Are you looking for scary Dystopian short stories middle school students will love to read? Look no further than “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury. This middle school short stories unit combines scaffolded close reading activities with a no-prep narrative writing task.
Students will LOVE that they are engaged in an ongoing discussion of technology and given the opportunity to voice their opinions on who is to blame for the tragic ending. Teachers will LOVE that this short story reading comprehension unit includes scaffolded, differentiated close-reading activities designed to help students deeply analyze the characters and events in this short story, as well as the big question: “Is too much technology a bad thing?” This will help students not only tackle complex texts and skills, but also create a narrative response based on what they have learned from the short story.
Product #1: “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury Close Reading and Narrative Writing Task Unit
☞ ☞ This resource covers the following Common Core Standards:
•RL.6-8.1 •RL.6-8.2 •RL.6-8.3 •RL.6-8.5 •W.6-8.3 •W.6-8.4 •W.6-8.5
The following files are included in this download:
• “The Veldt” Anticipation and Reaction Guide
• “The Veldt” Probable Passage
• “The Veldt” Differentiated Vocabulary and Context Clues Activity •
• “The Veldt” Close Reading Activity
• “The Veldt” Assessment
• “The Veldt” Narrative Writing Task
→ Task #1-Prewriting
→ Task #2-Rough Draft
→ Task #3-Self and Peer Assessment
→ Task #4-Final Draft
• “The Veldt” Narrative Writing Reference Sheet
• “The Veldt” Narrative Writing Task Rubric
• “The Veldt” Choice Board Activity
• Teacher Models and Answer Keys .
• “The Veldt” Lesson Presentation
• “The Veldt” Lesson Outline Notes
Product #2: “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury Task Cards with EDITABLE templates
• “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury Task Cards
The following skills/tasks are included in this product:
☞ Task #1- Author’s Purpose
☞ Task #2- Central Idea
☞ Task #3- Theme
☞ Task #4- Characterization
☞ Task #5- Point of View
☞ Task #6- Time Period
☞ Task #7- Real Life Influences
☞ Task #8- Figurative Language
☞ Task #9- Conflict/Resolution
☞ Task #10- Setting
☞ Task #11- Theme & Development
☞ Task #12- Painting a Picture
☞ Task #13- Plot
☞ Task #14- Objective Summary
☞ Task #15- Compare and Contrast
☞ Task #16- Context Clues
☞ Task #17- Movie Poster
☞ Task #18- Be A Critic
☞ Task #19- Picture It
☞ Task #20- Interview the Author
☞ Task #21- Interview a Character
☞ Task #22- Comic Book
☞ Task #23- Instagram
☞ Task #24- Facebook
☞ Task #25- Twitter Feed
☞ Task #26- Trading Places
☞ Task #27- Likes/Dislikes
☞ Task #28- Rewrite
☞ Task #29- Prequel
☞ Task #30- Sequel
☞ Task #31- Diary of a Character
☞ Task #32- Cover Artist
☞ Task #33- Dear Abby
☞ Task #34- Music to My Ears
☞ Task #35- Morning Announcements
☞ Task #36- Word Cloud Collage
