"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
Lesson plans and teaching resources

When the story was published in 1948, some people were so outraged that they canceled their subscriptions to The New Yorker ; other background information.

7 critical-thinking discussion questions for small groups. Adobe Reader required.

How might students use storyboards to demonstrate and to extend their learning? Check the resources here. Students work with word choice and tone, plot diagrams, themes and symbols, more. Note: Storyboard That helps sponsor this site.

Text of the story and 10 postreading questions. 2 pages; Adobe Reader required.

Text of the story.

Audio file of the story read by actor Kate Mulgrew, 18:53.

This page opens with teacher comments on how to approach the story in an ELL environment. Scroll down to find activities supporting vocabulary, comprehension and word usage (cloze), writing tasks, commentary, and analysis.

Students respond to the themes of the story through small group discussion and personal questions.

"The Lottery" Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan students analyze the impact of tradition on human behavior through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Includes assessments, accommodations, and printable handouts for vocabulary, question stems, Socratic Seminar rubric, more.

16 words drawn from the story, a procedure for working with the words in context, and an activity that can serve as a formative assessment.