Help high school readers explore how Nathaniel Hawthorne used literary devices such as direct description, characterization, figurative language, foreshadowing, and symbolism to develop a complex short story: “Young Goodman Brown.” This craft analysis activity helps students go beyond general reading comprehension by making them reflect on the motivations behind the author’s word choices and narrative techniques. Delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats, this resource also helps prepare students for more meaningful classroom discussions. Through these discussions, students may evaluate peers’ reasoning and use of rhetoric to support claims, clarifying or challenging ideas as needed. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are included.

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “The Chaser” by John Collier. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: apprehensively, bountifully, effect, fervently, giddy, indifferently, laxative, oblige, obscurely, phial, rapture, scorn, and solitude. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Help high school readers explore how Saki used direct description, characterization, figurative language, foreshadowing, and symbolism to develop a complex short story: “The Interlopers.” This craft analysis activity helps students go beyond general reading comprehension by making them reflect on the motivations behind the author’s word choices and narrative techniques. Delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats, this resource also helps prepare students for more meaningful classroom discussions. Through these discussions, students may evaluate peers’ reasoning and use of rhetoric to support claims, clarifying or challenging ideas as needed. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are included.

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: conspicuous, enigmatically, lanky, marquee, mournfully, murmur, pacify, rapturous, relish, shudder, sordid, strenuous, tactless, and weary. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Help high school students extend beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Mona Gardner’s short story “The Dinner Party.” An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. This resource may facilitate small-group discussions in which students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will improve their ability to present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly and convincingly. By completing this close reading activity, students will: Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly Discern the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques Describe tone in context Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices including epiphany, metaphor, simile, and situational irony Conduct research online in order to answer questions related to plot Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision Come to class better prepared to discuss literature

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “The Colomber” by Dino Buzzati. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: dissuade, expedient, imploringly, indomitable, industrious, inexorable, intrepid, nocturnal, obstinately, ominously, patrimony, placid, scrutinize, trudge, vain, and weary. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “The Dinner Party” by Mona Gardner. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: arresting, attaché, commotion, emerge, exclaim, forfeit, rafter, rupee, spacious, spirited, summon, unfailing, and veranda. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “Home” by Gwendolyn Brooks. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: burden, casually, emerge, emphatic, flat, graceful, jardinière, obstinate, rein, slip, staccato, stride, and suspect. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the ironic short story “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: chivalric, congenial, contempt, derision, dreary, flibbertigibbet, gnarled, goosey, merciless, satyr, scarcely, scoff, smite, solicitously, and squatty. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the Grimm’s fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: avenge, contented, decree, dissuade, fain, farther, fowl, kindred, modest, pitiful, plenteously, scarcely, scullery, splendor, and virtue. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “The Mortal Immortal” by Mary Shelley, the author of the classic science fiction novel Frankenstein. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: abhor, abode, adept, antiquated, avarice, buoyant, dingy, disdain, ephemeral, hasten, hastily, haughty, heartily, implore, imprecate, indifferent, iniquitous, murmur, natal, pecuniary, peevish, procure, quaff, refuge, renowned, reproach, reverence, scarcely, simper, studious, tedious, unintelligible, vain, and wistfully. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the ironic short story “The Cop and the Anthem” by O. Henry. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: anthem, beckon, benign, brazenly, conspicuous, crockery, cunningly, disconsolate, epicurean, fatuously, hastily, ignoble, lustrous, magistrate, mutter, refuge, saunter, soporific, sprightly, transplendent, and unduly. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the Grimm’s fairy tale “Rapunzel.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: clamber, contented, descend, hastily, lament, pine, pitiless, rampion, relish, resound, skein, solitude, and vain. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: clabber, dingy, doctrine, envy, farthest, homely, lye, mercilessly, organdy, sidle, tacky, totter, witty, and wriggle. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: append, countenance, dilapidated, distemper, garrulous, indifferent, infamous, infernal, interminable, monotonous, mutter, ornery, reminiscence, serenely, and vagabond. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: bough, dilatory, discreetly, elusive, fretfully, gallantly, hasten, loiter, murmur, ornithologist, pang, plod, premonition, proffer, rebuke, shoal, stately, vaguely, wane, wary, wayfarer, and wistfully. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

“The Woman’s Ghost Story” by Algernon Blackwood is a narrative of special appeal to high school students interested in Halloween, supernatural fiction, and the paranormal realm. Use this plot-based quiz on “The Woman’s Ghost Story” to evaluate general reading comprehension and promote homework accountability. The assessment may double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with literature. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following: The general characterization of the woman The woman’s criticism of storytellers Conditions under which the woman will share her ghost story The woman’s audience The setting of the woman’s story The purpose of the woman’s travels The general characterization of the ghost The woman’s reaction to the ghostly encounter The ghost’s relationship with space The ghost’s desires The woman’s so-called “brave” act The resolution

Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and develop critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Algernon Blackwood’s “The Woman’s Ghost Story,” a narrative of special appeal to high school students interested in Halloween, supernatural fiction, and the paranormal realm. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. This resource may facilitate small-group discussions in which students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will improve their ability to present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly and convincingly. Students will perform the following tasks: Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly Demonstrate knowledge of the conventions of Dark Romanticism Consider the effects of the author’s language and narrative techniques Determine the purpose of a given passage Discern tone in context Examine how characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on simile, metaphor, imagery, hyperbole, foreshadowing, personification, epiphany, and more Conduct brief online research on women’s rights in the context of England in the early 1900s Explore themes in context Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about Gothic fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the science fiction short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: altar, bough, burrow, capillary, cavort, manifest, oblivious, parched, quench, silhouette, titanic, tremulous, wail, whim, and withered. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: apathetically, appeasingly, chide, conflagration, conjectural, ensue, flotsam, intangible, mincing, poignant, reiterate, smite, subtle, temperament, and undulation. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences