Short stories provide an excellent introduction to literary analysis and creative writing. Stories included in this unit appeal to students and permit a variety of teaching approaches. Lessons are flexible and can be used as an integrated unit on the short story or individually within a specific literary tradition with equal success.
Short stories included on reproducible handouts include the following:
- “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier
- “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet
- “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty
- “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor
- “The Test” by Angelica Gibbs
- “The Duchess and the Jeweller” by Virginia Woolf
- “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst
- “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara
- “The Last Judgment” by Karl Capek
- “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe
- “The Last Rung on the Ladder” by Stephen King
Students analyze character, setting, plot, theme, point of view, conflict, and style in stories by widely diverse authors. Opportunities are provided for students to work as individuals and in groups. All of the lessons require students to read, think, and write, and to use the text of the story.
Nonfiction,Short Poems,Science Fiction: Nineteenth Century,The Short Story,Participating in the Poem
Advanced Placement Short Story,Multicultural Literature: Essays, Fiction, and Poems,Writing Short Stories
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