Follow the steps outlined in the source lesson, Teach Design: Portkey prior to beginning an instructional unit on "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. Be sure to complete the debrief step as well to ensure students have fully reflected on this activity.

Then, begin the unit on "Fahrenheit 451." Return to the introductory activity frequently during the reading to reinforce the author's message about stories and the connections they build with others. As you read, return frequently to the introductory activity. For example, when we first meet Montag, he believes he is happy, but he has no personal connections with anyone, including his wife. Neither he nor Mildred can recall how they first met. How does this absence of a "personal story" reflect the emotional distance between them? How might a "personal story" helped build a connection? Likewise, Clarisse is ostracized from her peers. One of the reasons she claims to be "crazy" is because she desires to interact and communicate with others. How did the introductory activity demonstrate the power of stories to build connections?

Why are the citizens of Montag's fictional world so detached from one another? Why are they so violent? How does their lack of storytelling, shared history, and common cultural understanding amplify their isolation from one another? Be sure to connect back to the anticipatory here by reminding students of all that they learned about themselves and each other through the opening storytelling activity and how the lack of this common understanding may be impacting the characters in the unit text.