The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs - Creative Writing - Analyzing Mood Rewrite

Enrich your study of W.W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw” with this easy and effective creative writing assignment. If you’re looking for a writing activity for The Monkey’s Paw, this is a must-do. Students practice analyzing mood with a fun twist.

This THE MONKEY’S PAW activity helps students:

✅ Analyze mood in “The Monkey’s Paw”

✅ Create a new mood

✅ Share their work (optional)

Students analyze the established mood in a passage and then rewrite it. This is a great assignment for students to practice creating mood in a short, creative work. This can be done in partners or alone.

Hint: I would suggest letting students rewrite one of the three parts. Dialogue can be kept the same, but attributions (“she said hysterically”) should be changed.

What teachers like you are saying:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “My students absolutely loved ‘The Monkey's Paw’. I was able to teach so many different reading strategies with this story!” -Brandie H.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A very fun and creative activity for my 9th graders! Rubric was so helpful!” -Rachel H.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “The students had fun rewriting portions of ‘The Monkey’s Paw’!” -Kim H.

Your writing activity for THE MONKEY’S PAW includes:

1. Project Description & Brainstorming Worksheet – students practice “rewriting” skills on a few sentences before they move on to an entire scene (.doc or .pdf)
2. Rubric – Choose between analytic and holistic versions (.doc or .pdf)
3. Printer-friendly versions - prints as a half-sheet with the rubric on the front and brainstorming on the back)
4. Digital version - editable

Have students attach this whole page as a cover sheet for their essay.

Please respect all terms of use as detailed at the end of this document. Enjoy!

About Your Download:

Your download is a .zip file containing a print-and-go version of this product and an editable version in Microsoft Word. You also get editable slides that are ready to be uploaded to Google Classroom, etc. Instructions for use and copyright information are included in this resource. Feel free to email me at nouvelle.ela@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Other materials for teaching Short Stories:

"The Lady or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton Argumentative Essay

"Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl Persuasive Essay

Short Story (Adapted) Unit Test

Short Stories Unit for Interactive Notebooks

Short Story Unit Test Bundle - Honors, Standard, Adapted

This product is also part of the *Writing Activities Bundle!*

Are you looking for a way to teach your students to integrate quotes into their essays? Try my Integrating Sources Worksheet.

Feedback & Followers

Did you know that you can receive credit towards future TpT purchases by reviewing paid products? If you enjoy this product, please leave a review at the product page or through “My Purchases” under “My Account” at TpT. Ratings make the TpT world go round. :)

You can also follow me for the latest news on products and sales.

If you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you!

-Danielle @ Nouvelle ELA