Hook them with the hunt. Keep them thinking with the text.
Bring Richard Connell’s survival story to life with illustrated close reading, collaborative challenges, and analysis grounded in evidence. A seven-day unit that gives the suspense a purpose and every lesson a clear direction.
Created by Benjamin Helton · Available through New-Age ELA
A classic survival story. A fresh way into the text.
7 daysA structured path through the story
Read. Discuss. Defend.Individual thinking and group work
Common Core alignedLiterary analysis with textual evidence
A look inside the product
See what your students will see.
Browse six pages from the Close Reader, collaborative stations, and final assessment. Select any image for a larger view.
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Close Reader · Opening page
Illustrated story text, annotation tasks, and guided questions.
Close Reader · A closer look
Response spaces, vocabulary support, and a prediction prompt.
General Zaroff · Station front
A wanted-poster introduction to the story’s antagonist.
General Zaroff · Station back
Character background and a passage exploring Zaroff’s life.
Theme · Station preview
Definitions, examples, and questions for identifying theme.
Final assessment · Page 1
Test questions modeled after End of Year (EOY) state-based assessments in ELA.
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Beyond “what happens next?”
The suspense gets them in. The thinking takes them further.
Rainsford and Zaroff give students plenty to talk about. This unit turns that conversation into close reading: how conflict builds, how power shifts, and what the details reveal about a character.
01 / SEE THE STORY
A visual way into close reading.
The illustrated Close Reader pairs story imagery with guiding questions, giving students a concrete starting point for looking more carefully at the text.
02 / THINK TOGETHER
Give collaboration a purpose.
Small-group stations ask students to solve mini-challenges about the setting, characters, plot, and literary devices. Students then work together to explain their thinking.
03 / MAKE THE CASE
Move from an opinion to evidence.
From comparing characters’ power to analyzing conflict, students practice supporting an interpretation with details from the story.
Inside the unit
One story. Multiple ways to engage.
Close reading, group challenges, targeted analysis, and a final assessment work together across the seven-day unit.
01Illustrated Close ReaderSlow down. Look closer. Find the evidence.
Guiding questions and illustrations support an in-depth reading of the story, with attention to conflict, character, and theme. Students have a place to work through the text and develop their analysis.
02Small-group stationsShared challenges. Active discussion.
Groups of three to five work through mini-challenges focused on the story’s setting, plot, characters, and literary devices. Each task gives the group something specific to investigate and discuss.
03Power Level CalculatorWho has the advantage? How do you know?
Students evaluate each character’s power and support their analysis with textual evidence. A memorable framing turns character comparison into a reason to return to the story for proof.
04Conflict analysisTrace the struggle behind the suspense.
A focused worksheet explores human vs. nature and human vs. human conflict, helping students examine the challenges Rainsford faces and how those struggles shape the story.
05Two-part summative assessmentAnalyze carefully. Respond with evidence.
The assessment includes two-part questions and multi-select responses, followed by a written section. Students choose two of four writing prompts and support their responses with evidence from the text.
It brings the unit’s reading, analysis, and evidence-based writing together in one final assessment.
A clear rhythm for each lesson
Less time figuring out the next step. More time teaching the story.
The seven-day plan gives each lesson a consistent structure, with supplemental activities and exit tickets for extending the learning in longer class periods.
01 / BEGIN
Set the direction.
A short Google Slides presentation introduces the learning objective and a warm-up.
02 / FOCUS
Build understanding.
A mini-lesson prepares students for the day’s work.
03 / ENGAGE
Put ideas to work.
The main activity gives students a focused way to read, collaborate, or analyze.
04 / EXTEND
Keep the thinking going.
Use supplemental activities and exit tickets to deepen learning as time allows.
Built for the teacher, too
Know the goal. Know what to prepare.
The planning details are part of the resource, so you can see what each lesson is asking of you and your students.
Learning objectives and target standards
Clear daily teaching instructions
Materials listed alongside each lesson
Rules, rubrics, and expectations
Activity-specific Common Core standards
Look before you plan
Explore the sample files.
Explore the existing samples to get a feel for the questions, activities, and lesson structure.
Reading / Google Drive
See the Close Reader.
Take a closer look at the illustrated reading resource and its guiding questions.
