The very first story I teach every year is Richard Connell’s, The Most Dangerous Game. Not only does it allow for fantastic learning opportunities with conflicts, characterization, figurative language, and imagery, but it also allows for fun!
Come senior year, my students always remember reading that “story with the guy who hunts people”. Before we even begin reading the story, my students are hooked since I begin discussing a topic that they can all relate to easily: hunting. Now, I’m not saying they are all avid hunters… but I can easily tweak the conversation to discuss whether or not hunting is morally and ethically correct if I need to.
After we discuss hunting, and the necessity (or lack thereof), my students take a “trip” right in my classroom and we go hunting. Through this activity, students search the room for various animal cards. This leads us into our first internal conflict in the story and opens the door for so many text-to-self connections, we spend the entire hour discussing them! You can find a copy of this lesson plan, and all of the activities, here!
taking back teaching 