaching Anthem can be approachable, rewarding, and even fun when you have effective and engaging lesson plans. If you feel that these ideas make the grade, download the ANTHEM Teaching Guide which provides a comprehensive playbook with all the instructional materials you need. Anthem teaching materials (handouts, slideshows, answer keys, etc.) come in file formats that you can modify.
Tags: Anthem activities, Anthem worksheets, teaching Anthem ideas, high school, Anthem teaching guide, Anthem curriculum, Anthem novel study, grade 9, grade 10, grade 11, Ayn Rand
