Description
This resource provides a complete literary analysis of “We Ate the Children Last” by Yann Martel, making it an excellent choice for teaching dystopian literature or introducing students to a thought-provoking dystopian short story. If you’ve never taught this text before, it is a highly engaging and unsettling read—just over 1,000 words, yet impactful and disturbing in a way that sparks rich discussion and analysis.
Designed to support close reading and higher-level thinking, this lesson guides students through comprehension, analysis, and thematic exploration while examining how dystopian societies normalize the unthinkable. The story’s brevity makes it ideal for focused classroom study without sacrificing depth or complexity.
This dystopian literature analysis includes an activating strategy using a word sort, targeted vocabulary work, reading comprehension questions, and a literary analysis graphic organizer that examines elements such as point of view, irony, and satire. Students also complete a theme analysis graphic organizer and write an objective summary constructed response to demonstrate understanding.
To extend learning, the resource includes two project options with examples, as well as a movie versus short story comparison worksheet that allows students to analyze how the story is represented across different mediums. Answer keys for all components are included for ease of use.
The text of “We Ate the Children Last” is available free online, and there is also an adapted film version that runs approximately 10 minutes, making it easy to incorporate multimedia analysis. This resource includes both a PDF version and an editable Word document for teacher flexibility.
Please note: the film adaptation contains scenes of violence and mature themes. It is strongly recommended that teachers preview the film in advance and use professional discretion when deciding whether it is appropriate for their students.
This lesson aligns well with standards that focus on analyzing themes, comparing representations across mediums, providing objective summaries, and integrating and evaluating content presented in diverse formats, including text and film. Perfect for middle school and high school ELA, this resource offers a rigorous and engaging approach to dystopian literature.