Teaching Something Wicked This Way Comes

Do you remember what it's like to be fourteen, live in a small town with your best friend, and be hopelessly afraid of carnies? Yup: Something Wicked This Way Comes—a classic "clowns-are-creepy" carnival horror story written by Ray Bradbury in 1962—is so awesome it's inspired both a South Park and a Disney adaptation. Odds are good that it's also going to inspire your students, but it's probably a good idea use our Teacher Guide, just in case.

In this guide, you'll find

• a vocabulary activity that can be completed over the course of the novel, or in one fell pre-reading swoop—your call.
• an homage to Bradbury through mirroring his writing style.
• a creative speech-making activity inspired by the novel's bally-tacking rhetorical hijinks.

Give our Teaching Guide a try—worst-case scenario, you'll be stuck in a scary carnival forever?

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

• 13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students
• Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students
• Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text
• Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students
• A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles

Want more help teaching Teaching Something Wicked This Way Comes?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.