"Polaris" by H.P. Lovecraft Quiz, Analysis Worksheet, and Vocabulary Games

Evaluate reading comprehension, facilitate college readiness vocabulary development, and sharpen literary craft analysis skills with this bundle of activities and assessments covering H.P. Lovecraft's short story "Polaris," a piece featuring many compelling elements for high school students: a narrator of questionable sanity, a dreamscape setting, the conflict between imagination and reality, and more. A plot-based quiz, a close reading worksheet, a vocabulary application activity, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, the public domain narrative, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. (Alternatively, a Google Drive bundle option is available.) By engaging with these materials, students will:

• Read for literal comprehension

• Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings as needed

• Choose the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

• Infer the intended effects of the author's word choices and narrative techniques

• Describe tone in context

• Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop

• Apply knowledge of literary devices including hyperbaton, sibilance, callback, and personification

• Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence

• Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision

• Come to class better prepared to discuss literature

Resources are available for teaching short stories of various genres:

• Christmas Fiction - Google and printable

• Coming-of-Age Fiction - Google and printable

• Fantasy - Google and printable

• Horror - Google and printable

• Psychological Fiction - Google and printable

• Science Fiction - Google and printable

• Thematic Short Story Unit on Fear and Curiosity - Google and printable