Cursed Object Auction | Halloween ELA Activity | Gothic Creative Thinking Game

Created by
Plotting Something

Turn Halloween into an atmospheric estate auction where students bid on mysterious objects—then discover exactly what they brought home.The Cursed Object Auction is a one-class-period Halloween ELA experience for grades 9–12. Students work in teams with $600 in fictional money, inspect six estate-ca

9th - 12th Literature, Other (ELA)

Also included in: Halloween ELA Activities Bundle | 4 Gothic Games, Mysteries & Simulations

Would You Survive Gothic Literature? | Halloween ELA Activity | Gothic Game

Created by
Plotting Something

Turn Halloween into a Gothic survival game where every choice changes what students know - and how much the house has gotten inside their heads.Would You Survive Gothic Literature? is a one-class-period Halloween ELA activity for grades 9-12. Students work in teams as one fictional heir trapped insi

9th - 12th Literature, Other (ELA)

Also included in: Halloween ELA Activities Bundle | 4 Gothic Games, Mysteries & Simulations

The Last Broadcast | Halloween ELA Activity | Inference & Suspense Simulation

Created by
Plotting Something

Your students are monitoring a local emergency feed when the updates stop making sense.The Last Broadcast is a one-period Halloween ELA mystery simulation for grades 9–12. Students become the emergency relay team at a local radio station while an ordinary fog advisory turns into reports of motionles

9th - 12th Reading, Reading Strategies, Writing

Also included in: Halloween ELA Activities Bundle | 4 Gothic Games, Mysteries & Simulations

Literary Séance | Halloween ELA Activity | Character Inference & Writing Game

Created by
Plotting Something

Ten voices have arrived. None will tell your students its name.Literary Séance is a one-period Halloween ELA mystery that asks students to identify classic literary characters from a sequence of staged “manifestations” — then write one final message in character and challenge classmates to identify

9th - 12th Creative Writing, Literature

Also included in: Halloween ELA Activities Bundle | 4 Gothic Games, Mysteries & Simulations

The Haunted Palace by Edgar Allan Poe | Drawing & Extended Metaphor Activity

Created by
Plotting Something

Let students picture Poe's palace before they decide what it means. In this two-part lesson, students closely read and draw "The Haunted Palace," then return to the poem to trace its tonal shift, identify its human features, and discover how the palace becomes a picture of Roderick Usher's mind.FULL

8th - 12th Close Reading, Literature, Poetry

Halloween ELA Activities Bundle | 4 Gothic Games, Mysteries & Simulations

Created by
Plotting Something

Want Halloween lessons that feel seasonal without turning the week into filler? This bundle gives you four complete, one-period ELA experiences for grades 9–12. Each resource uses a different setup - an auction, a Gothic survival game, an emergency broadcast mystery, and a literary-character inferen

9th - 12th Literature, Writing

The Monkey's Paw Lesson | Gothic Suspense, Foreshadowing, Irony & Ambiguity

Created by
Plotting Something

KeKeep “The Monkey’s Paw” tense instead of turning it into a worksheet marathon. This two-day secondary ELA lesson uses a few deliberate reading stops, then asks students to go back and examine how W. W. Jacobs builds suspense through warning, irony, pacing, Gothic atmosphere, and ambiguity.“The Mon

8th - 12th Close Reading, Literature, Short Stories

First Week ELA Diagnostic Without the Dread | Close Reading & Writing Sample

Created by
Plotting Something

Start the year with a real English lesson that gives you useful information about your students without making the first week feel like a test. In this low-pressure activity, students read an original short story, discuss possible interpretations, and write a brief evidence-based response.Student-fa

8th - Higher Education Close Reading, Literature, Writing

First Day of School Activities | All About Me + Letter of Introduction | ELA

Created by
Plotting Something

Start the year with two getting-to-know-you activities that feel appropriate for secondary students and give you information you can actually use.Students begin with a quick All About Me page covering interests, learning preferences, and attitudes toward reading, writing, and discussion. They then w

9th - 12th Writing, Classroom Community