Every time I teach Charles by Shirley Jackson, I have a similar experience: Students read along, nodding confidently, forming opinions about Laurie, his parents, and the infamous Charles…and then the ending hits. There’s usually a pause. A reread of the last paragraph. A few confused looks. And then—Wait. What??
That moment is exactly why the story works so well in middle school.
On the surface, Charles feels simple. It’s short, funny, and told almost entirely through everyday conversations between parents talking about their child’s school life. There’s no dramatic action, no complicated vocabulary, no long descriptions to unpack. But that simplicity is doing a lot of work. Shirley Jackson uses it to draw readers into making assumptions, then exposes how easily we accept information without questioning it.
This is what makes Charles such a powerful teaching text for grades 5-7. It’s accessible enough that students don’t get stuck on comprehension, but layered enough that there’s so much to analyze once you slow it down. The story opens the door to meaningful conversations about character development, point of view, foreshadowing, and unreliable narration.
It’s also a great opportunity to talk about setting and time period. Written in the mid-20th century, the story reflects different expectations around school, discipline, and parenting. Those differences matter. They help explain why Laurie’s parents respond the way they do and why certain red flags are easy to overlook. When students understand that context, the story becomes even richer.
With an intentional approach, Charles becomes more than a twist-ending story. It becomes an anchor text that helps students think about the point of view, narrator reliability, and how perspective shapes what readers believe. Plus, it’s classic Shirley Jackson—sharp, subtle, and sneaky in the best way. See what I mean here.
Feel free to grab my guided reading slides for the short story before we get started.
Character Development
Because so much of Charles unfolds through conversation, your students will benefit from slowing down and tracking what they actually know about each character.
To ground students in the text, I like to start with a character development double-entry journal during the first read. Students are given a chart with columns for “character”, “traits/conclusions”, and “details from the text”.
This structure helps students separate what the text actually says from what they are inferring, which becomes especially important as the story progresses. It also sets students up to notice patterns in Laurie’s behavior and in his parents’ responses, which are patterns that will matter later when the twist is revealed.
Character Mind Map
Charles reveals so little directly, so students often feel confident about Laurie before they’ve really examined him. A character mind map will slow that process down and force students to sit with the complexity a minute longer.
Using a head outline, students fill in the space with a combination of words, phrases, symbols, and images that represent Laurie’s behavior, emotions, and motivations. Instead of listing traits in isolation, encourage your students to think about the contradictions or the moments where Laurie’s actions don’t quite align with how others perceive him.
This visual approach helps students move beyond surface-level labels and initial observations and begin consolidating information. As they build the mind map, they’ll look at Laurie’s actions, words, and patterns and begin to notice where things didn’t quite add up.
Foreshadowing Scavenger Hunt
Once students know the twist, Charles becomes a completely different story.
The foreshadowing scavenger hunt invites students to reread with intention, looking for subtle clues Shirley Jackson planted along the way. Instead of hunting for obvious hints, students focus on small details, such as patterns in Laurie’s behavior, gaps in information, or moments that feel slightly “off” in hindsight.
Using a foreshadowing scavenger hunt handout, students reread the story and hunt for clues that foreshadow the truth about Charles.
For each example, they include:
- A quote that shows the example of foreshadowing
- An explanation of how the foreshadowing impacted the story
This activity is especially powerful because it shows students that twist endings are anything but random. They’re carefully constructed, and rereading with new knowledge completely changes how the story feels.
Unreliable Narrators
One of the most powerful teaching moments in Charles by Shirley Jackson comes from examining the story’s narrator. After a brief mini-lesson on reliable and unreliable narrators, students place Laurie’s mother on a reliability scale that ranges from completely untrustworthy to completely trustworthy. Rather than labeling her as “lying,” your students will grapple with a deeper idea: can someone be honest and still unreliable?
Students explain their placement using evidence from the text and reasoning from class discussion. Many notice that while Laurie’s mother reports events accurately, she never questions the source of her information or considers alternative explanations.
Next, students work in pairs to explore how the story might change if told by another character. They decide whether each potential narrator would be reliable or unreliable and explain why. This often leads to thoughtful debate, especially when students disagree about Laurie himself.
Plot Diagram
Plot structure can feel new to 5th & 6th graders, and Charles is a great way to practice with a story that’s not as cut-and-dry as many others they’ve previously worked with.
The story is short, the language is accessible, and most of the “action” happens through conversation—so students have to pay attention to what’s being said and what’s changing. Each new report about Charles raises the stakes slightly, builds tension, and keeps both the parents and the reader focused in the wrong direction.
A plot diagram helps students recognize the story’s structure, but with Charles? It shows how much of the plot relies on what is told secondhand.
By the end, students have a clearer sense of sequence and story structure, plus a strong example of how an ending can shift a reader’s understanding. Because we never witness school events directly, the plot diagram becomes a visual reminder of how perspective shapes structure.
We want students to recognize that the climax in Charles isn’t an action scene, as one might expect, but a conversation.
Twist Endings
The ending of Charles by Shirley Jackson practically begs students to keep thinking and writing.
Once they realize that Laurie is Charles, the entire story shifts. This makes it the perfect opportunity to explore how twist endings change interpretation and invite rereading. Students are given the choice between two writing prompts:
Option 1: Write a Sequel
- Students imagine what happens next after the parents’ realization. Do they confront Laurie? Do they reflect on what they missed? Does anything actually change? This option encourages students to think about character motivation and consequences. They must decide how Laurie might respond now that the truth is out and whether the parents’ assumptions would finally shift.
Option 2: Rewrite a scene from Laurie’s Point of View
Students revisit a key moment from the story and rewrite it from inside Laurie’s head. This forces them to think carefully about voice, reliability, and intention. What does Laurie know that the reader doesn’t? Is he deliberately deceiving his parents, or simply experimenting with storytelling? How does being inside his perspective change the tone of the scene?
Both writing options push students to apply everything they’ve learned about point of view, character development, and unreliable narration while still giving them creative freedom.
These activities work especially well as a culminating task because they transform the twist from a “gotcha” ending into a meaningful lesson about how stories are constructed and why perspective matters.
Teaching Takeaways
Charles by Shirley Jackson may be short, but it’s anything but simple. When your students take the time to examine how the story is constructed (who tells it, what info is shared, and what’s left unsaid), they will begin to see that a twist ending is very purposeful.
Through character analysis, foreshadowing, unreliable narration, and rereading with new eyes, students move beyond reacting to the ending and start thinking like readers and writers. Students reread with a purpose, catch details they missed the first time, and actually have evidence to back up what they’re saying.
If you’ve ever wanted to teach Charles and wanted to do more than just a quick read with a surprise ending, I hope this mini-unit gives you a clear, engaging way to approach it. These activities are designed to help students dig into the author’s craft without feeling overwhelmed.
If you’d like all of these lessons, handouts, and activities ready to go, you can grab my short story unit for Charles by Shirley Jackson here. It’s fully planned and designed to help you get the most out of the text.
Want more Shirley Jackson favorites? Don’t miss The Lottery.
