Short Story Unit - Mystery and Suspense - Scary Stories Horror - Suspenseful
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- Google Apps™
What educators are saying
Description
The Suspenseful Short Story Unit supplements mystery stories, the horror genre, and provides scary stories to fright and delight your students! This short story unit focuses on identifying and analyzing the element of suspense. This pairs perfectly with Edgar Allan Poe!
How will this resource benefit your classroom? The activities reinforce the knowledge students need to analyze a story's suspenseful mood and setting.
The Suspenseful Stories Short Story Unit could additionally be utilized as a springboard activity when teaching your students the art of suspenseful writing!
The following writing techniques and methods used by authors to create suspense will be studied:
- Inciting the Fear of the Unknown
- Setting the Stage for a Suspenseful Setting
- Introducing Conflicts that Cause Anxiety and Uncertainty
- Pacing and Implementing Delays
- Using Foreshadowing
- Heightening Suspense Through the Use of Dramatic Irony.
Links to the following short stories are provided for literary analysis:
- “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson
- “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury
- “The Test” by Theodore Thomas
- “The Storm" by McKnight Malmar
Check out the list of engaging materials included with this resource!
- Element of Suspense Google Slide Presentation with 36 Slides Containing Haunting Images, Story/Video Links, and Teaching Notes
- Background Information on How Writers Build Suspense
- Links to Spooky Sound Effects for Students to Analyze for the Creation of Suspenseful Settings
- Link to a “How to Make Your Writing Suspenseful” Ted-Ed Video with Handout and Answer Key
- Link to the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things” video trailer with Analysis Questions and Teacher Notes
- Excerpt from Maze Runner for Teaching the Art of Delays and Pacing
- Ted-Ed Video Clip on “What Is Dramatic Irony?”
- Collaborative Activity Using YouTube Videos on Roald Dahl’s “The Landlady” and Alvin Schwartz’s Short Story “Harold"
- Collaborative Activity “Elements of Suspense” Graphic Organizer Chart with Answer Keys
- Analyzing Suspenseful Writing Student Handout with Answer Keys
- Links to 4 Suspenseful Short Stories with Application Activity
- Links for an Online Library of Suspenseful Stories for Reinforcement
- Directions on How to Access Google Drive Resources and How to Download in Office Format
- Implementation Guide with Teacher Notes
The editable materials and activities take 3-4 days to implement and can be used in grades 7th-12th. Engage your middle and high school students with this high-interest, suspenseful short stories mini-unit!
See what other teachers like you are saying about this resource!
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This was the best thing I could have asked for to get me started on my Mystery Horror and Suspense class! Thank you thank you thank you! -
Anders School
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We just after winter break during distance learning. It was highly engaging. Students loved it. Thank you!
Lesleigh's Literacy Lair
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I used this with 8th grade students during our suspense/mystery unit. It was a great addition, and my students were completely engaged!
Karen T.
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I used this in October, and my students loved this unit. I modified some aspects for my purposes, but I appreciate such a great product!
Angela W.
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This was a fun and engaging resource! It was a great mini-unit.
Ashley Cooper
This resource is copyrighted by Teen Tech University and includes a limited license for your classroom use.
Are you searching for additional high-interest teaching materials for your short story unit?
Check out my Dystopian Literature, Novels, and Short Stories Teaching Bundle!
You might also like this technology project that can be used with any of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories!
Edgar Allan Poe Technology Project: Use with ANY Short Story
For additional engaging English resources that will supplement your short story unit, take a look at the following:
Introduction to Gothic Literature, Literary Elements, and Motifs
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