Sample Fantasy Story w/ Analysis Activities – Secondary ELA

This no-prep short fantasy story with analysis activities is perfect for a 1-2 day sub plan or as an introduction to a larger unit on story-genre or creative writing. Richard Post’s “The Lost Room” will appropriately introduce the elements of fantasy storytelling to your students, and the included analysis questions and response essay assignment are designed to build strong analysis and writing skills.

Planning a week-long unit around this resource could not be easier! Start by handing out the story and analysis questions to your students and let them read the story and answer the questions (or read the story aloud and answer the questions as a discussion - your choice!). Once you feel your students are ready for their understanding of the story to be assessed, hand out the literary analysis essay assignment. The essay's prompt is based upon response questions and the worksheet also includes literary analysis writing tips, a peer review checklist, and Common Core-aligned rubric for straightforward grading.

Your download includes the following:

- The short fantasy narrative "The Lost Room," by Richard Post (written exclusively for The Language of Educational Art)

- NINE accompanying response questions (w/ answer key) designed to further your students' understanding of the structure and thematic concepts found in fantasy stories

- A self-checking Easel activity version of the analysis questions

- A literary analysis essay assignment that builds on students' understanding of "The Lost Room" and how fantasy narratives are structured (40 points - tied to FOUR Common Core Standards)

SYNOPSIS OF ‘THE LOST ROOM’:

"In Benjamin’s childhood home there was a small room and in that small room was a small door and beyond that small door was the Lost Room." Thus begins Richard Post's allegory about the child Benjamin and the tall wizard Appa Drepa, who guides Benjamin on his journey from the Lost Room to the Tree of Knowledge, the evil Determinator, and the Gold Key to the One Room. Appropriate for all ages, middle and high school students will be challenged by the "The Lost Room's" symbolism and themes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Richard Post came late to writing YA literature, but he has been a storyteller and raconteur his entire life. When he’s not writing short stories for The Language of Educational Art, he enjoys fishing for rock bass on Higgins Lake, hunting pheasants on the farms of mid-Michigan, bottling sun pickles (here's his famous recipe), hosting “whoopie” parties for his grandchildren, and playing cribbage. He lives with his wife Beverly in St. Louis, Michigan and Orange Beach, Alabama. 

Although this resource can be fitted for any secondary Language Arts classroom, it has been carefully designed to work best in grades 9 through 12. The included activities and rubric are subtly but specifically tied to Common Core ELA Standards for Language (1 and 2), Reading Literature (2), and Writing (2). This resource is provided as a print-ready, bookmarked, and adjustable PDF file.

This resource contains 13 pages.