Horror Genre Library Lesson for Middle School and High School

This Horror Genre Library Lesson is perfect for middle school library and high school library. Part 1 is an introduction to the horror genre, with emphasis on gothic literature and other horror subgenres. Part 2 is a scrolling slideshow with trivia questions, classic horror literature quotes, would you rather’s, and more!

Though students may be familiar with the featured stories from movies, this presentation emphasizes horror literature, not movies.

This lesson has 50 total pages and slides, and it includes:

• 48-slide Lesson Presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint + Google Slides
  • All body text is editable; you choose which slides you want to use.
  • 17 slides are whole class lesson slides.
  • 31 slides are “scrolling presentation” slides that are great for extending lessons or scrolling in the library during checkout and downtimes.
• List of 55 recommended books to accompany this lesson (2 pages, PowerPoint and PDF)
  • The list is editable and great to hand out to parents, teachers, and students looking for related books.
• Google Classroom Basics (4 pages, PDF)
• Instructions on how to set up PowerPoint slide timings for scrolling slides (2 pages, PDF)

17 Lesson Slides:

Part 1 is a guided whole-class discussion. The slides walk you through the entire class discussion, from start to finish.

• Review of genre (what is genre)
• Students’ preliminary thoughts on the horror genre
• Characteristics of horror
• Genres that are often mixed with horror
• Subgenres of horror
• Gothic literature characteristics and well-known examples from classic literature
• Body horror literature – characteristics and classic literature examples
• Folk horror literature – characteristics and classic literature example
• Two slides for checkout procedures and reminders

31 Scrolling Slides:

Part 2 is the scrolling slides. Set them on a timer to scroll on a screen during library checkout. If you time the slides at 45 seconds each, the horror genre slideshow will be 23 minutes in length. 

• Words of the Week: “ominous” and “macabre”
• 5 things every horror story needs
• Who am I? author spotlight (Stephen King)
• Bram Stoker Awards
• Who was Bram Stoker?
• Quotations from “Frankenstein” (Mary Shelley), “Dracula” (Bram Stoker), and “The Fall of the House of Usher” (Edgar Allan Poe)
• Color psychology and horror – red, black, and green
• Daily and weekly schedule
• Announcements
• Reminders
• This week’s birthdays

Classic Horror Genre Literature Mentioned:

• “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs
• “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving
• “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe
• “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
• “Dracula” by Edgar Allan Poe
• “Carrie” by Stephen King

Recommended Reads Booklists:

• One bookmark is Grades 6-8, and the other is Grades 9-12.
• All titles are recommended on Titlewave for Grades 6-8 and 9-12.
• Titles are fiction, short stories, and graphic novels.
• All titles received positive reviews from professional library journals. Many received starred reviews.

Standards Addressed:

AASL National School Library Standards – See the AASL Standards Framework for Learners to view full text. 

• Inquire – A.2. – C.1. – D.3.
• Include – B.1. – C.2.
• Collaborate – A.2. – B.2.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards –
© Copyright 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.6.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.6.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9.1. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9.6.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.10.1. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.10.6.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11.1. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11.6.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.12.1. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.12.6.

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