Title: The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs1
Suggested Time: 4 - 5 days (45 minutes per day)
Common Core ELA Standards: RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.4; W.8.1, W.8.3, W.8.4, W.8.9; SL.8.1; L.8.1, L.8.2, L.8.4, L.8.5
Teacher Instructions
Preparing for Teaching
1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for teachers about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task.
Big Ideas and Key Understandings
One should use caution when interfering with the powerful forces of fate or destiny; the end results can be completely different than what one actually desires.
Synopsis
Using the supernatural powers of “The Monkey’s Paw”, the Whites make a wish for money, receive the money after their son is involved in a fatal accident, wish for his return, and finally wish for his disappearance.
2. Read the entire selection, keeping in mind the Big Ideas and Key Understandings.
3. Re-read the text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Tier II/academic vocabulary.
During Teaching
1. Students read the entire selection independently.
2. Teacher reads the text aloud while students follow along or students take turns reading aloud to each other. Depending on the text length and student need, the teacher may choose to read the full text or a passage aloud. For a particularly complex text, the teacher may choose to reverse the order of steps 1 and 2.
3. Students and teacher re-read the text while stopping to respond to and discuss the questions, continually returning to the text. A variety of methods can be used to structure the reading and discussion (i.e., whole class discussion, think-pair-share, independent written response, group work, etc.)
Text Dependent Questions
Text-dependent Questions
Evidence-based Answers
What does it mean that Mr. White was “amiably desirous of preventing his son from