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Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: I Can Analyze a Story or History [Pdf]
This graphic organizer can be used to help students analyze a story or a historical event. Students will look closely at the story's characters or people involved in the historical event. Then they will summarize the story or event, and...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Where the Trail Forks by Jack London
Jack London wrote stories that were inspired by his time in the Yukon. "Where the Trail Forks" is a short story that revolves around his beloved theme of man vs. nature.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "When God Laughs" by Jack London
Jack London often writes on the theme of human nature. In "When God Laughs" he explores this theme through a couple trying to uphold an idealistic romance. Read the full text on this site.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Understudy" by Robert Barr
"The Understudy" is part of a collection of short stories revolving around the theme of revenge. Read the full text of this short story by Robert Barr.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "When the Bayou Overflows" by Alice Dunbar
"When the Bayou Overflows" explores the theme of love lost. Read the full text of this short story on this site.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Woman Who Tried to Be Good" by Edna Ferber
The themes of hypocrisy and intolerance characterize the short story "The Woman Who Tried to Be Good" by Edna Ferber. Read the full text on this site.
Ted Nellen
Cyber English (By Ted Nellen): Literary Terms S Z
The third of three pages of simple definitions for literary terms. This page, S - Z, covers twenty-two terms from "Saga," to "Understatement."
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "War" by Sherwood Anderson
"War" by Sherwood Anderson explores the themes of conflict, change, and determination. Read the full text on this site.
Other
Book Page Interview: Gary Soto
This site, part of the online version of the magazine BookPage, provides a 1998 interview with Gary Soto, in which he discusses the themes of some of his works, his background, and his use of different genres of writing.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Pairing Texts With Movies to Promote Comprehension and Discussion
Thematic pairings of novels/short stories with movies can help students access difficult texts and can lead to deeper comprehension and lively classroom discussion. This article suggests pairings for some commonly assigned middle and...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Units: 11th Grade: Thematic Unit: Values and Beliefs
Complete teaching unit for 11th Grade Thematic Unit: "Values and Beliefs." Students will read 8 short stories that examine how values and beliefs are shaped. They will analyze these stories, and the short story form, while considering...
Georgetown University
Georgetown University: Susan Glaspell
Have you ever read any of Susan Glaspell's work? This site offers a range of material on the work "Trifles." The materials range from classroom issues and strategies, major themes, historical perspectives, and the personal issues that...
Other
Poe Decoder: The Masque of the Red Death
This site contains links to a summary of "The Masque of the Red Death" and essays about its setting, characters, point of view, style, and theme.
ProProfs
Pro Profs Quiz Maker: Story Elements Test
This test is a 35-question, self-scoring, multiple choice test covering story elements. Java is required.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "After the Race" by James Joyce
"After the Race" is a short story by the Irish author James Joyce. In it, we see the themes of money, status, class, politics, and paralysis.
University of Houston
University of Houston: The Journalist's Desk
This site includes eleven brief newspaper stories. Students must identify the main idea of each short news story.
British Council
British Council: Learn English Kids: Voyage of the Animal Orchestra
Use this story of the shipwrecked animals in the orchestra to focus on plot, characters, and sequence of a story. Included are assessment activities and flash cards.
TES Global
Tes: Two Kinda Truth' by Farukh Dhondy
[Free Registration/Login Required] This site provides comprehension and theme-related activities to accompany Farukh Dhondy's short piece "Two Kinda Truth." False stereotypes and evidence of racism will be discussed in the lesson.
Shmoop University
Shmoop: Teddy
Taken from J. D. Salinger's short story collection Nine Stories the story of Teddy is an example of the writer's superior prose. Read about the characters and themes in the story.
Shmoop University
Shmoop: The Killers
This short story was written one morning when Hemingway was in Spain. This site provides exciting information about the characters and important themes in the story.
Shmoop University
Shmoop: Dry September
Dry September is considered to be one of William Faulkner's finest stories. Read about the story, the characters and important themes in this informative site.
Shmoop University
Shmoop: Franny and Zooey
Published as a short story in 1955, Franny and Zooey represents J. D. Salinger's interest in Zen Buddhism and other spiritual themes.
Shmoop University
Shmoop: Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour
Read what others have to say about these two stories that were eventually put together by J.D.Salinger. This site analyses the characters and major themes in these short stories.
Shmoop University
Shmoop: A Clean, Well Lighted Place
Read about Ernest Hemingway's story, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, in this interesting site that examines the characters and focuses on the themes of loneliness and isolation.