British Council
Learning English through Short Stories
Use short stories to teach English? Yes! Designed as a professional development opportunity for English language teachers, the ideas in this booklet can easily be adapted to advanced ESL/ELL classes.
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to the Short Story
How should pupils read short stories? Set them up for this unit with an introductory lesson that goes over the main characteristics of a short story and starts learners off reading their first short story of the unit. In order to get a...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to Short Story Writers Say
There are so many authors of short stories, and your class can have the chance to study quite a few. This seventh instructional activity in a series of fourteen continues the decision-making process for the final assessment: a short...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Dramatic Structure of the Short Story
The second lesson in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to begin...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce’s short story, is used to model how structural moves, the decisions an author makes about setting, point of view, time order, etc., can be examined to reveal an author’s purpose. Groups...
Film English
My Shoes
Engage your pupils in short story and short film. Using a still from the film as inspiration, pairs compose short stories, which they later share and compare with other members of the class. They then watch the film and respond to a...
IPDAE
Themes in Short Stories
"What is the theme of this story?" The very question can spark fear in the minds of readers and incinerate confidence. Here you will discover an exercise that shows how writers use the tools of setting, plot, conflict, and...
EngageNY
Coda: What Gives This Story Power? Re-Examining Powerful Stories
Writers consider what makes a story powerful as they listen to a short story about Frederick Douglass. Once finished, small groups complete a worksheet to analyze what makes the story so enduring.
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to John Updike
Expand your pupils' understanding of the short story genre with a study of John Updike and his story "A&P." This lesson plan, the fourth in a series of fourteen, invites learners to examine literary terms and read and discuss the...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a great story to share with your class, and this lesson focuses on just that story! The eighth in a fourteen-lesson series on short stories, the plan has learners study some vocabulary, read the story,...
Scholastic
Defining Conflict Using "The Interlopers"
Feeling conflicted? Work out those issues with a language arts lesson on internal and external conflict. Using "The Interlopers" by Saki, class members identify the conflicts between the characters before writing their own short stories...
K20 LEARN
Considering "Charles": Pictograms, Annotations, Reading Strategies, And Multimodal Responses
Shirley Jackson's short story, "Charles," provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to practice their close reading skills. Using the provided list of prompts, scholars read and reread the story, then create a multimodal response to...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Silly Stories: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 1)
Kids who need extra support with the concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic unit on silly stories, will benefit from this packet packed with skill builders, activities, exercises, and practice sets.
K20 LEARN
The Anatomy Of A Story: Story Structure
Somebody. Wanted. But. Then. Introduce your classes to the structure that supports stories with a lesson that teaches readers how to identify the four basic components writers use to craft their tales. After identifying these elements in...
Curated OER
Mini-Lesson Planning for Inferences
Making inferences and drawing conclusions is a key component to successful active reading. Encourage your class to use context clues and prior knowledge to infer different elements of a story, including the setting, plot, and character...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Understanding Theme
The ninth in a fourteen-lesson series, this plan marks a sort of midpoint in a unit devoted to the study of short stories. Pupils learn about theme and work on their short story projects by adding to their blogs, checking in with the...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Setting in "Hills Like White Elephants"
Continue your study of the short story with the next lesson in this fourteen-lesson series. After wrapping up a study of "Hills Like White Elephants" through a quiz and discussion of the setting, learners are introduced to the final...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to Ernest Hemingway
What is a white elephant, and what does it have to do with Ernest Hemingway? Study "Hills Like White Elephants" in-depth by following the procedures outlined in this instructional activity, the fifth in a series of fourteen. Learners...
Digital Writing and Research Lab's – Lesson Plans
Teaching Close Reading through Short Composition/Revision
This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...
K20 LEARN
A Stone's Throw Away - The Dangers Of Tradition: The Lottery
Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" is the anchor text for a instructional activity that teaches young readers how to use the Tip of the Iceberg strategy to go below the surface of a tale. After reading the short story and an...
K20 LEARN
Exploring Conflict And Theme: Engaging With "The Necklace"
Teach young scholars how to determine the theme of a story, an insight the author wants to share with readers, with a lesson that uses Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" as an anchor text. Learners examine the internal and external...
All-in-One High School
Elements of Plot
Cinderella wants to go to the ball and marry the prince. At the end of the story, she does! But how does the plot move from the exposition to the resolution? Teach language arts learners and fairy tale fans about the basics of plot...
Curated OER
Magical Musical Tour: Using Music Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements
While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet. Although designed for gifted learners, the...
Digital Education Resource Archive
Narrative Writing Unit
Each one of the learners in your class has a story to tell, so help them learn the most efficient and organized way to tell their tale. A thorough unit on narrative writing addresses the writing process, grammar, story structure,...