The Lottery and Other Stories - Individual Lessons
Choose from 13 carefully sequenced lessons for teaching The Lottery and Other Stories in VCE English and EAL.
Each individual lesson includes an editable PowerPoint slideshow, student worksheet and sample answers. Individual Teacher and English/EAL Faculty — One Campus licence options are available.
Select a lesson below to read its overview, view pricing and purchase the resource.
Lesson 01: Introduction to Shirley Jackson and Key Themes
Students explore Shirley Jackson’s social world and the collection’s six key themes. They consider how Jackson reveals disturbing truths beneath ordinary life, connect the stories to their historical and social contexts, and begin turning broad themes into whole-text arguments.
Lesson 02: Conformity and Social Pressure
Students examine conformity and social pressure, with a particular focus on “The Lottery”. They analyse how tradition, group expectations and fear of exclusion can override individual moral judgement before comparing different forms of social pressure across the collection.
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Lesson 03: Isolation and Disconnection
Students explore isolation and disconnection through a close study of “Like Mother Used to Make”. They examine how David’s apartment reflects his need for comfort and belonging, compare different forms of isolation across the collection, and develop arguments supported by textual evidence.
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Lesson 04: Appearance versus Reality
Students examine the gap between appearance and reality through a close study of “The Daemon Lover”. They track the collapse of certainty, consider how ambiguity shapes the reader’s response, and explore how ordinary appearances conceal unsettling realities across the collection.
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Lesson 05: Fear, Anxiety and Uncertainty
Students explore how Jackson creates fear, anxiety and uncertainty, with a particular focus on “The Witch”. They analyse how an ordinary conversation becomes increasingly disturbing, track the mother’s growing anxiety, and compare how Jackson makes everyday situations feel threatening or unstable.
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Lesson 06: Prejudice, Judgement and Exclusion
Students examine prejudice, judgement and exclusion through a close study of “After You, My Dear Alphonse”. They analyse how Mrs Wilson’s polite behaviour conceals racial and class prejudice, consider how her assumptions are challenged, and explore the consequences of judgement across the collection.
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Lesson 07: Power, Control and Authority
Students explore power, control and authority, with a particular focus on “The Lottery”. They examine how traditions, rituals and communities can exercise control without relying on a single powerful individual, then compare the operation of authority across Jackson’s stories.
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Lesson 08: Context as a Reading Lens
Students use context as a lens for interpreting the collection. They examine how postwar expectations surrounding home, family, gender, respectability and belonging shape Jackson’s stories, and practise moving from surface-level readings to more context-aware interpretations.
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Lesson 09: Elements of Construction - Titles, Dialogue, Tone and Contrast
Students examine titles, dialogue, tone and contrast as elements of construction. They consider how these authorial choices shape expectations, reveal hidden attitudes and create unsettling gaps between polite appearances and disturbing meanings.
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Lesson 10: Elements of Construction - Symbolism, Motifs, Characterisation and Structure
Students extend their understanding of construction by examining symbolism, motifs, characterisation and structure. They explore how Jackson uses repeated details, ordinary objects, character behaviour and the gradual release of information to develop ideas and influence the reader’s interpretation.
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Lesson 11: What Makes Analytical Writing Sophisticated
Students learn what makes analytical writing sophisticated. They move beyond plot summary and theme identification by developing interpretations, strengthening contentions, connecting arguments to evidence and construction choices, and evaluating a model analytical paragraph.
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Lesson 12: How to Brainstorm an Analytical Response
Students work through the process of brainstorming an analytical response. They break down an essay topic, test its assumptions, generate ideas from across the collection, select and group relevant evidence, and develop three arguments and a nuanced contention.
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Lesson 13: How to Write an Analytical Response
Students turn an essay plan into a structured analytical response. They draft and refine an introduction, examine the TEEAEAL body-paragraph structure, write a paragraph using evidence from two stories, and identify the essential elements of an effective conclusion.
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