Our Grade 7 students do a dystopian unit in their English Language Arts (ELA) class, and I came across this nifty categorisation in a poster by Jeri Hurd (sans the sub-pages / images). Since I find our students are increasingly stimulated by imagery, rather than just text, I adapted the poster to include 7 sub-posters combining the books in our collection to the suggestions.

It’s not always easy to find middle grade appropriate science fiction, so this collection includes some YA works – particularly in the “Zombie apocalypse” section.

During a recent library visit after the students had completed their bookclubs with their chosen books, we had tables set out with the posters and the related books so they could further explore the various sub-sets of the genre.

If you are really interested in Utopian / dystopian literature and have quite a few hours to spare (like in the upcoming December break) I’d highly recommend Pamela Bedore’s “Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature” from The Great Courses.

(Here is the link for the Canva template files of this series of posters – feel free to adjust according to your own collection)

By Nadine Bailey – middle school teacher librarian, currently living and working in Dubai, formerly in Beijing China, Singapore and a bunch of other cities around the world. Passionate about our students seeing themselves and their worlds in literature and developing curiosity and a passion for reading and learning.

The views, opinions, and thoughts expressed in this blog post are solely my own and do not reflect the positions, policies, or opinions of any current or former employer. Any references or examples provided are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as endorsements or official statements from any organization I have been associated with.