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.

Concepts

abuse, dystopian literature, science fiction, totalitarianism, oppression, american literature

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the video to launch a class reading of the novel
• Have groups craft videos urging classmates to vote for one of their favorite novels

Classroom Considerations

• One of three PBS resources on The Handmaid's Tale
• Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale sequel, The Testaments, was published in 2019

Pros

• The author tells viewers that all the events in her novel are based on events that actually happened

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.6.2 RL.6.3 RL.7.2 RL.7.3 RL.8.2 RL.8.3 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.5 RL.11-12.2 RL.11-12.3