You know that feeling you get in October, like the grind has begun? All that back-to-school adrenaline that got you through September has waned, and what remains is a looooong month ahead with zero days off.
Guess what? The kids feel it too. They're now firmly rooted in classroom routines, and they know what to expect from the year to come. While that can be comforting, there is a fine line between comfort and ennui!
I was having such a month some years back when a colleague (shout out to Mr. Reagan!) told me he was going to introduce his 7th graders to The Twilight Zone. He felt "To Serve Man" (season 3, episode 24) was an excellent basis for working on a number of literacy skills, including creating plot diagrams and writing summaries. He was absolutely right; he's a smart guy!
Engage students in cooperative activities to practice ELA skills: comprehension, making inferences, using evidence to support answers, identifying elements of plot (characters, setting, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), theme, point of view, conflict, writing summaries, narrative writing, expository writing, and using persuasive writing in social media marketing.
Engage students in cooperative activities to practice ELA skills: comprehension, making inferences, using evidence to support answers, identifying elements of plot (characters, setting, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), theme, point of view, conflict, writing summaries, narrative writing, expository writing, and using persuasive writing in social media marketing.
You can find this episode on Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube. I've even embedded it below:
Thus began a new tradition for me, too! I'd wait for a gloomy October day, and when it arrived, I'd cancel what I had planned that day for ELA, and replace it with watching "To Serve Man" and follow up with a few activities. It was always such fun to announce to the students, "Well, I had planned to xyz today, but this gloomy, spooky weather has put me more in the mood to watch an episode of The Twilight Zone. Has anyone ever seen this TV series? Let's vote - regular lesson plan or watch The Twilight Zone?"
Of course, afterwards, we'd follow up with some lessons and activities. This evolved over time into seven activities, so you can pick and choose, or spend a whole week on it. I just always knew heading into October what my plans were for the month, but that the weeks would shift, so I could start the lessons when the weather matched the mood!
You could also ignore the weather and plan these lessons the week leading up to Halloween. It can be difficult as an upper-elementary or middle school teacher to do something fun for the holiday without losing ground on all the standards that must be taught. This fits the bill nicely, and it's a student favorite year-after-year in part because of the surprise/timing and in part because they enjoy being introduced to classic TV as a means for practicing literacy skills.
Activity List
These activities are further described and come with supporting materials (comprehension questions & answers, center cards, plot diagram & storyboard templates, social media templates/links, and more) in my TPT store. Click on the image below to see the product preview.
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