"This unit is a great opportunity to combine high-interest, multi-genre texts and rigorous thinking. Use any combination of the texts below as a precursor to any of the tasks below:

• A persuasive speech on the best place on Earth to go in the event of a zombie apocalypse
• An essay on whether, in a survival situation, it is better to be with a group or on your own
• A procedural text on the best plan of action in the event of an apocalypse
• ...and so on!

While kids tend to really like the speculative nature of these texts, many of these could also be partnered with actual survival texts from refugees, genocides, etc. I particularly love "Home" by Warsan Shire.

Poetry
"Perhaps the World Ends Here" by Joy Harjo
"Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost
"Disappointments of the Apocalypse" by Mary Karr
"The End of the World" by Dana Gioia
"A Song on the End of the World" by Czeslaw Milosz
​
Nonfiction, Infographics, Videos, and Current Events
​"13 Essential Tools for Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse" from REI.com
"Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse" by Naomi Shaw
"Scientists determine the nation's safest places to ride out a zombie apocalypse" from Washington Post
CDC's zombie preparation resources
David Hunter: How do you decide where to go in a zombie apocalypse?
​
Fiction
"You, Disappearing" by Alexandra Kleeman
The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey (I recommend using the entire scene in Chapter 3)
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury
"Finis" by Frank Lillie Pollock
"Soft" by F. Paul Wilson
"The Last Night of the World" by Ray Bradbury
"The Old Man at the Bridge" by Ernest Hemingway

Short Films
"Cargo"
"H.B."
"The house in little cubes"
"Steadfast Stanley"
"Solus"