The Yellow Wallpaper

Teaching materials for this text pairing include pre- and post-reading prompts, short answer questions, activities, and essay topics that can be used before or after students’ independent or group reading of the texts. The materials are designed to heighten engagement with each text while deepening understanding of common themes. Use the writing options in lessons to create opportunities for finding evidence and support in the texts, employing critical thinking skills, and practicing test-taking skills. 

These materials can be utilized as a basis for lesson planning and unit design, class discussion, Entrance and Exit “tickets,” small group seminars, and writing activity ideas. Fulfill requirements for IEP/GIEP learners, early finishers, independent study, varied learning styles, and more.

1.      “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gillman (short story)

2.      “Her Kind” by Anne Sexton (poem)

These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the paired texts.

Pre-reading Prompts

Before reading the texts in this pairing, read author Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s brief essay, “Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’” Focus on what Gilman writes about her doctor’s orders for a “rest cure,” which involved a limited “intellectual life” and no access to “pen, brush, or pencil”; note the effect Gilman says this “cure” had on her.