Kelly Rueda

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Kelly Rueda Amy CooleyREAD 435Fall 2006
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THEMES

• Conformity vs. Individuality
• Beauty
• Friendship/Betrayal
• Environmental Conservation
• Nature vs. Technology

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BEFORE-READING Writing and/or Discussion

• If you could have an operation to change your
  appearance, what would you have done and why? If
  you wouldnt have the operation, explain why.
• What do you think is pretty?
• Do you consider yourself pretty?
• What are the costs and benefits of being pretty?
  
• How do you know what pretty is?

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MINILESSONS

• Book Genre Dystopic, Science Fiction
• Vocabulary author uses interface ring (p. 4),
  river skimmer (p. 5), belly ring, hoverboard,
  ping (p. 94), scudding (p. 1), cacophony (p.9),
  impervious,
• Advertisements/Propaganda on images of beauty
• Symmetry (p.16 41-42)

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MINILESSONS

• Inference Tally calls her parents by their first
  names. What can we infer about Tallys
  relationship with her family
• Cause and Effect (Tally not being honest)
• Explore poetic forms (directions to Smoke)
• The Rusty Ruins (p. 61-68) contrasted with our
  current society
• Compare/Contrast Shay before and after the
  operation
• Compare/Contrast Tally before and after going to
  the Smoke

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SMALL PROJECTS

• Create two collages One of images you consider
  pretty and the other with images you consider
  ugly. Explain your two collages in writing.
• Survey your peers and see if they consider
  themselves to be conformists or independent
  individuals? Graph results according to answers.
• The following movie interviews young girls and
  their experiences with peer pressure to be
  beautiful. Write about your experiences.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vLi3mg1GrKe0
• Research a local environmental issue and write a
  letter to a politician explaining your concerns
  and possible solutions

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BIG PROJECTS

• Create your ideal society include government,
  education, urban planning, etc. This can be
  presented as a PowerPoint or essay. You may also
  create a model to show your ideal society.
• Research one type of plastic surgery. What are
  the costs, risks, consequences and benefits?
  Write a letter to someone who may undergo this
  surgery to give them this information.

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BIG PROJECTS

• Tallys trip to the Smoke gave her a sense of
  appreciation for the wilderness and nature.
  Research different ecotourism expeditions or
  adventure travel packages to find one you would
  like to do. Money is not an issue. Make a
  poster board illustrating your perfect outdoor
  adventure and how it would help you appreciate
  nature.
• In Uglies, the government is trying to control
  the minds of its citizens. How does our
  government use propaganda/media/laws to influence
  or track what American citizens are doing?
  Create a newsletter explaining your findings.

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SHORT ACTIVITIES

• Write a response to the following article
  discusses ugly as the new pretty
  http//redeye.chicagotribune.com/news/red-111406-u
  gly-main,0,5419736.story
• Tally and Shay use a computer program that lets
  them see themselves symmetrically. Tally
  believes people just naturally see beauty in
  symmetry. Shay disagrees. Read the article at
  http//www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060213_att
  raction_rules.html or research work from
  anthropologist Helen Fisher on symmetry. Do you
  think that attraction to symmetry is natural or
  learned?

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SHORT ACTIVITIES

• Choose a character from Uglies and create a
  character hoverboard that shows the characters
  traits (Art Project). You may also compare
  yourself with the character.
• Draw pictures comparing and contrasting
  Uglyville, New Pretty Town, and the Smoke
• Pretend you are David write a letter to Tally
  explaining how you feel after you find out about
  her betrayal

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DRAMA ROLE-PLAY

• Write a dialogue between Tally and Az. What
  would she say to him? How would he react?
• On p. 419, Tally is upset because she cannot have
  one last conversation with David. Imagine you
  are Tally, what would you say?
• Imagine that something has happened to Shay that
  reverses the damage done by Dr. Cable, what would
  she say to Tally? What would Tallys response be?

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EXTENDED WRITING

• Write about a time that you kept a secret from a
  friend and regretted it later.
• The Rusties used their knowledge about the past
  to make decisions about the present. As a
  result, they have a different lifestyle than the
  Rusties. Do you think people tend to learn from
  their mistakes or does history keep repeating
  itself? Write a persuasive essay and use real
  life examples to support your answer.
• The society in Uglies think we were barbaric. Do
  you agree or disagree? Why or why not?
• How important is beauty in our society? What
  kinds of images do you find about women/men in
  the media? What kind of impact do these images
  have on you as an adolescent?

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION JOURNAL WRITING

• Turning pretty is a rite of passage. What are
  some rites of passages teens go through today?
• Was Tally really concerned about Shay when she
  went to the Smoke or was she only doing it to
  secure her chances of getting the operation?
• If you could have an operation at the age of 16
  and be pretty forever, would you? Why or why
  not?

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION JOURNAL WRITING

• Uglies call each other insulting names like
  squinty. Why do they do this? Tell about a time
  that someone called you a hurtful name or a time
  you have hurt someone else. How do you feel
  about it now?
• The Rusties society was destroyed by a virus in
  petroleum. What kinds of reasons do we have to
  be concerned about our dependency on natural
  resources? What are our alternatives?

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION JOURNAL WRITING

• Tally describes her hoverboard as something more
  solid, something that obeyed its own rules and
  that could be dangerous too. Are there any
  connections between the description of the
  hoverboard and Tally or Shay later in the book?
  (p. 74)
• Tally believes Shay doesnt want the operation
  because she is afraid to grow up. Shay feels that
  she is content with her appearance and lifestyle
  as an ugly. What do you think? Is Shay afraid
  of growing up or does she have a valid argument?
  (p. 84)

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION JOURNAL WRITING

• Tally doesnt question societys decision to make
  everyone pretty because everyone becomes equal
  and nonjudgmental. Tally doesnt question it
  because it is normal. What is seen as being
  normal or the truth in our society that we
  should question?
• How do we judge people that are different from
  us?

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION JOURNAL WRITING

• Shay tells Tally that she chickened out when her
  friends ran away. She decided to stay in
  Uglyville. Write about a time when your
  friends or family tried to persuade you to do
  something. How did it feel to confront peer
  pressure? Were you convinced to go along or did
  you stand your ground? (p. 90)
• David is very upset with Tally at the end of the
  book. Do you think David will be the one who
  brings Tally back? (p. 419)
• Make a prediction for the sequel, Pretties. What
  do you think will happen? What do you hope will
  happen?

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION JOURNAL

• When is it good to conform? When is it wrong to
  conform? When does conformity become a bad
  thing?
• Define pretty. What is pretty to you? Is
  pretty just whats on the outside? What about
  inward beauty?

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TEXT SET

• Newspaper article from TimesOnline
• http//www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-244597
  4.html
• Movie showing the process used for magazine pics
  of models http//www.youtube.com/watch?viYhCn0jf4
  6U
• Newsweek articleThe Biology of Beauty
  http//hss.fullerton.edu/sociology/orleans/symmetr
  y.txt
• Teen Video review of Uglies http//www.youtube.com
  /watch?vQC3ptE6ka_I
• Activist website that challenges images of women
  in media http//www.mediawatch.com/