"Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing Quiz, Analysis Activities, and Vocabulary Games

Evaluate general reading comprehension, facilitate vocabulary development, and sharpen critical thinking skills with this bundle of materials for teaching Doris Lessing's coming-of-age short story "Through the Tunnel." A plot-based quiz, close reading analysis worksheet, craft analysis exercise, vocabulary application activity, crossword puzzle, word search game, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in printable, editable Word Document and PDF formats. (Alternatively, a Google Drive option is available.) By engaging with these activities, students will:

• Come to class better prepared to discuss works of fiction

• Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly

• Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words

• Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings

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

• Discern the function of a given paragraph

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

• Apply knowledge of literary devices including simile, metaphor, personification, and oxymoron

• Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence

• Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision

Resources are available for teaching many narratives dealing with overcoming obstacles and achieving goals:

• "Cinderella" by the Brothers Grimm - Google and printable

• "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara - Google and printable

• "The Good Deed" by Pearl S. Buck - Google and printable

• "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich - Google and printable

• "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell - Google and printable

• "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen - Google and printable