8th Grade Short Stories Assessment (by date, oldest first)

Get ready to have the most fun you'll have teaching with a lesson that your students will be talking about for years to come with Shirley Jackson's The Lottery ESCAPE ROOM!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Escape Room for The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task (and it is!), but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of this game!

How does it work?

In this escape room, students will try to escape the picturesque American town with a dark secret by solving 5 different skills-based puzzles, deciphering an encrypted message, and finding clues along the way.

• Close Read: In the first task, students must answer challenging multiple choice questions about The Lottery. The corresponding letters of the correct answers reveal their first code.
• Vocab Challenge: In the second task, students must fill in the blanks with vocabulary words from the text. Shaded boxes within the correct answers form their second code.
• Character IDs: In the third task, students must fill in a blank character chart about important characters in the story. When assembled correctly, letters of the correct answers reveal the third code.
• Criss-Cross: In the fourth task, students must solve a crossword puzzle with questions about literary elements and plot events of the story. Circled boxes on the crossword once unscrambled will reveal the code.
• Encrypted Message: In the fifth and final task, students must decipher an encrypted message (a quote from The Lottery) using clues they collected during the first four tasks. When the message is written on the scroll, final question is answered, and booklet brought to you, they can finally escape before it is their turn to pick from the dreaded black box.

Product Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and necessary information to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklet

- Teacher Answer Keys

- Escape Room Reflection for homework or in-class writing activity

- Theme Reflection for homework assignment or in-class writing activity

Because this is a skills-based escape room, it is perfect for a review of the story before the test.

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Check out these great products to supplement your study of The Lottery:

⭐ The Lottery Digital Escape Room - paperless version

⭐ The Lottery "Tossing Lines" Pre-Reading Activity

⭐ The Lottery Social Media Activities

⭐ The Lottery Socratic Seminar Lesson Plan and Materials

⭐ The Lottery Comprehension Questions, Literary Elements & Vocabulary

Check out these great DYSTOPIA resources to frame the study of this tale:

⭐ Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint Presentation

⭐ Escape from Dystopia ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Dystopian Literature Socratic Seminar

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⭐⭐⭐For the escape room enthusiasts out there, you can now build your own bundle at 20% off the cover price of 3 or more escape rooms! Click the link to check out all of the escape rooms Language Arts Excellence has to offer: Build Your Own Escape Room BUNDLE⭐⭐⭐

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Socratic Seminar Materials for Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

A Socratic Seminar (or a "Fish Bowl" Conversation as I like to call them with my students) is a higher order way of assessing whether your students are able to understand and react to your class texts. These seminars rely on the power of inquiry and allow students to take the lead in their learning and discussion. The only problem? They require a great deal of preparation. Fortunately, this student-tested resource was created to include everything you need to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom surrounding The Lottery by Shirley Jackson... with very little preparation required on your end.

Product Includes:

• Assignment Directions with step-by-step instructions on how to conduct fishbowls in your classroom

• Engaging Introductory Activity for Conversation Building

• 5 Discussion Questions for each “Fishbowl” conversation

• “Fishbowl” Preparation Sheet

• Conversation Builder Prompts

• Observation Sheet

• Rubric

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Also, check out these great resources to complement your unit on The Lottery by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint Presentation

⭐ The Lottery Literature Guide

⭐ The Lottery ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Lottery "Tossing Lines" Pre-Reading Activity

⭐ The Lottery Social Media Activities

⭐ Escape from Dystopia ESCAPE ROOM

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This product features all the materials you need to assign a compare/contrast essay for two classic tales of irony: O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi and Guy de Maupassant's The Necklace.

For this assignment, students will need to think critically and specifically about the similarities and differences between the two famous stories. Two comprehensive literary device charts are provided to prompt students to take a close look at both tales and to think beyond the obvious (like the fact that they are written by different authors) and consider the deeper similarities and differences differences (like plot structure, values of the characters, and lessons the stories try to teach) between them. These thoughtfully-constructed materials will help students develop exemplary compare/contrast essays that they can be proud of!

Product Includes:

• Complete assignment directions
• 2 Literary device worksheets
• Venn diagram chart
• Essay graphic organizer (Block Method)
• Rubric
• Teacher key for charts

This assignment is perfect during the holiday season or can be used as a part of any short story unit!

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Also, check out these resources to round our your unit on The Gift of the Magi:

⭐ The Gift of the Magi Anticipation Guide & Lesson Plan

⭐ The Gift of the Magi ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Gift of the Magi Socratic Seminar Materials

More great holiday products by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Christmas ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Christmas Poetry ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ A Christmas Carol ESCAPE ROOM

⭐‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Figurative Language Lesson Plan

⭐ The Little Match Girl Sensory Details Lesson Plan

⭐"Christmas Talk" Lesson Plan

⭐Figurative Language in Christmas Songs Task Cards

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Socratic Seminar Materials for Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

A Socratic Seminar (or a "Fish Bowl" Conversation as I like to call them with my students) is a higher order way of assessing whether your students are able to understand and react to your class texts. These seminars rely on the power of inquiry and allow students to take the lead in their learning and discussion. The only problem? They require a great deal of preparation. Fortunately, this student-tested resource was created to include everything you need to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom surrounding The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe... with very little preparation required on your end.

Product Includes:

• Assignment Directions with step-by-step instructions on how to conduct fishbowls in your classroom

• Engaging Introductory Activity for Conversation Building

• 5 Discussion Questions for each “Fishbowl” conversation

• “Fishbowl” Preparation Sheet

• Conversation Builder Prompts

• Observation Sheet

• Rubric

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Check out these great products to supplement your study of The Tell-Tale Heart:

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Literature Guide

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Anticipation Guide and Lesson Plan

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Creative Writing Assignment on Perspective

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Figurative Language Challenge Activity

⭐ Unreliable Narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart Lesson Plan

More resources to round out your Edgar Allan Poe unit:

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe Scavenger Hunt

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Bell Ringer Journal Prompts

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Crossword Puzzle

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Resource Bundle

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This product features an engaging final project that meaningfully incorporates technology in a culmination of your unit on Edgar Allan Poe.

For this final assignment, students will showcase their knowledge of Edgar Allan Poe, his works, and his life by creating brochures using Microsoft Word. Students will love the chance to practice using technology with this project as opposed to writing the same-old same-old essay and if they are like my students, will not even realize how much research and writing they are actually accomplishing with this project.

Product Includes:

• Complete Assignment Directions
• How to Make Brochure Directions
• Scoring Rubric
• Teacher Model including proper Works Cited Page using Microsoft Word
• Pictures of Exemplary Student Examples

This project works for any of the stories you read during your Edgar Allan Poe unit.

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Save 20% off this resource when you purchase as part of a bundle of Edgar Allan Poe products:

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Resource Bundle

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Also, check out these great products by Language Arts Excellence to supplement your Edgar Allan Poe unit:

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe Scavenger Hunt

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Bell Ringer Journal Prompts

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Crossword Puzzle

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

Chilling literature guides to frighten your students for months:

⭐ The Raven Literature Guide

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Literature Guide

⭐ The Black Cat Literature Guide

⭐ The Pit and the Pendulum Literature Guide

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Literature Guide

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher Literature Guide

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death Literature Guide

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Short Story BUNDLE

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This resource features a comprehensive test covering Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s chilling dystopian tale, Harrison Bergeron. The test covers vocabulary, plot, characters, themes, vocabulary, and 3 short answer questions and is fully editable so that you can determine point value and/or change questions to reflect what you've taught.

Resource Includes:

• 23 Question Test (5 Vocabulary, 15 Multiple Choice, 3 Short Answer)
• Answer Key

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Also, check out these great resources to supplement your unit on Harrison Bergeron by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Harrison Bergeron "Silent Conversation" Quote Pass Activity

⭐ Harrison Bergeron ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Harrison Bergeron Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game

⭐ Harrison Bergeron Literature Guide

⭐ Harrison Bergeron Pre-Reading Activity

⭐ Harrison Bergeron Socratic Seminar

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Socratic Seminar Materials for Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat

A Socratic Seminar (or a "Fish Bowl" Conversation as I like to call them with my students) is a higher order way of assessing whether your students are able to understand and react to your class texts. These seminars rely on the power of inquiry and allow students to take the lead in their learning and discussion. The only problem? They require a great deal of preparation. Fortunately, this student-tested resource was created to include everything you need to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom surrounding The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe... with very little preparation required on your end.

Product Includes:

• Assignment Directions with step-by-step instructions on how to conduct fishbowls in your classroom

• Engaging Introductory Activity for Conversation Building

• 5 Discussion Questions for each “Fishbowl” conversation

• “Fishbowl” Preparation Sheet

• Conversation Builder Prompts

• Observation Sheet

• Rubric

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Check out these great products to supplement your study of The Tell-Tale Heart:

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Literature Guide

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Anticipation Guide and Lesson Plan

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Creative Writing Assignment on Perspective

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Figurative Language Challenge Activity

⭐ Unreliable Narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart Lesson Plan

More resources to round out your Edgar Allan Poe unit:

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe Scavenger Hunt

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Bell Ringer Journal Prompts

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Crossword Puzzle

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Resource Bundle

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This product features all the materials you need to assign a compare/contrast essay for Roald Dahl's Lamb to the Slaughter and Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat.

For this assignment, students will need to think critically and specifically about the similarities and differences between the two famous stories of marital strife taken to the extreme. A comprehensive chart is provided to prompt students to take a close look at both tales and to think beyond the obvious (like the fact that they are written by different authors) and consider the deeper similarities and differences (plot structure, mental state of the narrators, and elements of suspense, etc.) between them. These thoughtfully-constructed materials will help students develop exemplary compare/contrast essays that they can be proud of!

Product Includes:

• Complete assignment directions
• Specific similarities/differences chart with 16 story components
• Venn diagram template
• Essay graphic organizer (Block Method)
• Rubric
• Teacher key for chart

This assignment works well in any short story unit but is best near Halloween when creepy is the way to go!

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Also, check out these great products to supplement your units on Lamb to the Slaughter and The Black Cat:

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Literature Guide

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Anticipation Guide & Lesson Plan

⭐ The Black Cat Literature Guide

⭐ The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Unreliable Narrator of The Black Cat Lesson Plan

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart/The Black Cat "Breaking News" Article and Illustration Activity

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart/The Black Cat Socratic Seminar Materials

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This product features all the materials you need to assign a compare/contrast essay for Roald Dahl's Lamb to the Slaughter and Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat.

For this assignment, students will need to think critically and specifically about the similarities and differences between the two famous stories of marital strife taken to the extreme. A comprehensive chart is provided to prompt students to take a close look at both tales and to think beyond the obvious (like the fact that they are written by different authors) and consider the deeper similarities and differences (plot structure, mental state of the narrators, and elements of suspense, etc.) between them. These thoughtfully-constructed materials will help students develop exemplary compare/contrast essays that they can be proud of!

Product Includes:

• Complete assignment directions
• Specific similarities/differences chart with 16 story components
• Venn diagram template
• Essay graphic organizer (Block Method)
• Rubric
• Teacher key for chart

This assignment works well in any short story unit but is best near Halloween when creepy is the way to go!

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Also, check out these great products to supplement your units on Lamb to the Slaughter and The Black Cat:

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Literature Guide

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Anticipation Guide & Lesson Plan

⭐ The Black Cat Literature Guide

⭐ The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Unreliable Narrator of The Black Cat Lesson Plan

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart/The Black Cat "Breaking News" Article and Illustration Activity

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart/The Black Cat Socratic Seminar Materials

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This product features a comprehensive test covering Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Raven. Questions cover: comprehension questions, figurative language, Freytag's Pyramid plot structure, vocabulary, and 2 short answer questions

Product Includes:

• 100 point test (47 questions - multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer)
• Answer Key

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Also, check out these great products by Language Arts Excellence for your Edgar Allan Poe unit:

⭐Edgar Allan Poe Short Story BUNDLE

⭐Edgar Allan Poe Brochure – Final Project

⭐Edgar Allan Poe Compare/Contrast Essay

⭐Edgar Allan Poe Scavenger Hunt

⭐Edgar Allan Poe-bituary

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**Now with newly added material!**

This resource features a bundle of all of our lesson plans, materials, and activities for the study of Shirley Jackson's shocking tale of tradition gone wrong, The Lottery. The numerous activities as well as full-length lesson plans provide an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for the short story and encourage students to think critically about literary elements, theme, and symbolism. An Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint and Crossword Puzzle helps to set the groundwork for the dystopian tale. Social media activities will encourage your students to bring the story to modern day and all the materials needed for a formal set of Socratic Seminars are included to ensure deep thinking and close reading of the text. A full answer key is provided along with student-tested lesson plans to help guide you through teaching the story. We have now also included the wildly popular Escape Room with tasks on characters, vocabulary, plot, quotes, and literary elements of the story - perfect for a review before the final test. The wide range of lessons in this unit will keep your students engaged from start to finish and help them to gain a deep understanding of one of the most controversial tales of American literature.

Product Includes:

• Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint & Crossword
• "Tossing Lines" pre-reading activity
• Lesson plan for reading the story
• Comprehension questions
• Vocabulary worksheet
• Literary elements chart
• The Lottery Theme Jigsaw Lesson Plan
• Socratic Seminar lesson plan and materials
• Escape Room
• The Lottery "Silent Conversation" Quote Pass Activity
• Social Media materials and lesson plan
• Dystopia Quote Posters - newly added!
• Complete teacher's key
• Bonus: Symbolism Worksheet and Lesson Plan included for free!**

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This resource features a bundle of all of our lesson plans, materials, and activities for Edgar Allan Poe's gruesome tale, The Tell-Tale Heart. Each product is thoughtfully crafted and allows students to think outside the box by delving deeply into the story's themes, characters, vocabulary, and plot development. Lessons have all been classroom-tested and allow for differentiation while encouraging optimal student engagement. This activity bundle provides more than a week's worth of material to bring the story to life!

Included in this Bundle:

The Black Cat Literature Guide: This resource features a comprehensive literature guide for use while reading Edgar Allan Poe's creepy classic tale, The Black Cat. The packet provides an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for the short story and encourages students to think critically about plot structure, literary elements, figurative language, and the superstitions within the story. The wide range of activities in this guide will keep your students engaged and help them to gain a deep understanding of one of the most highly regarded tales of American literature.

The Black Cat Socratic Seminar: A Socratic Seminar (or a "Fish Bowl" Conversation as I like to call them with my students) is a higher order way of assessing whether your students are able to understand and react to your class texts. These seminars rely on the power of inquiry and allow students to take the lead in their learning and discussion. The only problem? They require a great deal of preparation. Fortunately, this student-tested resource was created to include everything you need to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom surrounding The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe... with very little preparation required on your end.

The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM: This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Escape Room for The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task (and it is!), but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. It is the perfect activity for Halloween or any day you want to shake it up with your students without sacrificing learning. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of this game!

Unreliable Narrator of The Black Cat Lesson Plan (also included within Literature Guide): This resource features a full-length lesson plan and accompanying materials that asks students to delve into the crazed mind of the narrator of Poe's The Black Cat. Through an engaging "True/Untrue Storytelling" activity, precise mini-lecture on the unreliable narrator, guiding questions, and follow-up assignment, your students will be able to understand the sometimes daunting concept of the unreliable narrator and discuss how a story is affected when told through the eyes of one. This lesson plan opens up a new world for students as they realize that many of the books, movies, and tv shows that they have read or seen in the past may have been influenced by an unreliable narrator. Thus, not only is this lesson important, it is intrinsically fascinating to students and the "oohs" and "aha" moments that tend to arise from the discussion make it a blast to teach! I am confident that you and your students will love this lesson as much as mine have for years.

**BONUS FILE: Intro to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint: This product features a highly-engaging introductory PowerPoint Presentation for the Father of Horror himself, Edgar Allan Poe. A unit of study on Poe is not complete without learning the gory and heartbreaking details of his life and what made him into the master poet and writer whom we continue to marvel at today. This 20-slide powerpoint runs through his tragic family life and childhood, relationships, early occupations (before he was the Poe that you know), synopses of some of his most famous works, death theories, and current pop culture references. It concludes with a 10 question quiz to see how well students listened... and trust me, they will be hanging on your every word! This powerpoint encourages class participation, is fully editable to suit your class' needs, and lasts about 30-40 minutes to run through. I suggest presenting this on the very first day of your unit on Edgar Allan Poe. Enjoy and let the horror begin!

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This bundle includes the in-class and digital version of our The Lottery Escape Rooms!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock. Now, you can facilitate our popular The Lottery Escape Rooms in the classroom and at home for distance learning with this meticulously-crafted bundle. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours run smoothly from start to finish. All tasks are skills-based so that with these fun lessons, learning is not sacrificed. Whether they are in school or at home, your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize how much they've learned about the short story.

How does it work?

In this escape room, students will try to escape the picturesque American town with a dark secret by solving 5 different skills-based puzzles, deciphering an encrypted message, and finding clues along the way.

• Close Read: In the first task, students must answer challenging multiple choice questions about The Lottery. The corresponding letters of the correct answers reveal their first code.
• Vocab Challenge: In the second task, students must fill in the blanks with vocabulary words from the text. Shaded boxes within the correct answers form their second code.
• Character IDs: In the third task, students must fill in a blank character chart about important characters in the story. When assembled correctly, letters of the correct answers reveal the third code.
• Criss-Cross: In the fourth task, students must solve a crossword puzzle with questions about literary elements and plot events of the story. Circled boxes on the crossword once unscrambled will reveal the code.
• Encrypted Message: In the fifth and final task, students must decipher an encrypted message (a quote from The Lottery) using clues they collected during the first four tasks. When the message is written on the scroll, final question is answered, and booklet brought to you, they can finally escape before it is their turn to pick from the dreaded black box.

In-Class Escape Room Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and necessary information to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklet

- Teacher Answer Keys

- Escape Room Reflection for homework or in-class writing activity

- Theme Reflection for homework assignment or in-class writing activity

Digital (Paperless) Escape Room Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and worksheets

- Digital Student Answer Booklet

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

*Note that this is the digital version of the escape room; tasks are identical, just reformatted for digital experience. Requires use of Google Slides.*

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This resource features a bundle of all of our lesson plans, materials, activities, and classroom decor for the study of Kurt Vonnegut's cautionary tale of government overreach, Harrison Bergeron. The numerous activities as well as full-length lesson plans provide an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for the short story and encourage students to think critically about literary elements, theme, and symbolism. An Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint and Crossword Puzzle helps to set the groundwork for the dystopian tale. All the materials needed for a formal set of Socratic Seminars are included to ensure deep thinking and close reading of the text. A full answer key is provided along with student-tested lesson plans to help guide you through teaching the story. Also included is our wildly popular Escape Room with tasks on characters, vocabulary, plot, quotes, and literary elements of the story - perfect for a review before the final test (also included!). The wide range of lessons in this unit will keep your students engaged from start to finish and help them to gain a deep understanding of Kurt Vonnegut's enduring dystopian tale.

Product Includes:

• Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint & Crossword
• What is Equality? Activity
• "Tossing Lines" pre-reading activity
• Lesson plan for reading the story
• Comprehension questions
• Vocabulary worksheet
• Literary elements chart
• "Silent Conversation" Quote Pass Activity
• Socratic Seminar lesson plan and materials
• Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game
• Escape Room
• Symbol Gallery Walk Lesson & Materials
• Unit Test - newly added!
• Complete teacher's key
• Dystopia Quote Posters

By purchasing this bundle, you are saving 35% off the price of all resources. Suitable for middle and high school students.

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**Now with newly added material!**

This resource features a bundle of all of our best-selling lesson plans, materials, and activities for your unit on the Master of Suspense, Edgar Allan Poe. Resources perfectly complement any of Poe's twisted tales and can be used to introduce the unit (like the Scavenger Hunt and PowerPoint), throughout the unit (Bell Ringers and the Obituary Project), as a review (Escape Room, Brochure, Human Tic Tac Toe Game), and even to decorate your classroom (Quote Posters). Each product is thoughtfully crafted and inspires students to delve deeply into Edgar Allan Poe's life and works. Lessons have all been classroom-tested and allow for differentiation while encouraging optimal student engagement. You will not find tedious lists of comprehension questions and vocabulary words in this bundle; instead you will find materials that will make Edgar Allan Poe relevant in the eyes of your students and bring the Father of Horror back to life!

Included in this Bundle:

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint

This product features a highly-engaging introductory PowerPoint Presentation for the Father of Horror himself, Edgar Allan Poe. A unit of study on Poe is not complete without learning the gory and heartbreaking details of his life and what made him into the master poet and writer whom we continue to marvel at today. This 20-slide powerpoint runs through his tragic family life and childhood, relationships, early occupations (before he was the Poe that you know), synopses of some of his most famous works, death theories, and current pop culture references. It concludes with a 10 question quiz to see how well students listened... and trust me, they will be hanging on your every word! This powerpoint encourages class participation, is fully editable to suit your class' needs, and lasts about 30-40 minutes to run through. I suggest presenting this on the very first day of your unit on Edgar Allan Poe. Enjoy and let the horror begin!

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe Scavenger Hunt

This resource features a comprehensive introduction to the life and times of Edgar Allan Poe. Students will be shocked to learn some of the gruesome details of his life. The scavenger hunt includes 15 questions about Poe, a full answer key, and links for credible websites to use to find the information.

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Bell Ringer Journal Prompts

This resource features a set of 20 reader response journal prompts for use during your unit on Edgar Allan Poe. Each bell ringer is comprised of a quote from the Master of Suspense himself and a thoughtfully crafted question that encourages students to personally connect and appreciate the timelessness of his musings. Prompts can be used as bell-ringers (most popular and mean the first 5 minutes of every class for more than a month are planned for you!), exit tickets, stations, full class or small group discussion questions, for homework, task cards, sub plans, as a filler activity… the possibilities are endless!

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe ESCAPE ROOM

Get ready to have the most fun you'll have teaching with a lesson that your students will be talking about for years to come with the Edgar Allan Poe ESCAPE ROOM! There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Escape Room on the Father of Horror himself. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of this game!

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure - Final Project

This product features an engaging final project that meaningfully incorporates technology in a culmination of your unit on Edgar Allan Poe. For this final assignment, students will showcase their knowledge of Edgar Allan Poe, his works, and his life by creating brochures using Microsoft Word. Students will love the chance to practice using technology with this project as opposed to writing the same-old same-old essay and if they are like my students, will not even realize how much research and writing they are actually doing!

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary - Halloween Lesson Plan

This product features an engaging activity that will fit in perfectly with your unit on Edgar Allan Poe or on Halloween. Students get the chance to create the epitaph for the gravestone of one of the most revered authors in American literature. The activity encourages students to be thoughtful with their knowledge of Poe but also to be creative with their inscriptions. This can be done in or outside of class and also works as a great emergency substitute plan during the month of October. To be festive, I love to give this assignment on the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's actual death day, October 7.

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game - newly added material!

This resource features a lesson plan and materials for the Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game, an engaging and competitive way to review the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe. Let's face it, review days can be boring for both teachers and students, so liven them up with this collaborative game. The resource includes not only a meticulously detailed lesson plan and set-up instructions, but 25 questions on the Master of Suspense. Besides simple set-up, very little preparation is needed for this lesson and if your students are like mine, they will ask for this form of review for every unit of study!

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

Make your classroom pop with this set of 25 beautifully-made posters featuring quotes from Edgar Allan Poe. Each 7.5 x 7.5 (square) PDF poster contains a noteworthy Poe quote imposed over a stunning photograph that will spruce up your ELA classroom, especially during Halloween. The square format is reminiscent of Instagram and makes for an eye-catching arrangement on your wall or bulletin board. I suggest laminating the posters and using them not just during your Edgar Allan Poe unit, but all year long.

By purchasing these great resources as a bundle, you save 20% off the cover price of all materials!

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Looking for something more specific? We have enough Edgar Allan Poe literature guides to frighten your students for months:

⭐ The Raven Literature Guide

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Literature Guide

⭐ The Black Cat Literature Guide

⭐ The Pit and the Pendulum Literature Guide

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Literature Guide

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher Literature Guide

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death Literature Guide

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Short Story BUNDLE

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⭐Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence⭐

This bundle includes 7 of our rigorous and engaging escape rooms for your short story unit featuring The Tell-Tale Heart, The Lottery, Harrison Bergeron, A Christmas Carol, The Black Cat, The Most Dangerous Game and the Gift of the Magi.

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct 7 full-length Escape Rooms for The Tell-Tale Heart, The Lottery, Harrison Bergeron, A Christmas Carol, The Black Cat, The Most Dangerous Game, and the Gift of the Magi. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours run smoothly from start to finish. These activities involve movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of these games!

How does it work?

Your students must work to escape your classroom by solving 5 different skills-based puzzles, discovering hidden messages, and finding clues along the way based on the short story they feature.

Each Escape Room Includes:

• Escape Room Basics
• Detailed Day-Of Instructions
• Escape Room Print Checklist
• Student Teams Chart
• Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions, and supplementary materials for each station
• Student Answer Sheets
• Teacher Answer Keys
• Code Word Theme Open Response for homework or in-class writing activity
• Escape Room Reflection for homework or in-class writing activity

Purchasing this bundle saves an incredible 30% off the cover price of the 7 escape rooms. Suitable for middle and high school students.

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If this combination of escape rooms isn't exactly what you're looking for, check out Volume 2 or build your own bundle!

⭐ Short Story Escape Room Bundle - Volume 2

⭐ Build Your Own Escape Room BUNDLE

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This resource features a bundle of all of our lesson plans, materials, and activities for Edgar Allan Poe's gruesome tale, The Tell-Tale Heart. Each product is thoughtfully crafted and allows students to think outside the box by delving deeply into the story's themes, characters, vocabulary, and plot development. Lessons have all been classroom-tested and allow for differentiation while encouraging optimal student engagement. This activity bundle provides more than a week's worth of material to bring the story to life!

Included in this Bundle:

• The Tell-Tale Heart Literature Guide: This product features a comprehensive literature guide for use while reading Edgar Allan Poe's gruesome tale, The Tell-Tale Heart. The activity bundle provides an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for the short story and encourages students to think critically about plot structure, literary elements, perspective, and figurative language within the story. With newly added material like the Snap Chat graphic organizer and Figurative Language Challenge, the wide range of activities in this guide will keep your students engaged and help them to delve into the mind of one of the most notorious unreliable narrators of all time.

• The Tell-Tale Heart Anticipation Guide and Lesson Plan: This resource features an anticipation guide for Edgar Allan Poe's chilling tale of murder and mutilation, The Tell-Tale Heart, and a meticulously-explained lesson plan that I believe is the absolute best way to approach a new story. Using a non-intimidating method called "Numbered Heads", this activity will get your students thinking, writing, conversing, and reporting about themes you will be encountering during your study of The Tell-Tale Heart and your overall Poe unit. This lesson is particularly useful for Poe's tale which can be difficult for students to understand at first, thus going in with knowledge of themes will help them connect. I am confident that your students will enjoy this thoughtful, engaging activity and beg you to begin reading one of the most notoriously gruesome stories in American literature.

• Unreliable Narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart Lesson Plan: This resource features a full-length lesson plan, accompanying materials, and creative writing assignment that asks students to delve into the crazed mind of the narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart. Through an engaging "True/Untrue Storytelling" activity, precise mini-lecture on the unreliable narrator, guiding questions, and follow-up assignment, your students will be able to understand the sometimes daunting concept of the unreliable narrator and discuss how a story is affected when told through the eyes of one. This lesson plan opens up a new world for students as they realize that many of the books, movies, and tv shows that they have read or seen in the past may have been influenced by an unreliable narrator. Thus, not only is this lesson important, it is intrinsically fascinating to students and the "oohs" and "aha" moments that tend to arise from the discussion make it a blast to teach! I am confident that you and your students will love this lesson as much as mine have for years.

• The Tell-Tale Heart Creative Writing Assignment on Perspective (also included within Literature Guide): This engaging assignment asks students to think critically about the events detailed by an unreliable narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. Did the old man truly have no inkling of the narrator's hatred of him? Did the police officers really "chat pleasantly" as they interrogated the increasingly agitated man? In the assignment, students must consider these questions and more, then write a short narrative through the perspective of either the old man or a police officer at the scene. The assignment is fun but more importantly, it leads to sophisticated discussion about the concept of an unreliable narrator. This is a perfect supplement for any unit on Edgar Allan Poe!

• The Tell-Tale Heart Socratic Seminar Materials: A Socratic Seminar (or a "Fish Bowl" Conversation as I like to call them with my students) is a higher order way of assessing whether your students are able to understand and react to your class texts. These seminars rely on the power of inquiry and allow students to take the lead in their learning and discussion. The only problem? They require a great deal of preparation. Fortunately, this student-tested resource includes everything you need to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom surrounding the short stories, The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe... with very little preparation required on your end.

• The Tell-Tale Heart ESCAPE ROOM: This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Escape Room for The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task (and it is!), but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. It is the perfect activity for Halloween or any day you want to shake it up with your students without sacrificing learning. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of this game.

• The Tell-Tale Heart Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game: This resource features a lesson plan and materials for the Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game, an engaging and competitive way to review Edgar Allan Poe's chilling tale of cold-blooded murder, The Tell-Tale Heart. Let's face it, review days can be boring for both teachers and students, so liven them up with this collaborative game. The resource includes not only a meticulously detailed lesson plan and set-up instructions, but over 40 questions on plot, literary elements, vocabulary, and figurative language from The Tell-Tale Heart, as well as questions about Poe himself. Besides simple set-up, very little preparation is needed for this lesson and if your students are like mine, they will ask for this form of review for every unit of study.

• The Tell-Tale Heart Figurative Language Challenge Activity (also included within Literature Guide): I created this "Figurative Language Challenge" activity and lesson plan several years ago for my middle school students as they were studying Poe's chilling story of murder and mutilation, The Tell-Tale Heart. Little did I know that it would become the most requested game among my students of all time. This resource includes a meticulously-detailed lesson plan using warm-up, explanation, application, and synthesis, and a one-of-a-kind game that will get your students excited about identifying the copious amount of figurative language that pervades the text. This is the perfect lesson plan for a Friday, on Halloween, or any time you need to amp up the energy in your classroom without sacrificing learning... and of course, it is Common Core aligned!

**BONUS FILE: Intro to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint: This product features a highly-engaging introductory PowerPoint Presentation for the Father of Horror himself, Edgar Allan Poe. A unit of study on Poe is not complete without learning the gory and heartbreaking details of his life and what made him into the master poet and writer whom we continue to marvel at today. This 20-slide powerpoint runs through his tragic family life and childhood, relationships, early occupations (before he was the Poe that you know), synopses of some of his most famous works, death theories, and current pop culture references. It concludes with a 10 question quiz to see how well students listened... and trust me, they will be hanging on your every word! This powerpoint encourages class participation, is fully editable to suit your class' needs, and lasts about 30-40 minutes to run through. I suggest presenting this on the very first day of your unit on Edgar Allan Poe. Enjoy and let the horror begin!

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This bundle features a full year's worth (one escape room per month) of our rigorous and engaging escape rooms for your secondary Language Arts classroom - third edition.

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct 12 full-length ELA Escape Rooms. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours run smoothly from start to finish. These activities involve movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. Plus, all tasks are skills-based and aligned to the Common Core so that with each escape room, learning is not sacrificed. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of these games!

How does it work?

Your students must work to escape your classroom by solving 5 different Language Arts skills-based puzzles, discovering hidden messages, and finding clues along the way.

Each Escape Room Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and necessary information to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklets (small and large options)

- Teacher Answer Keys

- Code Word Theme Open Response for homework or in-class writing activity

- Escape Room Reflection for homework or in-class writing activity

Suggested Escape Room Progression:

• August - Back to School Poetry Escape Room
• September - The Raven ESCAPE ROOM
• October - Halloween Grammar Escape Room
• November - Veterans Day Stations Activity
• December - A Christmas Carol ESCAPE ROOM
• January - Macbeth ESCAPE ROOM
• February - Valentine's Day Poetry Escape Room
• March - March Basketball ELA Escape Room
• April - The Lottery ESCAPE ROOM
• May - Memorial Day Stations Activity
• June - The Alchemist ESCAPE ROOM
• July - End of Year Grammar Escape Room

Purchasing this bundle saves over 30% off the cover price of a year's worth of escape rooms. All are suitable for middle-high school students.

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If this combination of escape rooms isn't exactly what you're looking for, check out volumes 1 & 2 as well as our digital escape room bundle:

⭐ Full Year of ELA Escape Rooms BUNDLE

⭐ Full Year of ELA Escape Rooms BUNDLE - Volume 2

⭐ Full Year of Digital ELA Escape Rooms BUNDLE

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This resource should accompany Walter Dean Myers's short story Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push. The story is not included but can be found in the book Flying Lessons and Other Stories.

This resource includes 5 worksheet pages in color for posting online and in b/w for easy printing. A presentation aligns with the worksheets and includes an answer key for vocabulary and short answer questions.

This resource has:

- a pre-reading journal prompt

- story vocabulary

- tiered reading questions

- a focus on the standard: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

- answer keys

This lesson should accompany the short story Eraser Tattoo by Jason Reynolds. The story can be found in the anthology Fresh Ink.

This lesson focuses on making inferences and identifying themes. Students will provide and explain textual evidence that supports inferences and themes that they identify from the story.

This resource includes 6 slides for display at the front of the class and 2 student worksheet pages which come in color and b/w.