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The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher Radio Play Drama Activities & Assignments
The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher Radio Play Drama Activities & Assignments
The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher Radio Play Drama Activities & Assignments
The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher Radio Play Drama Activities & Assignments

The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher Radio Play Drama Activities & Assignments

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The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher radio play lesson has all the assignments and activities you need to introduce students to this engaging short story radio play.Fletcher’s psychological thriller follows the journey of a man driving across America in a fit of paranoia and explores themes of fear, obsession, and the blurred lines between reality and illusion. This ready-to-use radio play short story lesson includes absolutely everything you need to teach The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher, with a variety of engaging activities and a slideshow presentation to guide you through every step of the way. Although it can be used at any time of the year, this story works especially well around Halloween.


Included in this lesson for The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher:

➡️The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher Radio Play Lesson Presentation: This 38-slide PowerPoint presentation will guide you through every aspect of the short story lesson. It includes discussion questions, author biographical information, notes on the radio play and psychological thriller genres, historical context on America during the 1940s, answers to questions for whole class review, analysis notes, a link to The Twilight Zone adaptation, and instructions for writing suspense.

➡️ The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher Activities and Assignments: Have your students demonstrate their understanding of The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher, as well as extend their knowledge by working on any or all of the following activities and assignments included in this package (directions for each activity/assignment included, as well as answer key for several activities):

  • The Hitchhiker Slang Study Activity: Students will use context clues to infer the meaning of the various 1940s slang terms used in the story. Then, once they are given the correct definitions, they will include their own modern slang for these words or phrases in the graphic organizer. 
  • The Hitchhiker Travel Tracker Activity: Students will track The Hitchhiker’s protagonist, Ronald Adams, as he travels across America by marking each new location on his journey using the provided map of the United States.
  • The Hitchhiker Analysis Questions: Diving deeper into the text, students will respond to seven analysis questions using text evidence to support their answers about various themes and elements in the story.
  • Phone Booth Foreshadowing Activity: The Hitchhiker includes many examples of foreshadowing. Students will find and explain three instances of foreshadowing and reflect on the author’s overall use of this device in the story.
  • The Girl Hitchhiker Diary Activity: During the story, Ronald Adams picks up a passenger, a young woman who he planned to drive to Texas before things went south. Students will write a diary entry from her perspective after leaving his car.
  • Script Episode Comparison Activity: After watching The Twilight Zone adaptation of the script, students will compare both versions, noting similarities and differences between the two.
  • The Hitchhiker Creative Writing Activity: Using what they learn about suspense writing from the provided handout as well as the common ‘dead all along trope,’ students will plan and write their own suspenseful narratives.


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