Dynamic Curriculum Project 2015
Topic & Grade Level: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
(This lesson is part of a larger Dystopian Literature unit.)
Objective:
 Students will be able to determine the setting of a story and evaluate its impact on the story and
the mood.
 Students will be able to recognize symbolism in a text.
 Students will be able to cite evidence to support their answers and inferences.
Standard:
 RL8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course
of the text, including the relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective
summary of the text.
 W8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
 RL8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Materials:
 Copy of “The Lottery” for each student
 Setting and Mood Power Point
 Vocabulary Page
 Copy of Assessment
 “The Lottery” Power Point
 Activity Sheet
Setting: Some of the activities/procedures are completed as a whole group; some are small group or
pairs, and some are individual. Differences are noted in Procedures, but can be altered to fit different
class makeups and environments.
Procedures: (This lesson will take more than one day to complete. The procedures are split into what
could be day-to-day lessons.)
1) Bellringer: The beauty queen waved so often that her greeting was perfunctory.
Using context clues, determine the meaning of the bold word.
A. Energetic, enthusiastic
B. Routine, with little care or attention
C. Sad, in a broken-hearted way
D. Angry, bitter
Lesson Plan by: Trish McCoy
Dynamic Curriculum Project 2015
To Ponder: List five things you would do if you won the lottery.
(Other vocabulary that could be used from “The Lottery” include profusely, boisterous, and
paraphernalia.)
2) Go over the Bellringer with the students and discuss context clues. (The lottery question is
setting the students up for the upcoming story.) (Vocabulary Worksheet attached)
3) Review setting: What is it? Is it important? How can it impact the story?
(Students need to understand that the setting is not only the time and place, but also the
customs and traditions of the people involved. Students also need to understand that the
setting can greatly impact the mood of the story.)
4) Review mood: What is it? How is it developed? What can an author do to create mood?
(Students should understand that mood is how the reader feels while and after reading a text.
The author can develop mood through setting, characterization, and events.)
5) Use the Setting and Mood Power Point to reinforce the idea that setting can greatly impact
mood and how the reader infers what is going to happen in the story.
6) Have students look at the title only! Ask them to write down their prediction for what the story
will be and how it will end.
7) Read the first paragraph aloud. Have students underline words or phrases that are important or
vivid in terms of describing the setting and helping to set a mood. Complete questions below for
that section.
8) Have students pair read Paragraphs 2 and 3. They need to underline words or phrases that are
vivid or seem important to the setting. Complete questions below for that section.
9) Read Paragraphs 4-7 aloud to students. Continue to underline important or vivid words or
phrases in terms of setting. Complete questions below for that section.
10) Let students pair read Paragraphs 8 and 9. They should underline important words or phrases in
terms of setting. Complete questions below for that section.
11) Ask students to revisit their predictions to reinforce them using textual evidence or revise them
based on what they know now.
12) Have students pair/group read the rest of the story, marking sections in terms of setting.
Day Two
1) Have students revisit what was learned yesterday about setting and mood.
2) Have them revisit their initial predictions and if they were proven correct or revised at the end
of Day One’s lesson.
3) Use the Symbolism, Allusion, Irony Power Point to introduce and reinforce these three concepts.
4) Allow students to complete the irony and symbolism worksheets as groups or individuals
depending upon the ability of your class.
5) Discuss the Power Point and worksheets.
Symbolism Examples: Black box (death, evil, outdated tradition because it is falling apart)
Stones (death, punishment)
Warner (“Warns” of what will happen if lottery is stopped, so he is a symbol of the barbaric
tradition)
Summers (Ironically, as an official, he is a symbol of the tradition, but his name is a symbol of
hope and life.)
Graves (Fittingly, his name and his work as an official are symbols of the barbaric tradition)
Lesson Plan by: Trish McCoy
Dynamic Curriculum Project 2015
Irony Examples: The idea of a lottery suggests winning a prize, but this is not what happens in
the story.
Sunny summer day sets the opposite mood to the barbaric event that takes place when Tessie
receives the black dot.
Warner’s statement that if the lottery is given up, they will have to return to living in caves which
sounds barbaric, but the events that are taking place because of the lottery are actually more
barbaric.
(There are more that students will find. Accept their answers as long as they can support them
with evidence from the story.)
6) Remind students that they are studying dystopian literature. Ask them to revisit or review the
elements of dystopian literature. How does “The Lottery” qualify as a dystopian story? Allow
students to discuss in group and then have a whole class discussion. (Students should now refer
to the Dystopias: Definitions and Characteristics worksheet to discuss how this story is a classic
example of dystopian literature.
7) Students should now be ready for the final assessment of the story.
Questions:
 After reading Paragraph 1 out loud, allow students/groups to formulate answers to the
following questions. Discuss answers as a class/group.
1. How does the war, clear summer day make you feel? What do blooming flowers and
green grass make you think?
2. What mood does Jackson create in the first paragraph?
3. Does the mood change your prediction based on the title?
 After reading Paragraphs 2 and 3 with a partner, allow students/groups to formulate answers to
the following questions. Discuss the answers as a class/group.
4. What things, thoughts, or feelings do you typically associate with the setting details you
underlined.
5. Is this consistent with the mood we uncovered from the first paragraph? Why or why
not?
6. Does the mood in these paragraphs drive you to modify your initial prediction? If so,
how?
 After reading Paragraphs 4-7 to the students, allow students/groups to formulate answers to
the following questions. Discuss the answers as a class/group.
7. What do we know about when the lottery was started?
8. What things have changed over time?
9. What things have remained the same?
10. How do the townspeople feel about making changes to the lottery? Why do they feel
this way? How do you know?
 After reading Paragraphs 8 and 9, allow students to formulate answers to the following
questions. Discuss the answers as a class/group.
11. Based on the last few paragraphs, what is the general attitude of the townspeople as
they wait for the lottery to begin?
12. What specific evidence in the text helped you determine this?
Lesson Plan by: Trish McCoy
Dynamic Curriculum Project 2015
Differentiation: Lower-Performing students will need more help with many of the activities, including
vocabulary, irony, and symbolism. Examples of these may be listed in the left column of their chart for
them.
Higher-Performing students could research other “traditions” that have been kept simply because they
are customary. They could explain the original purpose for these and why they may be outdated. (They
could research simple things like wearing white for a wedding or wearing black for a funeral; they could
also address greater atrocities, like the Holocaust.)
Assessment: Assessment page attached
Resources:
Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson926/DefinitionCharacteristics.pdf
Lesson Revised from http://www.teachingworks.org/images/files/TFA_Seminar_Handout__TL_Day_1_LP.pdf
Power Point revised from humphreyj.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/7/8/.../the_lottery_power_point.ppt
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
https://sites.middlebury.edu/individualandthesociety/files/2010/09/jackson_lottery.pdf
Lesson Plan by: Trish McCoy