Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Build background knowledge about science fiction and fantasy author, Madeleine L’Engle.  
• Analyze science fiction and fantasy elements from A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet.  
• Identify and describe characteristics of science fiction and fantasy. 
• Explore elements of worldbuilding. 
• Create an imaginary character, thing, ability, and/or place.
• Dramatize, make a book trailer, or ​​illustrate an imaginary character, thing, ability, and/or place.
• Present original works to an audience.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips  or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

• Slide: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Worldbuilding
• Quick Sketch: My World vs. Madeleine’s World
• What are the Elements of Worldbuilding?
• Worldbuilding: Identifying Elements
• Worldbuilding Planner
• Rubric: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Worldbuilding

Websites

• Meet Madeleine L’Engle
• Calls to Artistic Action

Additional Materials

• Drawing paper, pencils, pens, markers
• Media creation tools (PowToon, Google Slides, PowerPoint, iMovie, StopMotion Studio)
• Art supplies (fabric, paint, cardboard, costumes)

Teacher Background

Teachers should be familiar with science fiction and fantasy. Familiarity with A Wrinkle in Time Trilogy or The Time Quintet is recommended, but not required for this lesson. Review the Jigsaw reading strategy prior to introducing it to students.  

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with fiction stories and how to analyze an author’s craft. 

Accessibility Notes

Students can make a list, verbalize, or use adaptive drawing tools for the Quick Sketch: My World vs. Madeleine’s World activity. Provide adaptive art tools and assistive technologies for the worldbuilding project portion of the lesson.

Engage

1. Give students a blank piece of paper or distribute the resource, Quick Sketch: My World vs. Madeleine’s World. Show students an example on page 2 of the Slide: Worldbuilding Wonders. If using a blank piece of paper, tell students to orient the paper to “landscape” and fold it into two equal parts. Have students draw a line down the middle of the crease, then title the left side “My World.” On the left side, ask students to sketch a friend, family member, or pet they can count on. This could be a best friend, a musician whose music helps you, a teacher, etc. Include details, such as facial features, a favorite clothing item, hairstyle, or an expression. Allow time for students to sketch, then discuss with students what they sketched.

2. Now have students title the right side, “Madeleine’s World.” Display page 3 of the slide. Tell students to read the excerpts from A Wind in the Door to visualize and illustrate Madeleine L’Engle’s fictional character, Proginoskes. Allow time for students to sketch.

“They did not look like bird feathers. They were extraordinarily soft and sparkling at the same time; and between the feathers were bits of glinting silver-gold, leaf-shaped scales which, Meg thought, might well belong to dragons.” (Ch. 1)

“When the wild thing spoke, it was not in vocal words, but directly into their minds.” (Ch. 3)

“I am practically plural.” (Ch. 3)

“Charles Wallace’s drive of dragons was a single creature...she never saw all of it at once...merry eyes, wise eyes, ferocious eyes, kitten eyes, dragon eyes, opening and closing, looking at her, looking at Charles Wallace and Calvin and the strange tall man. And wings, wings in constant motion, covering and uncovering the eyes. When the wings were spread out they had a span of at least ten feet, and when they were folded in, the creature resembled a misty, feathery sphere. Little spurts of flame and smoke spouted up between the wings; it could certainly start a grass fire if it weren’t careful.” (Ch. 3)

3. Show students a picture of Proginoskes on slide 4. Tell students that Proginoskes is a character from L’Engle’s book, A Wind in the Door, and is a loyal friend to the main character, Meg Wallace. Discuss the two illustrated worlds with students. Ask students: How does L’Engle take you out of your world and into a new one? What books, movies, or video games have imaginary characters, things, abilities, and/or places? Show students examples on slide 5 to generate discussion. (Books: Percy Jackson, Goosebumps, Captain Underpants, or Zoe and Sassafras; Movies: Black Panther, Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Raya and the Last Dragon, or Coco; Video Games: Minecraft, Roblox, or Super Mario)

4. Engage students in a Jigsaw activity to build their background knowledge about L’Engle. Tell students that L’Engle was a science fiction and fantasy author, most well known for the Wrinkle in Time Trilogy (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet). The trilogy (the focus of this lesson) is part of The Time Quintet (five books). Divide students into five groups of varying reading levels. Distribute the Meet Madeleine L’Engle article and assign a section to each group. Tell students each group will become “experts” on their assigned section and report back what they learned about L’Engle. 

- Section 1: Artistry at a Young Age 
- Section 2: Worldly Travels and War Anxieties 
- Section 3: Schools, Rules, and Resilience 
- Section 4: Evolving Identities 
- Section 5: A Wrinkle in Publishing

5. In sequential order, have each group share what they learned about L’Engle. Ask students: What is science fiction? What is fantasy? Where does imagination come from? Tell students that even though using your imagination takes a lot of brainstorming, it’s highly influenced by everyday life: childhood memories, current events, and daily routines. L’Engle drew inspiration from the world in which she lived: the Great Depression, war, boarding school, religion, education, and motherhood.

Build

1. Ask students: How can we use our own experiences, the people and events around us, as well as interests to create imaginary worlds? Generate a class list of ideas that inspire imaginary worlds (e.g. social issues; intense feelings of love, hate, fear, or grief; mental health topics; milestones in life; natural wonders; technology; heroes; history). Tell students that L’Engle’s Wrinkle in TimeTrilogy juxtaposes science fiction and fantasy to create new characters, things, abilities, and places. 

2. Share the definition of science fiction and fantasy with students on slide 6. Science fiction is a fiction genre “dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component.” Fantasy is “something that is produced by the imagination: an idea about doing something that is far removed from normal reality.” Tell students that writers use a worldbuilding process to create these imaginary worlds. 

3. Explore elements of worldbuilding in science fiction and fantasy fiction on slide 7. Share the resource, What are the Elements of Worldbuilding? Tell students that worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe. Review the elements with students. Note: Teachers and students can add additional elements to the list.

4. Divide students into groups of two or three. Ask students to identify how science and fantasy influenced new ideas in L’Engle’s work. Give each group an excerpt from the resource, Worldbuilding: Identifying Elements. Teachers can model an example from slide 8 to identify worldbuilding elements from the excerpt. (Elements of Gaudior’s home include: unicorns hatching from eggs, breeze healing wounds, two moons, etc.) Ask students: If a horse inspired the creation of a unicorn, how do unicorn egg hatchings defy science? (Horses are mammals and do not lay eggs.) Why do authors build such details into a story?

Apply

1. Plan an imaginary character, thing, ability, and/or place. Distribute the Worldbuilding Planner to students. Have students reference the resource, What are the Elements of Worldbuilding?, to develop a backstory. 

2. Plan a drama, book trailer, or illustration. Tell students they are going to choose from one of three options to present their new world: performing a drama, making a book trailer, or creating an illustration. Have students explore examples on slides 10, 11, and 12. 

3. Distribute the appropriate materials and technologies to students. Students should reference their Worldbuilding Planner during the process. Encourage students to bring costumes and art materials from home. Model how to use movie software (e.g. iMovie, StopMotion Studio) or presentation software (e.g. PowToon, Google Slides, PowerPoint) to create a book trailer. Provide feedback and support to students as they work on their worldbuilding projects.

4. Have students rehearse the presentation of their work. Ensure students have sufficient space and equipment for rehearsing. 

Reflect 

1. Have students present their imaginary character, thing, ability, and/or place to the class. Set-up areas for students to present their art form: a stage for the drama, a movie screen for the book trailer, or a gallery for the illustrations. Use the Rubric: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Worldbuilding to assess students’ knowledge of worldbuilding. 

Extend

1. Distribute the Calls to Artistic Action article. Have students work in pairs or cooperative learning groups to take a deeper look into the artistry and inspiration of Madeleine L’Engle’s writing. Tell students that writers often build habits to motivate, challenge, and overcome writer’s block.

2. After reading the article, have students discuss text-to-self connections. Ask students: Where do you find inspiration? How do you generate new ideas? What strategies for writer's block do you use? What new ones will you try?

3. Using L’Engle’s writing tips and well-developed writing habits of their own, have students write an original one-act play or short story. Students will expand on the imaginary character, thing, ability, and/or place they created from earlier in the lesson.