Spooky Short Stories Book Study
A 3-day book discussion on the book "Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe" by Josh Allen. Students will do activities based on reading strategies found within the 13 stories and share their favorite stories from the book.
Mrs. Rutan (she/her)
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(245)
What's included
4 live meetings
3 in-class hoursHomework
2-4 hours per week. Students will have to read the short stories BEFORE each class discussion. The pacing will be as follows: Day 1: Read Vanishers - When Dante Vanished (50 pages) + Crossing (12 pages) Day 2: Read The Color of Ivy - Goodbye, Ridgercress Middle School (not including Crossing) 61 pages Day 3: Might Comfy- The Shadow Curse 45 pages Please see class description and reach out for any questions or concernsClass Experience
US Grade 4 - 6
Students will read and discuss the book "Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe". Each class will be structured through mini-lessons on literary terms used within the short stories and then discussions about each story. Students will learn the literary devices of allusion, anaphora, dramatic irony, foreshadowing, hyperbole, imagery, metaphor, personification, point of view, and simile. This will be given through a 10-minute lesson about each literary device before finding examples throughout the stories read before each class. Students will also work within the 8 reading strategies of summarizing, organizing plot events, compare and contrasting, predicting, asking questions, connecting the text, and inferencing while discussing the book the last 35 minutes of class. Session 1: Introduction to the book; class observations on the books cover, titles of each story and any predictions. Learn literary terms: Hyperbole, Personification, Simile, Metaphor Homework: Read Vanishers - When Dante Vanished (50 pages) + Crossing (12 pages) Session 2: Discuss examples of literary terms learned in Session 1; discuss thoughts/experiences reading short stories Learn literary terms: Allusion, Anaphora, Point of View, Dramatic Irony Homework: Read The Color of Ivy - Goodbye, Ridgercress Middle School (not including The Crossing) 61 pages Session 3: Discuss examples of literary terms learned in Session 2; discuss thoughts/experiences reading short stories Learn literary terms: Foreshadowing and Imagery Homework: Read Might Comfy- The Shadow Curse 45 pages Session 4: Discuss examples of literary terms learned in Session 3; discuss thoughts/experiences reading short stories. Final thoughts on the book overall. Please make sure that your learner has read the assigned homework BEFORE each class. The stories are spaced out as evenly as possible in page length and please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Learning Goals
Learners will be able to identify 10 literary terms.Learner will be able to summarize and discuss a story.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
This book has black and white illustrations that may be scary for readers younger than 8 years old. This book is very appropriate for readers ages 8-12, but if there is a young student wanting to read the book, please be aware of the illustrations that go with each story. The illustrations are not very graphic nor violent, but can be creepy or scary.
Supply List
Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe by Josh Allen Digital copies can be as low as $2 (Amazon, Kindle, Google Books. etc) A hard copy can be as high as $16 (Target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, Biblo.com, etc) Please take into account shipping dates if you are ordering online. Overdrive, Libby, and public libraries may have the book as well. Physical or online secondhand bookstores are possible resources as well: Halfprice books, thriftbooks, books-a-million are all great online options.
Language of Instruction
English (Level: B1)
Joined October, 2020
4.9
245reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have a BA in English Language and Literature studies. I use my degree to help students understand, comprehend, and encourage reading. I have worked with middle school aged children my whole career on Outschool (4 years) in helping them think critically on what they read and watch. Reviews
Live Group Class
$44
for 4 classes4x per week, 1 week
45 min
Completed by 2 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-13
3-8 learners per class
