Lesson summary

Students evaluate the social, moral and ethical positions represented in the text The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin, which asks whether you would be comfortable living in a utopia if all the world’s burdens were placed on a single child, and reflect on its impact on their personal understanding of the world.

Learning intentions:

Students will...

evaluate the social, moral and ethical positions represented in the text The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin, and reflect on its impact on their personal understanding of the world.

Success criteria:

Students can...

discuss the moral challenge observable in the text
discuss who might be responsible for solving moral and ethical challenges in our own society
explore ways to have a positive impact on the world.

Lesson guides and printables

Lesson details

Australian Curriculum content descriptions:

Year 7 English:

Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts drawn from different historical, social and cultural contexts (ACELT1619)
Discuss aspects of texts, for example their aesthetic and social value, using relevant and appropriate metalanguage (ACELT1803)
Use comprehension strategies to interpret, analyse and synthesise ideas and information, critiquing ideas and issues from a variety of textual sources (ACELY1723)
Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects of subject matter and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas (ACELY1725)

Syllabus outcomes: EN4-8D, EN4-5C, EN4-2A, EN4-4B

Relevant parts of Year 7 English achievement standards: Students demonstrate understanding of how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary affects meaning. Students explain issues and ideas from a variety of sources, analysing supporting evidence and implied meaning. They select specific details from texts to develop their own response, recognising that texts reflect different viewpoints. They listen for and explain different perspectives in texts. Students create structured and coherent texts for a range of purposes and audiences. When creating and editing texts they demonstrate understanding of grammar, use a variety of more specialised vocabulary and accurate spelling and punctuation.

Year 8 English:

Explore the ways that ideas and viewpoints in literary texts drawn from different historical, social and cultural contexts may reflect or challenge the values of individuals and groups (ACELT1626)
Recognise and explain differing viewpoints about the world, cultures, individual people and concerns represented in texts (ACELT1807)
Create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that raise issues, report events and advance opinions, using deliberate language and textual choices, and including digital elements as appropriate (ACELY1736)

Syllabus outcomes: EN4-8D, EN4-4B

Relevant parts of Year 8 English achievement standards: Students explain how language features, images and vocabulary are used to represent different ideas and issues in texts. Students interpret texts. They select evidence from the text to show how events, situations and people can be represented from different viewpoints. Students create texts for different purposes, selecting language to influence audience response. When creating and editing texts to create specific effects, they take into account intended purposes and the needs and interests of audiences.

Year 9 English:

Present an argument about a literary text based on initial impressions and subsequent analysis of the whole text (ACELT1771)
Explore and reflect on personal understanding of the world and significant human experience gained from interpreting various representations of life matters in texts (ACELT1635)
Interpret, analyse and evaluate how different perspectives of issue, event, situation, individuals or groups are constructed to serve specific purposes in texts (ACELY1742)
Create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that present a point of view and advance or illustrate arguments, including texts that integrate visual, print and/or audio features (ACELY1746)

Syllabus outcomes: EN5-1A, EN5-7D, EN5-2A, EN5-1A

Relevant parts of Year 9 English achievement standards: Students evaluate and integrate ideas and information from texts to form their own interpretations. They understand how interpretations can vary by comparing their responses to texts to the responses of others. Students create texts that respond to issues, interpreting and integrating ideas from other texts.

Year 10 English:

Reflect on, extend, endorse or refute others’ interpretations of and responses to literature (ACELT1640)
Evaluate the social, moral and ethical positions represented in texts (ACELT1812)
Identify and analyse implicit or explicit values, beliefs and assumptions in texts and how these are influenced by purposes and likely audiences (ACELY1752)
Create sustained texts, including texts that combine specific digital or media content, for imaginative, informative, or persuasive purposes that reflect upon challenging and complex issues (ACELY1756)

Syllabus outcomes: EN5-5C, EN5-7D, EN5-5C, EN5-1A

Relevant parts of Year 10 English achievement standards: Students develop and justify their own interpretations of texts. They evaluate other interpretations, analysing the evidence used to support them. Students create a wide range of texts to articulate complex ideas.

General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, Ethical Understanding.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – Facilitate discussions, scaffold students’ independent work.

Individual devices (optional)
Text – The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
Student writing materials.

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

Critical thinking
Empathy
Ethical understanding
Global citizenship

This is an original Cool.org lesson. Facts and figures mentioned may have changed since this lesson was published. We always endeavour to update our resources in a timely manner, but if you see an error or issue in our resources please get in touch with us.

Developing an understanding of ethics through literature

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