Short Story, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”
Questions – Prior Knowledge (three questions)
1) What is your definition of the word Lottery?
2) Why is setting important to a story?
3) What are some other short stories we have read in class?
Questions – Metacognition (two questions)
1) If you are reading a story and you do not understand who a character is, what do
you do?
2) How do you make yourself an active reader while reading a short story?
Questions – Vocabulary questions (two questions)
1) What does the word Irony mean?
2) What does the word Invocation mean?
Questions – Textually explicit (three questions)
1) How was the weather on June 27th in “The Lottery?”
2) The black dot could be found on what object?
3) Who informs the townsfolk that other people have quit the lottery?
Questions – Textually implicit (three questions)
1) The name Mr. Greaves is an example of what literary device?
2) Why is it important that Mrs. Delacroix picked up a stone so heavy she had to use
two hands?
3) Mrs. Hutchinson being killed is an example of what literary device?
Questions – Scriptally implicit (two questions)
1) What do you think Old Man Warner represents?
2) Why do you think Mrs. Hutchinson got picked for the lottery instead of Old Man
Warner?
Questions – The Reader and the Context (five questions)
1) Which is the best thing to do when you have extra time before class?
a. Read ahead
b. Look over the short story or reading from the night before
c. Do other homework for other classes
d. Chat with friends
2) If you were absent and did not have your textbook at home, how would you
attempt to complete the assignments?
3) List three things you would do to prepare for an exam on “The Lottery?”
4) What pre-writing techniques would you use to before you write an essay?
5) What is the best thing to do when you come across a word you are not familiar
with?
Answer Sheet:
Questions – Prior Knowledge
1) Expect answers in relation to gambling, chance, or a scheme for distribution.
2) Setting is important because it can establish mood or tone. Setting can also tell
you where something takes place or why something may occur within the story.
3) Minister’s Black Veil, Title, Reunion, Rip Van Winkle, Mrs. Bullfrog
Questions – Metacognition
1) Create a character cluster; highlight the characters name, re-read the previous
page to make sure you have a grasp on that particular character.
2) Ask yourself questions while reading, highlight or underline things you find
interesting.
Questions – Vocabulary questions (two questions)
1) An outcome of events contrary to what was, the opposite of a literal meaning
2) The act of invoking or calling upon a deity, any petitioning or supplication for
help.
Questions – Textually explicit (three questions)
1) Sunny and Clear
2) A piece of paper
3) Mrs. Adams
Questions – Textually implicit (three questions)
1) Symbolism
2) Because this shows that even a person who is regarded as her closest friend still
follows the rules of the lottery. It shows that the lottery is relentless.
3) This is an example of irony.
Questions – Scriptally implicit (two questions)
1) He represents the past. He presents what used to be. He represents regression. He
represents the old ways.
2) It shows that the lottery is fair even if it isn’t right. It shows that the lottery is
random and even good people can be killed.
Questions – The Reader and the Context (five questions)
1) Look over the short story or reading from the night before.
2) Try looking online, call the teacher and ask for an extension, e-mail the teacher
and ask for an extension
3) Re-read the story, review the vocabulary for the lesson, make questions to make
sure I understand many parts of the story, ask other people what they thought
about the story to understand different points of view.
4) Clustering, free writing, Outline, make a graphic Organizer, make a Timeline.
5) Look it up in the dictionary, glossary, highlight the word and go back to it later
on.
Daniel Valentin
Dr. Bathina
Content Area Reading Inventory
October 15, 2007
For this assignment I chose Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, a popular short story
generally aimed at 10th and 11th grade students (this is dependent on which grade they do
American literature). Most importantly is how well can the student read and at what
level? Thankfully The Lottery is not the most complicated of short stories in terms of
word recognition and vocabulary. Reading skills, while essential, do not necessarily have
to be as sophisticated as other American literature and stories require. Still, generally the
class will not only ask the student to comprehend what they are reading, but be able to
interpret as well.
Thinking skills are essential to this class. Students at this grade level are generally
asked to analyze characters and criticize the literature. Furthermore, The Lottery takes
this one step further and asks the reader to analyze the setting, the mood of the story and
it also questions the student’s personal beliefs. What is important is to ask the student
how do they read? What I would like to know is does the student underline, highlight or
take notes as they read. Do they read for the sake of reading or do they take time and
comprehend? Most importantly, are they an active reader or do they just see words and
not really think about the situation. I also want to make sure they can pick out the
obvious, if a student can not even identify the basics of a story (setting, main characters,
important parts of the story, etc) then you cannot even begin to analyze the story.
Analyzing before understanding can only be a detriment to the student, so making sure
they understand the basics is a necessity.
My assessment will ask students what they know. Even if they answer with a fake,
but correct answer, this means that they know what they should be doing to be an active
reader. Also, questions ask the students to interpret beyond the reading. This allows me to
see how far a student can analyze a character and how well the can make various
connections with the text. The questions will also see if they retain any of the stories we
have read in previous classes and can relate literary devices from one story to The
Lottery.