The Turn of the Screw Lesson Plan

I've Been Framed!

Kind of Activity:

Individual Writing

Objective:

Learn about framing devices in storytelling, and discuss why Henry James deploys one in the novel.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5

Structure:

The primary story of The Turn of the Screw focuses on the unnamed governess, the creepy children she cares for, and possibly a few ghosts. However, that's not how the tale starts out! The novel opens with a gathering of friends telling spooky stories on Christmas Eve, one of whom possesses the manuscript in which the governess's story is recorded. This technique is known as a framing device, or a a frame story. It was very common in early...