Short Story Study: Fritz Lieber, 'A Pail of Air'

Short stories are a vital part of English literature. These short story studies can be used to build a short story unit, to supplement other texts, or as a standby lesson.

Use this with our FREE Introduction to Short Stories two-page handout.

These activities support Fritz Lieber’s short story ‘A Pail of Air’, which can be found free online by searching for the title.

Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks.

• A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding
• Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique
• Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies.
• Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively.

Lieber’s sci-fi story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 8 class (12-13 years).