"The Festival" by H.P. Lovecraft | Fall and Winter Short Story Activities for High School

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Assess reading comprehension, support vocabulary development, and facilitate analytical thinking with this set of activities covering H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Festival," a tale set during the Christmas season with a Halloween atmosphere. A plot-based quiz, a close reading analysis 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 option is available.) By engaging with these activities and assessments, students will:

  • Define words and phrases as they are used in the text.

  • Recognize literary devices in a complex text (e.g., allusion, ambiguity, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, personification, simile, and more).

  • Infer the intended effect of the author's word choices (e.g., "gangrenous glare" and "Tartarean leagues").

  • Analyze the role characters play in creating tension in the mind of the protagonist.

  • Trace the protagonist's transformation from exposition to resolution.

  • Explore techniques Lovecraft used to create an atmosphere of horror (e.g., the juxtaposition of familiar objects and descriptions that suggest something is amiss).

  • Express a complete thematic statement, supporting claims with relevant textual evidence.

Synopsis:

  • Heeding an ancient family summons, a narrator travels to the old town of Kingsport for a forbidden Yuletide festival, only to discover a terrifying, non-human rite in subterranean caverns, an experience later dismissed by doctors as delirium after he is found in the harbor.

Resources are available for teaching short stories of various genres:

* This resource is also included in a whole store growing bundle.

Assess reading comprehension, support vocabulary development, and facilitate analytical thinking with this set of activities covering H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Festival," a tale set during the Christmas season with a Halloween atmosphere. A plot-based quiz, a close reading analysis 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 option is available.) By engaging with these activities and assessments, students will:

  • Define words and phrases as they are used in the text.

  • Recognize literary devices in a complex text (e.g., allusion, ambiguity, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, personification, simile, and more).

  • Infer the intended effect of the author's word choices (e.g., "gangrenous glare" and "Tartarean leagues").

  • Analyze the role characters play in creating tension in the mind of the protagonist.

  • Trace the protagonist's transformation from exposition to resolution.

  • Explore techniques Lovecraft used to create an atmosphere of horror (e.g., the juxtaposition of familiar objects and descriptions that suggest something is amiss).

  • Express a complete thematic statement, supporting claims with relevant textual evidence.

Synopsis:

  • Heeding an ancient family summons, a narrator travels to the old town of Kingsport for a forbidden Yuletide festival, only to discover a terrifying, non-human rite in subterranean caverns, an experience later dismissed by doctors as delirium after he is found in the harbor.

Resources are available for teaching short stories of various genres:

* This resource is also included in a whole store growing bundle.

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Assess reading comprehension, support vocabulary development, and facilitate analytical thinking with this set of activities covering H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Festival," a tale set during the Christmas season with a Halloween atmosphere. A plot-based quiz, a close reading analysis worksheet, a vocabulary application activity, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, the public domain narrative, and answer keys are provided.