Introduction
For the partial fulfillment of the requirements of an Advanced Reading course (READ104), this webquest tasks the students to read and dissect Shirley Jackson's literary classic "The Lottery," and produce a book report and a reflection essay.
What comes to mind when you hear the word 'lottery?'
On June 26, 1948, subscribers to The New Yorker received a new issue of the magazine in the mail. There was nothing to outwardly indicate that it would be any different, or any more special, than any other issue. But inside was a story that editors at the magazine would, more than half a century later, call “perhaps the most controversial short story The New Yorker has ever published”: Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.”
Task
Throughout this course, we have been tackling the world of English, one literary genre at a time! This time, we are going to dive into the world of Short Stories.
This task has 4 stages: Review, Read, Report and Reflect. Don't worry, you will be guided through the entire process!
First stage, Review, is for you to discover all you can about short stories. And then, you will Read a famous short story by Shirley Jackson, entitled 'The Lottery.' We will synthesize what we have read by creating a book Report, and finally Reflect on the story by blogging a reflection post on our class blog.
Are you ready? Let's begin!
Process
Task 1: Research
First of all, we need to ask ourselves: What IS a short story? It is, we suppose, a short kind of story. But what are its characteristics? What makes a short story different from the other genres?
There are 5 Elements in a Short Story. Take a look at each one and think about how they are relevant and related to each other.
Now you are familiar with what it is, maybe you've heard of some of these classic short stories?
With us so far? Good. Check out this video that nicely summarizes what we learned so far:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUbVH20qW0A align:center]
Interested in learning more about the genre? Check out this online encyclopedia. It's under 'S' for Short Stories!
Task 2: Read
READ the short story 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson.
While you read, keep in mind the 5 Elements:
- Characters
- Setting
- Plot
- Conflict
- Theme
Task 3: Review