The Night the Ghost Got In

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Presentation: Comparing Thurber’s Story and His Memoir”

In this activity, students select one of the other stories from My Life and Hard Times and share a summary, analysis, and visual representation with the class.

“The Night the Ghost Got In” is one of nine stories that make up the collection My Life and Hard Times, Thurber’s semi-autobiographical memoir. In this activity, you will share information on another story in the collection and draw conclusions based on what others share.

• Working in small groups, select one of the other stories in Thurber’s memoir to read and analyze.
• Present a summary, analysis, and visual representation of the story; address the way in which this story functions in relation to “The Night the Ghost Got In.”
• In your presentation, consider the ways in which your chosen story reveals key information about Thurber’s family, as well as how he integrates the themes of The Unknown and Meaningless, War’s Effect on the Social Conscience, and Truth Is Subjective in the collection as a whole. Use the medium of your choice or follow your teacher’s instructions.

After observing the presentations by your peers and gaining an understanding of the themes, tones, and events of the other stories in My Life and Hard Times, reflect on and discuss the ways that “The Night the Ghost Got In” functions in comparison to the collection’s other stories.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity encourages students to apply their analytical skills within the format of a group presentation. For classes that may struggle with finding a starting point in their groups, follow this agenda: individual reading, group discussion of summary and analysis, presentation structure (e.g., summary, analysis, relation to the themes, etc.), preparation of personal presentation, and finally group rehearsal. During the rehearsals, have students strive for a unified and cohesive presentation. Be sure to provide a rubric to the students prior to their presentations.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who struggle with reading comprehension, you may want to form a small group and choose to analyze “The Night the Bed Fell,” one of the most loved stories from the collection. Students can consult the plot summary on SuperSummary for reinforcement. Encourage them to choose the theme The Unknown and Meaningless and lead them in an annotation exercise where they highlight examples of this theme in both texts.