Twilight Zone “Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” Media Analysis of Twilight Zone

There’s a reason Rod Serling’s series, The Twilight Zone, has stood the test of time. The stories are compelling, the episodes are well-crafted, and the themes are timeless. With this lesson download (PDF & Google Drive formats), you can also use The Twilight Zone to help students develop analysis skills and connect classic storytelling to modern issues.

In this episode, “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” a neighborhood is destroyed by fear and baseless accusations. Issues raised by the program include scapegoating, modern witch-hunts, and fear’s ability to cloud logical thought.

The video is about 24 minutes long and the worksheet completion will take about 15-to-30 minutes, depending on how much time you allow for discussion. Works great as a standalone lesson, sub plan, or supplement to a study of Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible.

On my last product update, this episode was available to Paramount+ subscribers. It can be purchased via Amazon Prime and YouTube. This download also includes a link to an open-access website where the episode is being streamed with ads.

Want more activities like this one? Click here to scroll through my entire collection of video-based lessons: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Laura-Randazzo/Category/Video-Based-Lessons-496064

Want your classes to learn more about Rod Serling, the writer/creator of The Twilight Zone series? Click here for a student-led research activity:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rod-Serling-Author-Study-Worksheet-Twilight-Zone-Easy-Biography-Activity-CCSS-6445686

Hope you and your students enjoy this Twilight Zone activity. Thanks for stopping by!

Image credit: Pixabay, Public domain