Horror Writing Scheme
This scheme is aimed at Key Stage Three writing skills. The lessons aim to hone a
variety of writing skills and produce some engaging writing. Many of the lessons can
run over two lessons.
Lesson 1:
Learning Outcomes:
 Introducing the Horror Genre
 Description of a Haunted Mansion
 Use of adjectives and senses when describing setting
This lesson focuses on the description of setting.
The starter exercise aims to get pupils thinking about the horror genre.
The first activity allows pupils to think for themselves when looking at a picture of a
haunted house. It introduces the idea that pupils need to create the images for the
reader in their writing.
The placemat exercise aims at pupils building vocabulary for the writing task; this is
often effectively done in groups.
The stilling exercise requires the pupils to shut their eyes, whilst the teacher reads
the script prompting pupils to imagine journeying to a ruined house. At intervening
points the pupils are then asked to open their eyes and, uninterrupted, write what
they imagined.
Lesson 2
Learning Outcomes:
 Introduce the concept of personification
 Aim to use the technique in descriptive writing
The starter- pupils to create/guess plausible film titles and then match them with the
correct ones.
The personification analysis asks them to think about how personification can be
created by describing names, body parts, feelings, gender and movements. Click on
the numbers for the type of personification to appear.
Once pupils have looked at the image of a car, the text that was initially read out
appears. In slide show mode in PowerPoint right click and select pointer options and
select the highlighter. You can then highlight the text to identify the personification.
On next click answers appear in red.
The next activity allows the pupils to highlight where personification is taking place
within the text. Click on the actual personification and the type will appear. If you then
click on the type e.g. gender the word will disappear again. After another piece of
stimulus material, pupils then try to use the technique choosing one of the following
titles to: The Ghost Ship, The Fire, The Storm and The Ruin.
Lesson 3
Learning Outcomes:
 Describing Character
 Use show not tell in writing
The emphasis in this lesson is to get pupils to use description to create effective
character description.
The starter gets them thinking about this by studying pictures of characters. Prompt
answers on the emotions of the characters and how, in their body language, you
understand the reader/viewer understands this. They should mention things like
facial expressions, hand gestures, etc.
The George Herbert extract is an excellent opportunity to use drama in the lesson.
Listen to the extract first and then select a pupil to enter as the character with the
class giving him directions. Then, as he sits the whole class can take part. This will
get them thinking about body language and gestures.
The extract is then analysed and this is often done efficiently if sections of the class
are asked to look at posture, dress, expression and movement. They should think
about offering deeper inferences.
The pupils then use the animated characters as their writing stimulus.
Lesson 4
Learning Outcomes:


To critically deconstruct a painting
To empathise with character
The starter asks the pupils to unscramble the words by understanding the definitions.
The following drama activity asks them to freeze-frame a feeling of anguish that
reflects the painting that is analysed. At this point you may wish to recap on the
learning about body language from the last lesson.
The painting can be deconstructed with the teacher or by giving areas of analysis to
different groups. The emphasis should be on creating narratives for the character’s
emotions – why is he feeling this way?
This should then be shown in the writing which aims for pupils to empathise with the
character as if they are him. They should write in the first person and try to explore
the character’s state of mind.
Lesson 5
Learning Outcomes:


To look at the concepts of stereotypes
To use the first person and speech in narrative writing
The starter, asking pupils to differentiate between the first and third person, is a drag
and drop exercise. It can also be done kinesthetically in getting the pupils to stand for
the first person and sit for the third person.
The next exercise is discussion based and wants pupils to think about how
stereotypes can be overturned. This would use pictures from CGI films, one with a
big green ogre and another about friendly monsters, but this is not possible. These
films should inevitably come up in discussion and offer excellent opportunity to
discuss how characters can defy expectations and preconceptions.
This should then lead them in their analysis of the I am a Monster Story. This aims to
develop discussion about the feelings for the narrator and develop the consideration
of how the first person perspective helps to sympathise with the character. The
punctuation of speech is then gone through; it is worth getting the pupils to recap on
these first by looking at the story and identifying the rules for themselves.
You can include an active punctuation exercise which is a fun way to reinforce this.
The pupils spontaneously invent conversation to enact the physiological movements.
It is fun to see have far pairs can get without making any mistakes.
Firstly, pupils are put in pairs. They take it in turns to deliver lines and jump turn for
each new line of speech. This reinforces the new speaker new line rule.
Now give pupils a series of gestures to enact the punctuation.
Punch- full stop
Comma – Karate chop
Question Mark - Curved arm
Exclamation Mark – pupils put arms straight up in the air
Speech marks – Use two fingers to indicate speech marks
The pairs practice this and then pupils observe each other. The winning pair is the
one that gets the furthest without any mistakes. The rest of the class listen attentively
to identify mistakes.
Pupils then try to write their own heroic monster and attempt to overturn
preconceptions and use direct speech in their writing.
Lesson 6
Learning Outcomes:

To plan and structure narrative stories.
The starter is a quick exercise in recognizing effective writing. The sentences can
either be organised into columns (one for effective writing and the other for boring
ineffective sentences) or, as the teacher reads the lines, the pupils respond by
pointing to one side of the room for effective sentences with tension and the other for
ineffective sentences with little tension.
The next exercise asks pupils to think of films and their stories and plot the evolving
tension of the narratives on the graph. It should help illustrate that the majority of
stories are resolved after a peak in tension during the finale. They can plot graphs of
tension for films of their choice and it should help them think about the importance of
structuring a story. The next exercise asks pupils to arrange the 5 point structure in
the correct order and the teacher will then go through this structure with the example.
Pupils then use the structure to plan their own stories. They then plot the proposed
tension development of their story on the tension graph.
You may wish for pupils to then write their stories and it could form the basis for an
assessment.