Tag: Short Stories

Spooky Activities for the Middle School ELA Classroom

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There is something very fun and exciting about using seasonal reading and writing activities with middle school students. Even if they won’t admit it, many students enjoy reading creepy, spooky, and scary works because of the suspense.

Today, I want to share some festive resources that can be used in the middle school ELA classroom. Whether you choose to do an entire horror unit or you’re wanting a small activity for a day or two, there is something for every ELA teacher.

Spooky Read-Alouds

Read-alouds are my favorite activity to do with students. They are a great way to expose students to different types of novels and provide learners an opportunity to enjoy a book. Below are some popular spooky read-aloud novels:

Spooky read-aloud books for middle school.

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe (there is also a graphic novel version!)

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The Witches by Roald Dahl (there is also a really great graphic novel version!)

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine

Tales of Mystery and Terror adapted by Marjorie P. Katz. These Edgar Allan Poe stories have been turned into a Great Illustrated Classics book.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted by Mitsu Yamamoto. This Great Illustrated Classics version does a wonderful job making this story easy to read for students.

I strongly suggest reading for about 10 minutes a day and then have students answer a question based on the reading for 2-3 minutes. Students can respond verbally, in a journal, on a Padlet, etc.

Spooky Short Stories

This age group is not into the “kiddie” scary stuff, but not quite ready for the adult world of horror. When choosing which short stories you use with your class, keep in mind the maturity level along with the reading level. Below are some of my favorite spooky short stories to use with middle schoolers.

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs. Resources are available here.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. Resources are available here.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe.

“Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. Resources are available here.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. Resources are available here.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

When using short stories, I usually have a main focus for each story. For instance, with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” I focus on direct and indirect characterization. Instead of trying to focus on many different aspects of a work, by choosing just one I can dive deeper into the text with students.

Spooky Short Story Activities

Once you know what texts you’ll be using, it’s time to determine what learning activities to provide for your kiddos. This will vary based on your grade level, class time, etc., so feel free to make adjustments based on your classroom.

Dramatic Reading

Many students dislike taking turns reading aloud in class, so using dramatic readings with spooky short stories is a great way to read a text. A really great one is from G.M. Danielson and his reading of “The Tell-Tale Heart”. The laugh in the very beginning is chilling!

Using Goosebumps in an online tutoring session with an 8th grade student.

Film and Text Comparisons

I always use film versions of works with my students. I find that it helps with reading comprehension and higher order thinking skills, such as evaluating. This would be the perfect activity to do on celebratory days when kids are excited about outside festivities. A few of my favorite ones for the spooky season include:

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Disney. This can also be found on Disney+. Here is a constructed response resource.

“The Lamb to the Slaughter” from Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Here is a constructed response resource.

The Tell-Tale Heart from 1953. This is a great non-violent adaptation.

The Witches from 1990 with Angelica Huston. There is a more modern version from 2020 also available with Anne Hathaway. I haven’t had a chance to watch the new one yet.

Goosebumps “Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes” from the popular book by R.L. Stine. Here is an analysis activity focusing on the elements of horror.

Writing Spooky Narratives

Students can work independently, in partners or small groups to create their own spooky stories. Depending on your class, you may want to provide some scaffolding such as setting locations (grave yard, dark and story night, etc. When students are done, spend a day or two having students share their stories. If they don’t like to read aloud, encourage kids to act out their stories. Here is an example of a spooky narrative assignment.

Other Spooky Activities

While short stories are great resources, there are also various activities that can be quick and easy.

Descriptive Paragraphs

Halloween and costumes seem to go hand in hand for middle school students. Before students wear their costumes, have them write a paragraph describing their costume using figurative language. Allow some to read theirs to classmates and see if the audience can guess the costume.

Research Local Legends

Growing up in Long Valley, NJ, there are local legends about the Hooker Man and the mysteries of Shades of Death. I can still remember my dad sharing his version of the Hooker Man around a campfire when I was in elementary school. Encourage students to research local legends/myths (or to read about one’s from my childhood) to read about “real” spooky stories.

Create a Class Story

Whether students sit at their desks or everyone sits on the floor, this activity can be very engaging for young writers. I suggest typing the story as it’s being told and projecting it to make it easier for students to contribute.

There are so many short stories, movies, and books to help students celebrate the spooky season and still progress with their reading and writing skills in a fun way.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading, writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information head to my website.

Distance Learning Winter Writing Activities for Grades 6-12

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As students enter middle and high school years, they sometimes forget that writing can be fun because they are constantly writing formal essays, research papers and responses. Creative writing can still happen in an English classroom while students practice using literary skills.

There are new products in my store that encourage creative writing while focusing on characterization, plot elements and point of view.

Winter Writing Characterization Activity– Students will create a character sketch of a snow person in three steps (brainstorming, writing and creating a visual) focusing on direct and indirect characterization. The product includes definitions to make this an independent writing assignment for students to complete on their own. There is a graphic organizer included for brainstorming. This is a great hybrid, remote or in-person activity for students to practice writing skills in a fun way for all students in grades 6-12.

Winter Writing Plot Activity– Students will create a short story about the ultimate snow day in three steps (brainstorming, writing a short story and creating a visual) based on the elements of plot. The product includes definitions to make this an independent writing assignment for students to complete on their own. There is a graphic organizer included for brainstorming. This is a great hybrid, remote or in-person activity for students to practice writing skills in a fun way for all students in grades 6-12.

Winter Writing Point of View Activity- Students will write about a snowstorm from two different points of view in two easy steps (brainstorming and writing) based on point of view. The product includes definitions to make this an independent writing assignment for students to complete on their own. There is a graphic organizer included for brainstorming. This is a great hybrid, remote or in-person activity for students to practice writing skills in a fun way for all students in grades 6-12.

Winter Writing Activities Bundle– This bundle includes three winter writing activities focusing on characterization, plot and point of view. Each activity includes definitions and graphic organizers for brainstorming, making them independent writing activities for students to complete on their own. This is a great hybrid, remote or in-person activity for students to practice writing skills in a fun way for all students in grades 6-12.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading,  writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information click here.

Writing Workshop: The Highlight of My Month

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When I was working full time for Edmentum, I was required to complete VTO hours. Immediately I thought about reaching out to my local library to see what I could do with teens. I was immediately offered an opportunity to run a new teen writing group.

What started out as volunteer time for my company, turned into my favorite night of the month. We have been running the workshop for a year now and it’s been amazing to see these writers grow!

Each meeting starts with the writers sharing their “homework” from last month (a response to a writing prompt). We all provide feedback and ask questions for each writer. Then I introduce the new writing prompts of the week, and after some chatting, we have some writing time. At the end of each meeting I have the writers share either a sentence or summarize what they got accomplished during the writing time. Sometimes the writers don’t have much because they were too busy chatting, or the creative juices weren’t flowing, and that’s totally okay.

As a teacher, I love being able to connect with kids on a personal level outside the classroom. We have created a safe place for middle/high school students to be themselves and share their writing. During our last meeting, I told the writers I was going to do a blog post on writing workshop, and they were gracious enough to provide me with their thoughts. (I typed their responses as they wrote them. Please keep in mind these are all middle school student responses).

“I love writing club because it’s a place where I feel welcome and unjudged. I love getting tips from other writers and making new friends that have similar interests. The prompts help me with my creativity and help me improve. I look forward to it every month!”

“Writing workshop is a great place to connect, write, and socialize.”

“It’s inspiring. Get to be helped out with your writing. Everyone’s nice.”

“Writing club is a great way to meet other kids with your interests.”

“How it gives teen writer the chance to share their work.”

“Writing work shop- I like that they let you speak your mined and that we can be creative and I have fun being around people. Every this is very organized. ”

I love that I get to spend time in my community by helping young writers. It’s the highlight of my month :).

Tips for Helping Students Stay on Task in ESY

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This summer I spent the month of July working with high school students in an extended school year program at a private out of district placement school. Working with 25 teenagers, in the summer, every day, can be challenging to say the least. I co-teach a class of sophomores, and teach a class of juniors and seniors.

We’re currently on day 16 of 20 in ESY, and I would love to share some ideas on how to keep students motivated.

Allow them to listen to music. This is by far the best thing to keep kids calm and somewhat on task. Students in my program are allowed to use Chromebooks to listen to music on Youtube while they work. As long as they are not singing, dancing, rapping, or blasting their music, I’m quite happy with this arrangement.

Allow them to help choose materials. My program requires students to write a book report during summer school. Since we only have 20 days, we’ve been using short stories instead of teaching a novel. This has been super helpful because of vacations, field trips, etc. The first day I told my students the plan and asked for their input. One of the kids actually requested “Lamb to the Slaughter”, so we incorporated that into the curriculum. Students were definitely more engaged with reading and discussing this text.

Utilize film versions of texts. I have always been a huge fan of showing movies or TV shows then teaching, so I continued this in my ESY classes. In the three classes, we read “All Summer in a Day”, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, and “Lamb to the Slaughter”, which all have a movie/short film.

Personally, I think the film versions for “All Summer in a Day” and “Lamb to the Slaughter” are great adaptations that help students with reading comprehension. “All Summer” is super heavy on figurative language, so it was a little overwhelming for some of students. The film version really clarified the setting for them.

Walter Mitty is a full length movie that is very slightly similar to the short story. Walter does have daydreams quite frequently, but that’s the only similarity.

Be flexible. We have about a field trip a day, so I’m constantly losing kids to trips. Some students don’t want to participate with the field trips, so they see me every day. In these cases I work with kids individually to assign them work. For instance, my one student finished the book report, so she brings in a book from home to read. She sits in class every day, reads, listens to music and tells me about something that happened in her reading.

Since I know kids love to use the Chromebooks, I always make sure to have some vocabulary words ready to go for them to define. It’s super easy for them and they can listen to music while staying on task. I also make sure to have a couple of back up reading passages with questions for students to work on as well.

 

However, even with all of these tips, my classes are far from perfect. I still have students show up late, ask for food, walk out of class, and refuse to do their required book report. However, I’ve learned that incorporating these tips can help these situations and help keep my students calm.