Fahrenheit 451

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “Character Playlist”

Students list titles of songs in a playlist that serves to represent character’s traits, emotions, and experiences.

Pick one of the primary characters (Montag, Clarisse, Beatty, Mildred) and create a playlist of 8-15 songs that provides insight into the character’s experience, motivations, beliefs, feelings, etc. Pay attention to the lyrics of the entire song, not just the title (for example: “Burn the House Down” for Beatty or Montag might be an intriguing title but does not provide any insight into their character). Screenshot your playlist or write out the songs in order. Write 1-2 sentences for each song explaining your choice.  

Teaching Suggestion: Consider beginning the activity by playing a song that you would pick for one of the characters. Analyze the lyrics with the students and connect them to the character’s personality and experience, or perhaps major themes that they connect to. Add guidelines or restrictions as to the content of the songs (in title and/or lyrics) as you see fit for your group. Encourage students to refer to the text to remember what we know about their character. Imagine what the character’s past was like based on what we know about their present. How do you think they feel about how their life has evolved?

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who need additional reading and writing support, consider allowing them to verbally explain or present their song choices rather than write about them, or provide extended time in-class for students to complete the assignment. Advanced learners can add a level of challenge to the assignment by picking a quote from the text to correspond with each of their songs to support their choice.

ACTIVITY 2: “Symbols Analysis”

Students select a symbol from the story to trace and analyze, then present their analysis to the group.

There are several symbols that appear throughout Fahrenheit 451, providing further depth to various themes and character development. The main symbols are clowns, the phoenix and the salamander, dandelions, birds, clowns, and types of water.

• In your assigned group, find every example of this symbol in the text as you can. (Use the online PDF of the book and CTRL+F to search the document.)
• Analyze the text to determine what the symbol represents and what themes it is tied to.
• Develop a short presentation with a few examples from the text. Be prepared to share your findings with the other groups.

Teaching Suggestion: Begin by reviewing what symbolism is before assigning a symbol to each group. Divide pairs/groups as is appropriate for the size of your classroom. If you have too many students for six groups, you can have two groups cover the same symbol. Consider adding movement by beginning the activity with stations around the room for each of the symbols. Add a poster or printed image of the symbol for students to reflect on as they complete their initial discussion. Students can pick a representative to present their findings to the entire class or in a jigsaw to other groups. 

• “Symbolism” on SuperSummary