Rituals, Scapegoats, and Mobs...Oh My!
One way to teach "The Lottery," a suspenseful and rich short story by Shirley Jackson.
By Noel Woodward
Thousands of people buy lottery tickets every day. Some buy scratchers, others have lucky numbers that they use for every ticket. Generally, when people hear the word lottery, they feel a positive emotion—excitement, hope, possibility. However, those are not the emotions readers feel after completing "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. Even though the story is set in June, it is perfect for a fall lesson. Try it out around Halloween, or in those two to three days before Thanksgiving. Your pupils might have ghouls and turkeys on their minds, and will mostly likely be deceived by the title of this creepy and multifaceted tale. They won't know what hit them!
Journaling and Sharing
Start off with a brief journal entry to prepare class members to read the story. You can tell your class the title of the story and use it for inspiration. Provide a few topics so that individuals have some choice. Here are a few topic ideas:
- Write a creative short story titled "The Lottery."
- What would you do if you won the lottery?
- Would you want to win the lottery? Why or why not?
- Write about a memory you have about the lottery.
Students will love imagining the extravagant things they could buy with their winnings, and some might catch on to the negative connotation of the lottery and cite stories of people whose lives worsened after they won the lottery.
Once class members have taken about 10 minutes to write, allow pairs to read their entries aloud to one another. While they read, walk around the room, listen in, and choose a few to read aloud to the whole class. Once the pair sharing is complete, ask for volunteers to share and fill in the blanks with the entries you heard while circulating. Learners enjoy hearing each other's entries and a discussion about the lottery will most likely follow naturally.
Read Aloud and Experience the Suspense
Now that your class is primed and ready to read, introduce "The Lottery." Depending on how much time you have left in class, you might only have a chance to preview the first few paragraphs. Consider projecting these paragraphs instead of handing out copies of the story to discourage individuals from reading ahead. Suspense enriches the story.
Read the first few paragraphs out loud and examine a few details of the plot. Where is the story set? When? What do readers know about the lottery from the first paragraph? How are the villagers preparing for the lottery?
If class is near a close, have pupils write a prediction down on an exit slip before they leave class. Otherwise, continue reading the story out loud. Ask class members to be characters to keep the flow of the story going. Pausing too often will break the flow of the narrative, so try to allow your class to read through to the end before discussing the outcome. And if you run out of time, have them read the rest for homework. The story will fall a bit flat if you cut it in the middle and try to finish the next day.
Debrief and Further Discussion
Class members will definitely want to discuss the ending, which is surprising despite the clues that Jackson scatters throughout the story. Take a few minutes to debrief before moving on. If the class period is coming to a close, this a good place to stop. If you have a chunk of time left, feel free to move on to the next part.
It can be difficult to discuss a complex text like "The Lottery" as a whole class, immediately after reading. Place your pupils into small groups and give them a few questions for focus. This way, when you return to the whole-class discussion, individuals will have ideas about common topics.
"The Lottery" is a complex piece of literature that pupils can dig into while discussing. Consider the following ideas for inspiration when coming up with questions for your class:
- Characterization, particularly of Tessie
- Foreshadowing
- Symbolism
- Irony
- Sacrifice rituals and the scapegoat
- Mob mentality
- Use of details
- Buildup of suspense
- Rituals and traditions
- Connection to World War II and the Holocaust
Reading and discussing "The Lottery" works well as a short, standalone unit, but it has potential for extension. After discussing, you could have pupils write up a formal response to literature or turn their journal entries into polished pieces. "The Lottery" could be the beginning of a unit on suspense and horror, or the gateway to a unit on the Holocaust, rituals, traditions, and more.
Resources:
Show your class what participating in the lottery from Shirley Jackson's short story might be like, but without the violence. Learners take part in the lottery, discuss their experiences, read, and discuss the story. In addition, class members view one of the film versions and close up the lesson by writing a persuasive letter.
Irony can be a tough subject to cover, but this lesson should help your pupils understand Shirley Jackson's use of irony in "The Lottery." Individuals or small groups fill out a T-chart, combing through the text for examples of irony. After this careful reading, instruct pupils to draw a picture of Mr. Summers and the black box. There are many details in the text, so this should be a careful drawing. Analyze the scene together, paying attention to the symbolism.
Literary Devices and Historical Figures
Introduce your class to various literary terms while reading "The Lottery." The plan includes questions (and some answers) about symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, theme, and more. Use this as inspiration for your own questions. Take a look at the final step, which incorporates a connection to history and tradition.