Famous as a horror story, as the first science fiction novel, Frankenstein is also a tale of ambition, a warning about unbridled science, and responsibility for actions. Readers consider what the tale says of the consequences of creation...

Almost every ancient culture observed the stars and saw pictures in the patterns. Studying stars allowed them to guide travelers, determine when to plant crops, when to harvest food, and the stories surrounding the images include some of...

Moral choices arise when a character is imbued with great talent or super powers. A study of these choices form the basis of a unit focused on character development in the first two novels of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series. The...

The odds will be in your favor that young statisticians will volunteer to participate in this experiment. After watching a short video that is part of the PBS Math at the Core middle school collection, scholars engage in a lottery and...

Is it hubris that drives the creative process? Is it the desire to be remembered long past death? An interactive asks readers of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Percy Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" to consider what this wife and...

Douglas Adams' hysterical send-up of bureaucratic thinking, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is the focus of a Great American Read video that urges viewers to vote for one of the greatest satires since Gulliver's Travels.

A top vote-getter for the Great American Read program is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Find out why the classic tale, adapted into over 50 films and numerous TV shows, has earned its spot on the favorites list.

Ah, but who is the real monster in Frankenstein? Actress Allison Williams shares her reasoning for why Mary Shelly's horror story should be included in The Great American Read series. 

Margaret Atwood calls her novel The Handmaid's Tale "speculative fiction" because she claims everything in the story has happened, is continuing to happen, and could happen again. With an interactive resource, learners examine three...

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is the focus of a Great American Read video that urges viewers to read this dystopian novel about a villainous society that oppresses women and minority groups.

Words matter. Words frame thought. Words are symbolic. Readers of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale examine how the words In Gilead's "New Language" reinforce the power of the government and provided insight into the symbolic level...

Talk about a teaser! A short video from the PBS series, The Great American Read, offers just enough information about Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale to fascinate viewers and have them reaching for the book. The author asserts she...

Deep in December it can be hard to remember that it was ever warm enough to go swimming. Imagine what it would be like to only have a sunny day once every seven years! Ray Bradbury's gripping short story, "All Summer in a Day" tells the...

Ready Player One has been praised as a novel that captures the vitality, the allure, and the essence of the virtual reality experience. Speakers in a short video share their rationale for why Ernest Clines' dystopian novel should be...

Wil Wheaton shares his rationale for why readers should vote for Frank Herbert's Dune as their choice for the Great American Read program. His talk touches on the major themes of the novel and its central conflicts.

Dune remains one of the most popular science fiction tales ever written. Find out why with a short video that argues for including Frank Herbert's tale of sandworms and Fremen, Mentats and witches, villains and heroes in the Great...

Star Wars is the theme of a hands-on activity that challenges scholars to design a board game equipped with written instructions. Following a whole-class discussion, participants work collaboratively or independently to make, test, and...

Enthusiastic readers take part in a book club unit that focuses on genre, particularly historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure. Over the course of 10 days, groups read a variety of stories and choose leveled activities from a learning...

Will the advancement of technology doom interpersonal relationships? Like the score for Jaws, the music for the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick's 2001- A Space Odyssey stirs the imagination of viewers. Cinema lovers and film newbies...

Science fiction and horror story geeks will love a carefully crafted video about H.P. Lovecraft. Those new to the Cthulhu Mythos and "Lovecraftian" fiction are introduced to the Great Old Ones, Yog-Sothoth, and Azathoth.

Introduce science fiction fans to writer Octavia E. Butler with a short video that argues for why readers should add her works to their must-read list. 

Even supposed Utopian societies have their flaws. Using an educator's guide, individuals explore the society Ally Condie creates in Matched. Reflective writing prompts double as discussion questions and cover key themes in the novel, as...

How is it that science fiction writers have displayed the uncanny ability to predict the future? An informational video discusses the genre of science fiction and explains how it has developed. Discussions of specific texts, such...