Thematic Short Story Unit Plan on Fear and Curiosity for High School (Printable)

Embrace the Halloween spirit and help high school students interpret and analyze short stories of increasing rigor with this low-prep, six-week thematic unit plan on the power of fear and curiosity. Supporting materials such as comprehension quizzes, close reading analysis worksheets, public domain narratives, research project materials, a summative assessment, a test prep study guide, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. (Alternatively, a Google Drive option is available.)

The following narratives are featured:

• "Graves and Goblins" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• "Hansel and Gretel" by the Brothers Grimm
• "The Emissary" by Ray Bradbury
• "The Lurking Fear" by H.P. Lovecraft
• "The Mortal Immortal" by Mary Shelley
• "The Wife's Story" by Ursula K. Le Guin
• "The Woman's Ghost Story" by Algernon Blackwood

Using these texts, students will consider answers to these essential questions:

• What is fear? How can it affect an individual physically, emotionally, and psychologically?
• What is curiosity? How does it affect an individual’s behavior?
• How does experiencing fear and curiosity compromise one’s judgment?
• How do one’s experiences with fear and curiosity affect others?
• How does setting influence decision-making for characters who experience fear and curiosity?
• What aspects of an author’s works evoke characteristics of Halloween?

By the end of the unit, students will have opportunities to learn the following:

• The conventions of Gothic fiction, also known as Dark Romanticism
• How authors use a variety of narrative techniques to develop compelling narratives with complex characters and vivid settings
• How to analyze character development and connect plot details to larger themes
• Details associated with the history of Halloween
• How to gather, organize, synthesize, and articulate information obtained through a structured research process

By the end of the unit, students will have opportunities to demonstrate the following skills:

• Identifying what works of fiction and nonfiction state explicitly and implicitly
• Articulating facts, claims, and inferences with clarity, accuracy, and precision, citing relevant evidence to support and strengthen ideas
• Applying knowledge of literary devices such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, foreshadowing, personification, and more
• Discussing literature in meaningful ways and in various contexts
• Exploring shared themes among several texts

Other important features of the unit plan include the following:

• A list of the relevant Common Core Standards attached to the unit
• An alphabetized list of essential vocabulary terms
• A week-by-week breakdown of assigned texts and general tasks
• A suggested list of bell ringer writing prompts, one for each text
• Ideas for differentiating instruction and assessment

Additional unit plans are available:

• Writing Adventure Fiction - Google and printable
• Writing Dinosaur Tales - Google and printable
• Writing Fairy Tales - Google and printable
• Writing Fantasy Fiction - Google and printable
• Writing Gothic Fiction - Google and printable
• Writing Realistic Fiction - Google and printable
• Writing Science Fiction - Google and printable