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 Lesley Namioka’s recent short story ‘The All-American Slurp’, which can be found free online by searching for the title.
Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks.
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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.
Namioka’s cross-cultural character-driven story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 7 class (11-12 years).
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.
Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference.
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.
McHugh’s comical story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 7 class (11-12 years).
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 Gary Paulsen’s recent short story ‘Wolfdreams’.
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.
Paulsen’s beautiful character-driven story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 7 class (11-12 years).
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 Gary Soto’s recent short story ‘Seventh Grade’, 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.
Soto’s endearing character-driven story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 7 class (11-12 years).
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.]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12564488)
Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference.
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.
Ross’s very short horror story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 7 class ( 11-12 years).
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.]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12564488)
Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference.
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.
Tanizaki’s classic horror story has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 10 class ( 15 years).
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.]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12564488)
Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference.
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.
Poe’s classic horror story has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 10 class ( 15 years).
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.
Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference.
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.
O.Henry’s comic and touching short story has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 9 class (14 years).
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.
Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference.
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.
Dick’s comic short story has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 9 class (14 years).
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.
Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference.
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.
Bierce’s classic story has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 10 class (15 years).
John Hersey’s Hiroshima is one of the narratives that have shaped our world, and is a great core text for a study of journalism, modern non-fiction, or life-writing. This extensive unit comprises:
An introductory section on the event
Six sections on each of the work’s parts
An extra/extension section on short films about nuclear issues
A bibliography of the influence of Hersey’s journalism
A close-reading exercise which compares Hersey’s style in 1946 and 1985
A list of long-form analytical and creative responses
Several contextual texts including the JapaneseImperial Rescript of Surrender and the Renouncing of Imperial Divinity; poetry by other survivors, and other American essays justifying the military’s decision
This unit was tested with a mixed-ability Year 10 class (age 15-16) and a lower-ability Year 11 (age 16-17) class.
Higher-order questions for each chapter of Orwell’s novel, and essay-style questions for each of Parts I, II, and III. Many of the chapter questions require close reading of a selected passage, and help students build a bank of quotes and concepts for essays.
Euripides’ Alkestis makes a great introduction to Greek tragedy, with its highly engaging story of a woman who volunteers to die in place of her husband. This unit was taught to a Year 9/10 (ages 15-16 years) mixed-ability class and can be taught with any good modern translation of the play.
The 54-page unit comprises:
An introductory lesson on Greek tragedy
Lessons on the seven scenes of Euripides’ play, with questions which encourage lateral thinking, contextual reading, creative response, and comparison with other short texts
These short texts are provided (modern poetry and short stories)
An assessment question which requires students to write persuasively
A selection of questions for other long-form responses
NB If you buy this unit and would like to use the same play text as our class used, drop us a message and we’ll share it with you at no charge. We used George Theodoridis’ free translation (copyright to Theodoridis and the poetry in translation website. We have simply split Theodoridis’ text into seven scenes for ease of teaching.
This 54-page unit, written for Years 7-8 (ages 11-13) offers beginning high school students an introduction to genre, focusing on Andy Milligan’s adventure novel Trash. It comprises:
an introduction to genre and the conventions of the adventure genre
five sections on Trash with reading comprehension questions
activities on the foundational elements of narrative (character, setting, conflict, plot, and voice). These activities ask students to identify the narrative element in the novel and write short examples of their own
an exclusive short adventure story for reading extension or differentiation
a two-part assessment task where students identify conventions in an unseen passage, then write creatively in the genre
This worksheet introduces students to an important element of poetry: theme - in this case, modern life and technology. It can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or as part of a wider study of poetry, and contains
at least two poems for easy differentiation
writing tasks for each poem following Bloom’s Taxonomy of lower- to higher-order questions
This worksheet introduces students to an important element of poetry: theme - in this case, cats and their relationships with men. It can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or as part of a wider study of poetry, and contains
a one page-explanation of the device or technique
at least two poems for easy differentiation
writing tasks for each poem following Bloom’s Taxonomy of lower- to higher-order questions
This worksheet introduces students to an important element of poetry: symbolism. It can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or as part of a wider study of poetry, and contains
a one page-explanation of the device or technique
at least two poems for easy differentiation
writing tasks for each poem following Bloom’s Taxonomy of lower- to higher-order questions
This worksheet introduces students to an important element of poetry: imagery. It can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or as part of a wider study of poetry, and contains
a one page-explanation of the device or technique
at least two poems for easy differentiation
writing tasks for each poem following Bloom’s Taxonomy of lower- to higher-order questions
This worksheet introduces students to an important element of poetry: personification. It can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or as part of a wider study of poetry, and contains
a one page-explanation of the device or technique
at least two poems for easy differentiation
writing tasks for each poem following Bloom’s Taxonomy of lower- to higher-order questions
This worksheet introduces students to an important element of poetry: rhyme and rhthym. It can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or as part of a wider study of poetry, and contains
a one page-explanation of the device or technique
at least two poems for easy differentiation
writing tasks for each poem following Bloom’s Taxonomy of lower- to higher-order questions