I Hunt Killers

This resource can be used as supplemental teacher material or as a primary basis for literature study to:

• Draw students into a text with pre-reading questions and warm-up prompts, maintain engagement with in-class analysis through free-writing or discussion, and assess knowledge and comprehension with quizzes.
• Ensure deeper understanding and enjoyment of the literature with activities for all learning types.
• Stretch students’ critical thinking and writing skills with differentiated essay topics.

Note to Teachers: To support lesson-planning, connections to the work’s primary themes are noted throughout this resource (Malleable Identities, The Intense Legacy of Fathers, Guilt As a Burden and Motivation).

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Serial killers are frequently at the center of some of the most popular stories in pop culture. Why do you think serial killers consistently captivate the public imagination? Why are we, as a society, obsessed with these gruesome tales?

Teaching Suggestion: Encourage students to talk about media that they’ve seen/read/listened to lately that revolves around serial killers, and have them discuss the reasons they were interested in that story. Did they feel a sense of intrigue and/or disgust? A mixture of both? Have students discuss the differences, if any, between documentaries and/or non-fiction media having to do with serial killers (“true crime”) and fictional stories about murderers.