The Whole Story

Roald Dahl’s classic World War II short story, “Beware of the Dog” is the focus of a close reading exercise that asks learners to respond to text-dependent questions with evidence drawn from the story. Participants record responses on...

How can reading short stories benefit people? To conclude a unit study of this genre, class members script and film a public service announcement addressing this essential question.

Examine culture and the relationship it has to identity with a reading of Amy Tan's "Fish Cheeks." Class members read the story and then respond to a series of text-based and discussion questions.

Use O. Henry's short story "A Retrieved Reformation" as a way to discuss identity and if a person can change his or her identity. Learners read the story and respond to text-based questions as well as questions that are referred to as...

One of the most famous short stories, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," is the focus of this resource. Learners read the story, respond to several text-based questions, and brainstorm ideas about a question relating to the text as...

“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...

Sometimes a whole story can change based on the perspective of the person telling it. Practice identifying and analyzing point of view in various reading passages and writing assignments with a language arts packet, complete with Common...

Sophia's War, Avi's novel that tracks the adventures of Sophia Calderwood, a fictional character, as well as the true stories of British Major John Andre and General Benedict Arnold during the American Revolution, is the anchor text of...

How can something be true even if it didn't happen? Invite your classes to investigate the truths found in the world of magical realism as they analyze short stories, poems, informational texts, video, and art from this genre.

Do your young authors suffer from writer's block when they try to write short stories? Access their natural creativity with C-Gor, the writing monster! The instructional activity takes aspiring authors through a new writing process...