The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Twilight Zone - Story Lesson & Activities

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The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street short story lesson is the perfect introduction to the science fiction genre for the middle and early high school English Language Arts classroom. This tale of alien invasion by Rod Serling was initially written as a teleplay for the famous series The Twilight Zone and explores the timeless themes of the dangers of mob mentality and the spread of misinformation. This ready-to-use short story lesson for The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street includes everything you need to teach this eerie and thought-provoking tale to your students, including engaging activities and assignments, as well as a slideshow presentation that will guide you through every step of the way!

Included in this short story lesson for The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street:

➡️The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Short Story Lesson Presentation: This 40-slide PowerPoint presentation will guide you through the lesson. It includes pre-reading activities, discussion questions, author biographical information, notes on the science fiction and teleplay genres, historical context on America during the 1960s, video journal prompt on herd mentality, answers to questions for whole class review, analysis notes, and a modern-day television adaptation of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.

➡️ The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Activities And Assignments: Have your students demonstrate their understanding of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, as well as extend their knowledge by working on any or all of the following activities and assignments included in this package (directions for each activity/assignment included, as well as answer key for several activities):

Alien Paranoia Pre-Reading Activity: Students will be on the lookout for potential alien threats with this entertaining pre-reading game that will demonstrate the potential dangers of mob mentality, a theme widely explored in the text.

Pre-Reading Vocabulary Puzzle: Using their vocabulary in context skills, students will match vocabulary words from the text with their synonyms to reveal a mystery word.

Reading Comprehension Quiz: After reading the story, students will complete this quick reading comprehension quiz to demonstrate their understanding of key moments in the text.

Cause and Effect Activity: Drawing on the many cause-and-effect relationships in this story, students will match the correct cause with the right effect to reveal a mystery word.

Analysis Questions: Students will dive deeper into the text by answering seven analysis questions that prompt them to analyze important themes and elements of the story.

McCarthyism Article & Graphic Organizer: After reading a one-page article on McCarthyism (the Red Scare), students will make connections between this concept and how this idea is explored in the story.

Movie Maker Assignment: Assigned with making a movie version for this story, students will create a movie poster and cast the characters, drawing on famous celebrities to play the different roles.

Television Version Activity: After watching a modern-day television version of the script, students will use a graphic organizer to compare the differences between it and the original teleplay script.

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