Button, Button - Short Story Lesson - Reading - Comprehension

A resourced and engaging reading lesson based on Button, Button by Richard Matheson, designed to challenge students’ thinking while developing key reading, discussion, and creative writing skills.

This carefully structured lesson explores moral dilemmas, suspense, and psychological tension, encouraging students to engage deeply with the text and its unsettling central question. Ideal for KS3 and lower KS4, it works well as a stand-alone lesson or as part of a short story, ethics, or suspense unit.

What’s included:

Starter activity to introduce the moral dilemma and hook learners

Word of the Day to develop vocabulary and oracy

Cultural capital focus to contextualise the text and author

Clear synopsis to support understanding of the narrative

Glossary to support challenging vocabulary

Listening time (ideal for teacher read-aloud or audio engagement)

Comprehension and inference questions to check understanding and deepen analysis

Discussion tasks exploring morality, choice, and consequences

Creative writing task inspired by the story, with a model answer

Exit ticket to assess learning and understanding

Skills developed:

Reading comprehension and inference

Ethical reasoning and critical thinking

Speaking and listening

Creative and analytical writing

Understanding how writers create tension and suspense

This lesson is fully prepared and ready to teach, requiring minimal preparation. Suitable for mixed-ability classes and easily adaptable for different teaching contexts.

(Please note: the full text of the short story is not included and must be sourced separately.) - Easily accessible online.