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Standards Correlations
R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.1, SL.1, SL.2, L.4, L.6
Learning objective
As students read an adaptation of a classic horror story, they will make inferences about the plot and characters.
Key Skills
inference, text features, vocabulary, genre, compare and contrast, character, cause and effect, theme, interpreting text, critical thinking, argument writing
Complexity Factors
Levels of Meaning: The play shows the dangers of being greedy and ignoring well-intentioned advice.
Structure: The story is told in chronological order. At one point, a character tells a story that takes place in the past.
Language: The language is simple and direct. The reader needs to make some inferences to understand the story.
Knowledge Demands: The play mentions India and a holy man.
Levels
Guided Reading Level: S
DRA Level: 40
Lesson Plan: The Monkey's Paw
Essential Questions
Literature Connection
1. Preparing to Read
Preview Text Features (15 minutes)
Guide students to locate the play. Then help them preview the text features using the following prompts
Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)
Make a Plan for Reading
Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:
2. Reading and Unpacking the Text
Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)
Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)
3. Skill Building and Writing
Learn Anywhere Activity
An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom
Write a review
Book and movie reviews are useful. They help people decide whether they want to read a certain book or watch a particular movie. You can do the same with “The Monkey’s Paw.” Imagine that a friend is thinking of reading the play. Answer the questions below to help your friend decide.
Language-Acquisition Springboard
Teach contractions to improve fluency.
Before reading the play, review common contractions with your multilingual students. This practice will help them to understand and pronounce the contractions in the play. Briefly explain that a contraction is typically made when two words are shortened into one, with an apostrophe standing in for the missing letters. Examples:
Then read these lines from the play aloud and ask students to repeat them, breaking each contraction into its original two words:
Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.
Print This Lesson Plan