Get
!
Includes:
• Mood-Writing Lesson Plan
• Reproducible Graphic Organizer
• Classroom Activities
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Writing Activity!
Tell students they will write their own suspense scenario. Hand out the SuspenseWriting Graphic Organizer (see opposite) to students and ask them to work
independently on each question.
Remind them about the elements of suspense that R.L. Stine uses to create the
mood of his story. Suggest the following story starter for students:
You are in your bedroom at night. Everything seems the same, and yet something is
different . . . disturbingly different. It’s almost as though something in the room has
come alive—something that shouldn’t be dead . . .
Once students have had several minutes to complete the organizer, give them time
to write their scenario in a short paragraph.
Additional activities
A Scare Scale
Challenge students to create their own “Scare Scale.” Model how to draw a line
scale with five points numbered 1 to 5 with 1 as the least scary and 5 as the scariest.
Ask students to write the names of their favourite scary movies, TV shows, and
books at the bottom of the scale. Suggest that they add an adjective to the top of
each number on the scale, such as creepy, disgusting, or horrifying.
Top Ten Phobias
Suggest that students research the topic of phobias, a favourite
theme of horror writers. Working with partners or a small group,
ask students to compile a list of the most common phobias, including
the scientific names and descriptions. Students may enjoy discussing
which phobias their favourite scary movies or books use.
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Student Name
Date
Suspense-Writing Graphic Organizer
TEACHER: please photocopy this activity worksheet and distribute to your students.
Who is the main character? What character traits does he/she have?
What is going to happen to this character?
Are there other characters who will be around when this event takes place?
Where is the event going to happen? What time of day? What season or time of year?
What clues will the reader have to anticipate the event?
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Goosebumps provides an engaging opportunity to teach the genre of
thrillers, the literary element of mood, and the use of suspenseful words.
Pre-Reading Activities:
Bring a bag with a mystery object inside—something to elicit a response, such as something
furry (e.g. a stuffed animal) or something slimy (e.g. cold cooked spaghetti). Have students
feel the object without looking and then write about how they felt both before, during, and
after they felt the mystery object. What happens to our bodies when we are about to be
scared or we aren’t sure what is going to happen next? Teachers may want to have a brief
discussion with students about whether these are positive or negative feelings.
Vocabulary and mood:
Words can affect our feelings. Some words make us feel happy, some make us feel sad,
some can even make us feel scared. What are some words that make us feel scared?
Ask students to come up with two words on their own. Then have the class share their
words and create a list on the board.
Talk about synonyms, and how different words with similar meanings might change a
text. For example, we could say “spooky” or “eerie” to mean similar things. How are they
different? Ask students to work in pairs to come up with a word that is “scarier” than
each of these words on the board.
Wrap up this activity by asking students to discuss how authors scare us with their
writing. Introduce the idea of suspense. Tell students that authors often intentionally
create a feeling of tension and curiosity in their readers. One way of creating suspense is
to give the reader clues about what will happen in the story, but not give everything away.
This makes the reader interested in finding out what will happen next.
Now, tell the class they will be examining an author’s
work and how he scares his readers.
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Creating Suspense!
Read aloud the following passage from Night of the Living Dummy, by R.L. Stine,
to your students. Don’t tell them the story’s title before you read.
It took Kris a while to locate her sister. Lindy was half hidden behind a large black
Dumpster at the far end of the yard. Kris shielded her eyes with one hand to see better.
Lindy was bent over the side of the Dumpster. She appeared to be rummaging through
some trash.
“What’s in there?” Kris called. Lindy was tossing things around and didn’t seem to
hear her.
“What is it?” Kris called, taking a few reluctant steps toward the Dumpster. Lindy didn’t
reply. Then, slowly, she pulled something out. She started to hold it up. Its arms and legs
dangled down limply. Kris could see a head with brown hair. A head? Arms and legs?
“Oh, no!” Kris cried aloud, raising her hands to her face in horror.
Post-Reading Discussion:
Assess what the class understands about the passage by asking a few questions about
what is happening and what is still unclear to readers at this point in the story. Then,
ask students text-dependent questions about word choice based on this passage:
• What is happening in this passage that might make the reader feel scared or nervous?
•W hat words and phrases in this passage make the reader feel something? How do
they make the reader feel?
•Mood is a feeling that the author creates by using words that have a certain effect on a
reader. What mood does R.L. Stine create with this passage? (Answers may vary but
could include: spooky, scary, tense, exciting, etc.)
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