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

The Silent Struggle: A Powerful Resource for Addressing Bullying and Promoting Social-Emotional Learning

This is one story taken from a book eight, which can be found here

Inspire your students to become advocates for change with "The Silent Struggle," a captivating story that tackles the issue of bullying and the transformative power of self-advocacy. This comprehensive learning package is designed to help students in grades 6-8 develop empathy, resilience, and the courage to speak out against injustice.

The package includes:

1. "The Silent Struggle" short story
2. 10 thought-provoking discussion questions
3. 5 creative writing prompts
4. 10 engaging project ideas that align with the core competencies of social-emotional learning
5. A vocabulary list featuring 20 words related to bullying prevention and personal growth, complete with definitions and parts of speech
6. An in-depth analysis of the story's themes, tailored for middle school students

Through this powerful resource, your students will:

• Explore the far-reaching consequences of bullying on mental health and academic performance
• Discuss the importance of supportive friendships and the role of allies in overcoming adversity
• Examine the responsibilities of school staff in creating a safe and inclusive learning environment
• Engage in projects that foster self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making, self-management, and relationship skills
• Reflect on their own experiences and apply the lessons learned to their daily lives
• Expand their vocabulary and understanding of literary elements

"The Silent Struggle" learning package is a versatile tool that can be seamlessly integrated into your language arts, social studies, or character education curriculum. The projects and assignments are designed to accommodate diverse learning styles, ensuring that all students can engage with the material and develop a deeper understanding of the story's themes.

Each of these stores can be found individually here

Empower Your Students to Overcome Bullying with "The Power Within"

A Collection of Short Stories & Engaging Activities Designed to Spark Dialogue, Build Empathy, and Inspire Change

Are you seeking a powerful tool to address bullying in your middle school classroom?

"The Power Within: Stories of Overcoming Bullying" is more than just a book; it's a comprehensive resource designed to help you navigate the complex landscape of bullying with your students.

What's Inside:

• Eight Engaging Narratives: Captivating stories that explore various forms of bullying, including verbal, physical, social, and cyberbullying, from multiple perspectives – the victim, the bully, the bystander, and the supportive adult.
• Thought-Provoking Discussion Questions: Each story is followed by a set of questions designed to spark meaningful conversations, encourage critical thinking, promote self-reflection, and foster empathy.
• Creative Writing Prompts: Inspire your students to explore the themes of the stories through writing, allowing them to develop their own voices, express their understanding of bullying, and consider alternative perspectives.
• Action-Oriented Project Ideas: Empower your students to take action against bullying by engaging in projects that promote kindness, inclusivity, and positive change within their school communities.

Why Choose "The Power Within":

• Relatable and Engaging: The stories are carefully crafted to resonate with the middle school experience, capturing the attention of your students and making the lessons more impactful.
• Multifaceted Approach: The book addresses bullying from various angles, providing a holistic understanding of the issue and its complexities.
• Promotes Social-Emotional Learning: The activities and discussion prompts encourage students to develop essential social-emotional skills, such as empathy, self-awareness, responsible decision-making, and relationship building.
• Versatile Teaching Tool: Use the stories as individual reading assignments, springboards for class discussions, or the foundation for a unit on bullying prevention.

"The Power Within" is more than just a book; it's a catalyst for positive change.

Help your students find their voices, embrace their strength, and create a more compassionate and inclusive school environment. Order your copy of "The Power Within: Stories of Overcoming Bullying" today!

Bonus: Follow us on

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*This is one story taken from a book eight, which can be found here.

Introducing "The Bystander's Dilemma" - a compelling story and comprehensive teaching resource for grades 5-8 that addresses the critical issue of bullying and the power of being an upstander.

This thought-provoking story follows Lucas, a middle school student who witnesses the bullying of his classmate, Emma. As Lucas grapples with the decision to intervene or remain silent, students will explore themes of courage, compassion, and the importance of standing up for others.

"The Bystander's Dilemma" is more than just a story; it's a complete teaching package designed to engage your students and foster meaningful discussions about bullying prevention and character development.

This resource includes:

• The full story, divided into chapters for easy classroom reading and discussion
• Detailed character profiles and a story arc to help students analyze literary elements
• Thoughtful discussion questions to promote critical thinking and personal reflection
• Engaging writing prompts to encourage creative expression and empathy-building
• Vocabulary list with definitions to support language development
• Comprehensive lesson ideas & activities, including character analysis, anti-bullying campaign poster design, role-playing, and more

As an educator, you understand the importance of addressing bullying and promoting a positive school climate. "The Bystander's Dilemma" provides a relevant and relatable context for students to explore these issues, while also strengthening their literacy skills and social-emotional learning.

This resource features an anticipation guide for Roald Dahl's ironic tale of a scorned housewife, Lamb to the Slaughter, 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 Lamb to the Slaughter and your overall short story unit. I am confident that your students will enjoy this thoughtful, engaging activity and beg you to begin reading this creepy yet cheeky tale.

Product Includes:

• 2 Page Anticipation Guide with 7 Debate Statements
• "Numbered Heads" Lesson Plan

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Check out more great resources for your study of Lamb to the Slaughter by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Literature Guide

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Escape Room
⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter & The Black Cat Compare Contrast Essay

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Activity Bundle

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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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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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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 for your Edgar Allan Poe unit:

⭐ 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 Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game

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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⭐ Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence⭐

This resource features an engaging, interactive, editable PowerPoint Presentation for introducing or reviewing Dystopian Fiction to your students! PowerPoint Presentation runs through an entire lesson from warm-up to explanation, application, and summarizer. Also included are 2 pages of "guided notes" so that you may differentiate your lecture for all levels of students. Recently, a fun dystopia crossword puzzle has been added to help reinforce knowledge of the lesson. Since utopias and dystopias are intrinsically motivating for students, this lesson is always a fun one and gets students excited about the upcoming unit on whatever dystopian novel or short story you'll be reading!

Powerpoint Outline:

• Warm-Up journal entry prompt
• Utopia/Dystopia definitions
• Elements of dystopian literature
• Examples of dystopian novels/movies
• 3-2-1 Exit Ticket
• 2 Pages of differentiated "Guided Notes" to help students with note-taking skills
• Dystopia Crossword Puzzle

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Now included for FREE with purchase of the Escape from Dystopia Escape Room and Escape from Dystopia DIGITAL Escape Room

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Also, check out these great resources for your dystopian unit by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale

⭐ Divergent

⭐ The Lottery

⭐ Harrison Bergeron

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If you are looking for the perfect way to introduce or review dystopian literature for your students with a rigorous yet engaging activity, look no further than our Escape from Dystopia 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 Dystopia Escape Room. 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!

How does it work?

In order to escape from your dystopian classroom of despair and destruction, your students must escape your room by solving 5 different utopian and dystopian related puzzles, discovering a hidden message, and finding clues along the way.

• Dystopia FAQs: In the first task, students must complete a crossword puzzle with questions about dystopian and utopian societies. Once complete, they must unscramble circled boxes to reveal the first code.
• Trending Now: In the second task, students must match an actual current law, statistic or trend with the dystopian novel that shows what, if taken to the extreme, could happen to our world. Once completed correctly, letters within the shaded boxes will reveal the second code.
• Word Maze: In the third task, students must complete a word maze. Letters collected along the way will reveal a theme of dystopia and act as the third code.
• Unknown Citizen: In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of W. H. Auden's The Unknown Citizen. This is the perfect poem for discussing the totalitarian aspects of dystopian societies and how citizens can completely lose their individuality within them. The letters of the multiple choice questions about the poem will form the fourth code.
• Dys/U topia?: In the fifth and final task, students must assemble two charts for Utopia and Dystopia using hypothetical elements of both types of society. Letters of the correct answers reveal the final code phrase to escape the classroom!

Product 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 (2 per page for easy printing), and supplementary materials to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklet

- 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

This escape room can be used as an introduction to or as a review of dystopia, however students will need at least a fundamental understanding of utopian and dystopian societies prior to engaging in the escape room. Therefore, this 30-slide Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint is included to be taught a day or two prior to this lesson.

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We've gone digital! Check out the digital version to support distance learning here:

⭐ Escape from Dystopia Digital ESCAPE ROOM & PowerPoint

Also, check out these great products for your unit on DYSTOPIA by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Dystopian Literature Socratic Seminar

The Handmaid's Tale

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale "Hot Seat!"

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale "Silent Conversation" Quote Pass Activity

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale Anticipation Guide & Lesson Plan

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale Journal Prompts

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale Quote Posters

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale Socratic Seminar Lesson Plan and Materials

The Lottery

⭐The Lottery Activity Bundle

⭐ The Lottery Social Media Materials

⭐ The Lottery Socratic Seminar Lesson Plan and Materials

⭐ The Lottery "Tossing Lines" Anticipation Guide

Harrison Bergeron

⭐ Harrison Bergeron ESCAPE ROOM

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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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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 Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado 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 Cask of Amontillado 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. Because this is a skills-based escape room, it is the perfect way to review the story for the final quiz or test. 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 out of the Montresor family catacombs by solving 5 different skills-based puzzles, completing a secret message, and finding clues along the way.

• Plot Diagram: In the first task, students must order the plot events of The Cask of Amontillado on Freytag's Pyramid. Once solved, corresponding letters reveal the first code.
• Figuratively Speaking: In the second task, students must identify 9 types of figurative language within the short story. Highlighted boxes in the correct answers will reveal the code.
• Criss-Cross: In the third 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.
• Vocab Match-Up: In the fourth task, students must fill in the blanks with vocabulary words from The Cask of Amontillado. When matched correctly, shaded boxes will reveal the code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the fifth and final task, students must complete a jig saw puzzle that reveals a quote from The Cask of Amontillado. In order to escape the Montresor family crypt, they must complete the missing word in the quote.

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

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This escape room pairs perfectly with the The Cask of Amontillado Literature Guide

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Plus, check out these great products to supplement your study of The Cask of Amontillado:

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Family Crest Activity

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Socratic Seminar

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 ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Compare Contrast Essay

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Socratic Seminar Materials

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Unit Test

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary - Halloween Lesson Plan

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Resource Bundle

And because your students will be begging for more escape rooms...

⭐ The Raven ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Pit & the Pendulum ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death ESCAPE ROOM

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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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This resource features the most fun your students will have with figurative language all year!

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!

Product Includes:

• Full-length lesson plan
• Figurative Language Review Sheet
• 8 Figurative Language Signs to hang in room
• Detailed Answer Key

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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 ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Unreliable Narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart Lesson Plan

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart/The Black Cat Compare Contrast Essay

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

But why stop with one story? We have enough Edgar Allan Poe resources to frighten your students for months!

⭐ The Raven Literature Guide

⭐ The Black Cat Literature Guide

⭐ The Pit and the Pendulum Literature Guide

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death Literature Guide

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Literature Guide

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher Literature Guide

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Short Story BUNDLE

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

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 Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron 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 Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut. 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 from 2081 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 Harrison Bergeron. The corresponding letters of the correct answers reveal their first code.
• Plot it Out: In the second task, students must order the plot events of Harrison Bergeron on Freytag's Pyramid. Once solved, corresponding letters reveal the code.
• Vocab Challenge: In the third task, students must fill in the blanks with vocabulary words from Harrison Bergeron. When inserted correctly, shaded boxes will reveal the 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.
• Final Question: In the fifth and final task, students must complete a jig saw puzzle that reveals a quote about freedom and equality_._ In order to escape from 2081, they must answer the final question about the quote.

Product 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 (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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Also, check out these great products for your dystopian unit by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint & Crossword Puzzle

⭐ Escape from Dystopia ESCAPE ROOM & PowerPoint

⭐ Escape from Dystopia Digital ESCAPE ROOM & PowerPoint

⭐ 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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This product features a thoughtful and engaging supplemental activity for Edgar Allan Poe's tale of ultimate revenge, "The Cask of Amontillado." In this mini-project that can be done in class or as homework, students will closely examine Montresor's family crest (or is it!?), then create their own symbolic family crest using meticulous instructions and the template provided. They will also need to thoroughly explain what they have included on their family crest. A detailed lesson plan is included for use on the following day that allows students to showcase and explain their family crests using an imaginative teaching method. This is a fantastic activity to get your students to think symbolically and to reflect upon the ideals of their own families. Your students will thank you for offering such a thoughtful activity to go along with their reading of "The Cask of Amontillado"!

Product Includes:

- Detailed Instructions

- Family Crest Template

- Explanation Template

- Student Example

- Suggested Lesson Plan

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

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Literature Guide

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Socratic Seminar

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

But why stop with one story? We have enough Edgar Allan Poe resources 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 Masque of the Red Death Literature Guide

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Literature Guide

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher Literature Guide

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Short Story BUNDLE

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This resource features a rigorous, fun, and extremely informative escape room for one of the most celebrated American authors of all time, Edgar Allan Poe. It is the perfect way to introduce, re-introduce, or review the author with your students in an engaging and meaningful way.

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 massive knowledge they will gain about Poe in playing this game!

How does it work?

The ghost of Edgar Allan Poe has risen from the grave to have his revenge on your students who he feels, spend too much time on their smartphones and not enough time studying him. He has trapped them in the room until they can show that they do in fact "know Poe!"

• Poe FAQs: In the first task, students must complete a crossword puzzle with questions about Poe. Once complete, they must unscramble circled boxes to reveal the first code.
• Death Mystery: In the second task, students must find all 21 theories of how Poe died in a word search. Remaining letters will form the second code.
• Extra! Extra! Read All About it!: In the third task, students must match fictional newspaper headlines with the short story by Poe that they represent. This task is in the form of a mat puzzle and the code is revealed when students have matched all short stories correctly.
• Annabel Lee: In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of one of Poe's most famous poems, Annabel Lee. The letters of the multiple choice questions about the poem will form the fourth code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the fifth task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle with a quote from one of Poe's stories.

The final task brings the first 5 tasks together. Students will learn that each of the codes represent an aspect of one of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories. Students must figure out what story it is, then draw a picture of the title to escape!

Product Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 6 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Student Answer Booklet

- Teacher Answer Keys

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

This escape room is ideal for an introduction, refresher, or review of Edgar Allan Poe. If using as an introduction, internet access is required as not all information that students need to complete the escape room will be common knowledge.

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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 to supplement your Edgar Allan Poe unit by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe Scavenger Hunt

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Bell Ringer Journal Prompts

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game

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

And because your students will be begging for more escape rooms...

⭐ The Raven ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Pit & the Pendulum ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado ESCAPE ROOM

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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 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 Poe's "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.

Product Includes:

• Meticulously-crafted lesson plan with objectives, materials, warm-up, explanation, application, synthesis, homework, and extension activity
• Student packet of accompanying materials
• Teacher key for comprehension questions
• “The Tell-Tale Heart” Creative Writing Assignment on Perspective

This activity works well as a part of any Edgar Allan Poe or short story unit. It is assumed that students have read "The Tell-Tale Heart" prior to teaching the lesson.

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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 ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Figurative Language Challenge Activity

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Human Tic Tac Toe Review Game

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

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart/The Black Cat Compare Contrast Essay

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 ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Resource Bundle

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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.

Product Includes:

• Meticulously-crafted lesson plan with objectives, materials, warm-up, explanation, application, synthesis for either 1 90-minute period or 2 45-minute periods
• Student packet of accompanying materials
• Detailed teacher's key

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

⭐ The Black Cat Literature Guide

⭐ The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Compare Contrast Essay

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter & The Black Cat Compare Contrast Essay

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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 Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol 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 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. All tasks are Language Arts skills-based so that with this fun lesson near a sugar-filled holiday, 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 this game!

How does it work?

It is Christmas morning and you have traveled all the way to London to visit your Uncle Scrooge. He is visibly shaken and tells you that he’s had a terrible dream about 3 ominous ghosts. He says that apparently he’s supposed to have learned some valuable lesson last night but he can’t remember what it is…. and if he can’t remember it by midnight, Christmas will be destroyed forever! The only way to escape the room and save Christmas is by solving 5 different skills-based puzzles about A Christmas Carol to help Scrooge remember the lessons he learned last night.

• Plot it Out: In the first task, students must order the major plot points of A Christmas Carol on Freytag's Pyramid. When ordered correctly, letters in the shaded boxes on the chart form their first code.
• VocaBah Humbug: In the second task, students must match the vocabulary words from A Christmas Carol with their definitions by drawing a line connecting them. Letters not intersected by these lines will form their second code word. Clue cards using the words in context are included.
• Criss-Cross: In the third task, students must complete a crossword puzzle about major plot points, characters, setting, figurative language, and quotes from the story. Circled letters within the crossword, once unscrambled, reveal the code.
• Say What: In the fourth task, students must match notable quotes with the characters who said them. When cards are matched correctly, the fourth code is revealed.
• Missing Word: In the final task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle that forms a notable quote from the story with one missing word. Once the puzzle is assembled and students figure out the missing word, they may escape the room and save Christmas.

Product Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print & Classroom Preparation Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- 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 Sheet

- Teacher Answer Keys

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

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

This escape room is an ideal way to end your unit on A Christmas Carol and a great way to review for the final test.

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Also, check out more great holiday products by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ A Christmas Carol "Silent Conversation" Quote Pass Activity

⭐ Christmas ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Christmas Poetry ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Hanukkah Kwanzaa Christmas Diwali ESCAPE ROOM

⭐‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Figurative Language Lesson Plan

⭐ The Little Match Girl Sensory Details Lesson Plan

⭐"Christmas Talk" Lesson Plan

⭐The Gift of the Magi & The Necklace Compare/Contrast Essay

⭐Christmas Song Figurative Language Powerpoint Presentation

⭐Figurative Language in Christmas Songs - 32 Task Cards

⭐Letter to a Member of the Military

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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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This resource features a Jigsaw activity for discovering themes about human nature and tradition in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. Literary theme can be a difficult topic for students to grasp, therefore this lesson guides students to closely analyze the text and extrapolate theme statements without relying on teacher-led instruction. In this Jigsaw activity and lesson plan, students cooperatively study and specialize in a quote from The Lottery in one small group_,_ then teach the material to new group members. You will find that this special technique will build comprehension, encourage cooperation, and improve communication among your students (not to mention, allow them a chance to move around the room a bit). Your students will come away from this lesson with a much better grasp on literary theme, as well as some aha-moments as they connect themes within The Lottery to systems and traditions that need a second look in our own society today.

Product Includes:

• Meticulous instructions for Jigsaw activity and full length lesson plan
• 2-Page Graphic Organizer
• Detailed Answer Key to help guide discussion

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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 Socratic Seminar Lesson Plan & Materials

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

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 best-selling The Lottery Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom using your school's technology (to cut down on paper and valuable prep time) with this meticulously-crafted resource. Distance learning can certainly be a struggle for both students and teachers and this escape room aims to provide a welcome break from the monotony while encouraging higher order thinking skills and a fun review of the darkest town in America.

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. Shaded 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:

- 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 interactive worksheets

- Digital Student Answer Booklet

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

***This product requires free accounts through Google Drive and is completely paperless.***

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

⭐ The Lottery ESCAPE ROOM (paper version)
⭐ The Lottery Activity Bundle
⭐ The Lottery "Tossing Lines" Anticipation Guide
⭐ The Lottery Comprehension Questions, Literary Elements & Vocabulary
⭐ The Lottery Social Media Activities
⭐ The Lottery Socratic Seminar Lesson Plan and Materials

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⭐⭐⭐

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

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 Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death 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 Masque of the Red Death 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. Because this is a skills-based escape room, it is the perfect way to review the story for the final quiz or test. 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 from the clutches of the Red Death in Prince Prospero's lavish castle by solving 5 different skills-based puzzles, completing a secret message, and finding clues along the way.

• Close Read: In the first task, students must perform a close reading of a passage from The Masque of the Red Death and answer multiple choice questions about the selection that when correct, reveal the code.
• Masked Figure-ative Language: In the second task, students must identify 7 types of figurative language within the short story. Highlighted boxes in the correct answers will reveal the code.
• Ahh-Mazing: In the third task, students must solve a word maze that relates to a theme of the story. Letters collected along the way reveal the code.
• Vocab Match-Up: In the fourth task, students must fill in the blanks with vocabulary words from The Masque of the Red Death. When matched correctly, shaded boxes will reveal the code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the fifth and final task, students must complete a jig saw puzzle that reveals a quote from The Masque of the Red Death. In order to escape the Red Death, they must complete the missing word in the quote.

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, and supplementary materials to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Sheet

- Teacher Answer Keys

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

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

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This escape room pairs perfectly with the The Masque of the Red Death Literature Guide

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Plus, check out these great products to supplement your study of The Masque of the Red Death:

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death Socratic Seminar

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death Anticipation Guide

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death Social Media Materials

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 ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Resource Bundle

And because your students will be begging for more escape rooms...

⭐ The Raven ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Pit & the Pendulum ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado ESCAPE ROOM

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence