Do you read short stories in your curriculum? I love using them for their versatility.
Short stories are a perfect way to incorporate reading, writing, language, vocabulary, grammar, and even speaking skills into your curriculum without having to spend several weeks on the same piece of literature.
π What are your favorite short stories to teach? There's nothing better than a little plot twist or ironic ending to shock your students. Here are the ones that really get my students engaged and talking:
π "Quitters, Inc." by Stephen King: A man decides to quit smoking, so his friend recommends an agency with an exceptional success rate. He finds out quickly their methods are quite...unorthodox. π³ Students absolutely go nuts for this one. You can also show them the movie adaptation (it's the first part of the movie Cat's Eye). Appropriate for grades 9 and up.
π "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs: The classic three wishes take on a demented twist in this story. Students are so pumped to see how the wishes come true...until they actually do. It's a great story to read around Halloween. You can show an adaptation here. Appropriate for grades 7 and up.
πͺ¨ "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson: Who doesn't want to win the lottery? Well, in this town you definitely don't. But your students won't know until the end what the "prize" is. And it's a shocker. There is a 1969 video adaptation and a more recent graphic-novel style video recording of the story here. Appropriate for grades 7 and up.
π "By The Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benet: Perfect to pair with a dystopian novel, Benet's story of an apocalyptic future where humans destroyed themselves offers some opportunities of meaningful discussions in this age of AI. Appropriate for grades 7 and up.
π"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry: I love teaching this one around the holidays. It's a perfect feel-good story of true love that students find both cute and frustrating. π It's a great opportunity for students to evaluate the narrator, as well. You can find an older video adaptation here and a newer (and shorter) animated video here. Appropriate for grades 7 and up.
π§ "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury: This futuristic story is actually no longer "futuristic" since it is set in 2026. The aftermath of an atomic bomb that has destroyed all humans but left a house running on its own is certainly eerie. But there are so many great conversations you can have with your students about AI, war, etc. You can have students listen to Leonard Nimoy's 1975 audio recording here. My unit on this story is coming soon and will be included in my bundle. Appropriate for grades 8 and up.
To take advantage of reading short stories this year, here are some tips and ideas:
π Use short stories at the beginning of the year to introduce key literary elements such as plot, setting, characters, point-of-view and perspective, and figurative language. It’s much easier for students to grasp and review these concepts through short stories. I have a literary elements pack that can be used with any story that helps students identify and explain the key concepts. It’s offered in both digital and print formats for your convenience. They are both included in my short story bundle.
π Many short stories are readily available in the public domain, making it easier for you to share paperless versions with your students. Project Gutenberg offers stories in both html format (just share the link with your students) or downloadable versions.
π Reading short stories can help students with writing short stories. I love having students read a series of different stories as mentor texts. They can study the text structure and dialogue to help them structure their own original creations. I like to have them read a wide variety of different stories so they can see just how much writing varies in a single genre. I use my Narrative Writing presentation and handouts to walk them through writing their own. After they’ve written their stories, I post them online (anonymously on our school website) and we take a week (or more) to read every story in class and give one another compliments. The students love reading their peers’ stories and the quality of writing is always better knowing they stories will be shared (even if they are anonymous).
Regardless of which story you are using with your students, you can use this FREE one-page activity. Download it to print and go, or use the TpT digital activity to share it virtually.
You can also utilize these great activities by my blog mates:
Short Story Interactive Notebook Flipbook by The Classroom Sparrow
Short Story Complete Unit Plan by Presto Plans
Thank You, Ma'am Short Story Activities by The Daring English Teacher
