Is it possible not to teach The Lottery by Shirley Jackson? Yes, but who would want to live in a world like that? With its rich discussion opportunities and no-fail surprise for students, it’s no wonder that this short story continues to sink its claws, in all the best ways, in many middle school classrooms.
If you’ve never taught the story before or you have but want to freshen up your plans, I’m sharing my five-day plan for working through the short story. It’s got a great balance of deeper analysis + real-world applications that will really send the story home for your students!
Day One: Setting The Stage (The Shock Factor)
The story’s twist comes at the end, but you can set quite the stage by mirroring the story’s twist in your own classroom. Build suspense and hook students by starting class with a mystery slip activity. As students arrive, have them draw a folded-up piece of paper from a small box; let them know that they should not open up the slip until instructed to do so. Make sure one piece has a dot on it.
Of course you’ll have to battle students asking what it’s all about for a good five minutes, but hold off on sharing the details. Just tell them it’s important for the story, and you’ll let them know as soon as you can. Though by the time they figure it out, they won’t want to open it, ha!
Once students have their slips, shift the focus to activating background knowledge. Topics that are essential to address here are:
- What is a lottery?
- Describe the social and cultural context of the story. Be sure to address the fact that The Lottery by Shirley Jackson was written directly post-WWII world, when mankind first faced the potential annihilation of all of society through the atomic bomb, and…
- What was being revealed about human nature, cruelty, and conformity by the Nazis across Europe.
After your quick background-building discussion, it’s time to enjoy the story.
Still hold off on opening the slips! Some may have already peeked at theirs, but the revelation won’t hit until you read and annotate the story.
Once you finish the story, have students open their paper slips. This usually leads to several sighs of relief but also a LOT of excitement over who has ‘won’ the lottery in class. This element of dramatic irony works wonders on students’ buy-in, so I wouldn’t skip this part!
When students have had a chance to gather themselves post-lottery excitement, we round-robin discuss the short story, and then I have them complete a Compass Points exit ticket, answering the following questions:
- Notice: What about the setting, characters, or plot stood out to you?
- Emotions: How did the story make you feel?
- Surprises: What surprised you the most about The Lottery? Why?
- Wonderings: What are you still wondering about?
Day Two: Stations
Station 1: Setting
Invite students to reread the first two paragraphs of the story. As they read, have them highlight words and phrases that describe the time and place. Then, have them reflect on word choice. How does it make them feel? Contrast that with the violent ending of the story. This station sets students up to think about how the setting intentionally misleads & surprises the reader!
Station 2: Character Analysis
At the second station, I have students complete a chart for four of the key characters of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson – Tess, Mr. Summers, Old Man Warner, and Davy Hutchinson. Each one contributes something a bit different to the story, so I have students identify words that describe the character, the role they play (leader, follower, bystander, enforcer, victim, etc.), and their influence on the outcome.
Station 3: The Bigger Picture
While the story is fiction, what happens in the story is not. Make students aware of the historic (and contemporary) connections to rituals. I have them read a brief passage about both stoning and ritual sacrifice, and then finish with watching the Tribute scene from the DreamWorks film The Road to El Dorado (2000). While more humorous than The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, it’s a good contrast to provide a visual understanding of rituals. I ask students…
- What similarities do they notice between the historical rituals of stoning/sacrifice and the lottery,
- Why do they think Jackson chose that particular method of sacrifice in her story, and
- Whether or not this helps them understand the villagers’ mindset
Station 4: Plot Structure
Finally, I ask students to complete a plot diagram for The Lottery by Shirley Jackson in order to understand how she sets up each piece that leads to the devastating finale.
Day Three: Student Choice Menu
By day three, students have closely examined key literary elements in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and are ready to look more closely at the ideas in the story.
I like to begin the third day with a Four Corners Discussion Activity, providing students with a series of statements about their thoughts on morality, traditions, and the role of society. I give them a handout with a series of statements and have them rate them as strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. After about 3 minutes or so, I read each statement and have students “vote with their feet” by moving to a pre-labeled corner of the room with their viewpoint. It’s a great way to encourage discussion and add energy to class, especially if it’s happening after lunch!
Afterward, I tell students that when The Lottery was first published in 1948, The New Yorker received over 300 letters. People were shocked, disturbed, confused, outraged, and even scared. Some thought it was real, and wanted to know where the village was, and others were so traumatized they cancelled their subscriptions.
With that context in mind, I have them choose one of the following activities to complete:
- JACKSON GOES VIRAL – If “The Lottery” were published today, how would people react on social media and online platforms? Students create a mock-up of what this would look like, including comments, reactions, headlines, etc.
- DEAR SHIRLEY – Students write a letter to Shirley Jackson with questions, reactions, and feedback about the story. Keep in mind, Jackson died in 1965, so make sure students know there will be no response incoming! This fact might help with a bit more of their honesty in their respective letters!
- NOW REPORTING – Students take on the role of a reporter, broadcasting about the public’s reaction to The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. They’re invited to make it contemporary and consider interviews/quotes from fictional readers, etc.
Day Four: Theme
On day four, we open class with “hot seat” discussions to get their wheels turning about the big ideas in the story. I place students in groups of 3-4 and give them a stack of cards. They take turns drawing a card and discussing the prompts, like:
- How does the lottery create a sense of unity or division within the village?
- How do the children contribute to the atmosphere/tone of the story?
- Why do you think the villagers accept the lottery tradition without question?
- Can you think of any questionable traditions we partake in without question?
- How might the story differ if it took place today?
After they’ve worked their way through a good portion of the deck in 10-15 minutes, I move them into an individual activity centered around the theme using a thinking routine called CSIQ.
Day Five: Compare, Contrast, & Connect
On the last and final day with the short story, I like to do one of two things, depending on the group of students:
Option A: A short-story escape room (always a joy)
Option B: Add a media literacy component to compare, contrast, and connect variations of the text.
Watch a short film version, such as this black and white version that’s about 10 minutes long. It veers a bit from the original story, but this can make for some great exploration of the contrast between the two texts. (Note: Old Man Warner does curse a couple of times in this version, so please preview to see if it’s suitable for your group of students.)
Another option is this version from 1969 that is a bit closer to the story and runs just a bit under 20 minutes. It’s in color and has a realism to it that provides the same eerie mood as the original story.
I ask students to record the similarities and differences between the two texts – written and film versions. Give them some time at the conclusion to add their thoughts to a graphic organizer/t-chart. After recording initial thoughts, analyze a bit further about what effect(s) the differences have on the story, or even discuss whether the story has the same impact in visual form as it does in writing. This is an interesting option since our students are inundated with visuals, whereas reading The Lottery by Shirley Jackson requires their imagination to create the visuals of the story’s events.
As a final send-off, I like to segue into another similar story that’s even more contemporary… The Hunger Games!
Read the first chapter and/or watch the Reaping scene, where Katniss and Peeta become tributes for the latest round of the Hunger Games.
Both options are a perfect springboard for your next unit!
There is so much to do with The Lottery by Shirley Jackson that it remains a must-read text for middle school students. If you want to check out my 5-day unit or escape room for the lottery, you can see more below, or click here to shop on TPT.
Looking for more Shirley Jackson favorites? Don’t miss this post.
