Short Story Study - Robert Maples, 'The Frightful Ones'

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
A close reading task assists development of textual analysis
A writing at length task involves considering the story’s effect, mood, or technical strategies.
Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively.
Robert Maples’ vintage sci-fi short story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 8 class ( 13 years).