short stories 
Short Story Unit Plan
By: Steve McCauley & Bruce Robinson
Subject: English
Unit: Short Story
Theme: Irony
Short Story Unit Contents:
Short Story Unit Overview
Lesson 1 – Elements of the Short Story
Lesson 2 – Cask of Amontillado
Lesson 3 – The Lottery
Lesson 4 – A & P
Lesson 5 – Gentlemen, Your Verdict
Lesson 6 – Short Story Workshop
Lesson 7 – The Big Snit
Lesson 8 – The Sniper
Lesson 9 – The Fall of a City
Lesson 10 – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Lesson 11 – Two Fishermen
Lessons 12 & 13 – Sociograms
Lesson 14 – Writers/Artists Café – culminating activity
Short Story Unit Overview
It is important that students are exposed to many different aspects of writing. Exploring a unit of short stories offers students many opportunities to internalize and apply the knowledge they gain about reading and interpreting literature to the next story they read. They are more frequently exposed to the craft of using language, the literary devices that authors use, and how these can make a story work (or not work) for a reader. The short stories themselves contain underlying themes or motifs that challenge the students to draw broader conclusions from the material, encouraging students to think on a wider level about interconnected issues and themes that run throughout the materials.
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:
Explore the elements of the short story;
Practice oral reading skills;
Work collaboratively on a variety of projects;
Develop their own creative writing skills through writing their own short story.
Additionally, students will have read a variety of different short stories, and been exposed to several different styles of writing.
Resources:
Stories: Jon Scieszka: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs Edgar Allen Poe: The Cask of Amontillado
Shirley Jackson: The Lottery
John Updike: A & P
Michael Bruce: Gentlemen, Your Verdict
Liam O’Flaherty: The Sniper
Alden Nowlan: The Fall of a City
James Thurber: The Secret Life of Walter
By: Steve McCauley & Bruce Robinson
Subject: English
Unit: Short Story
Theme: Irony
Short Story Unit Contents:
Short Story Unit Overview
Lesson 1 – Elements of the Short Story
Lesson 2 – Cask of Amontillado
Lesson 3 – The Lottery
Lesson 4 – A & P
Lesson 5 – Gentlemen, Your Verdict
Lesson 6 – Short Story Workshop
Lesson 7 – The Big Snit
Lesson 8 – The Sniper
Lesson 9 – The Fall of a City
Lesson 10 – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Lesson 11 – Two Fishermen
Lessons 12 & 13 – Sociograms
Lesson 14 – Writers/Artists Café – culminating activity
Short Story Unit Overview
It is important that students are exposed to many different aspects of writing. Exploring a unit of short stories offers students many opportunities to internalize and apply the knowledge they gain about reading and interpreting literature to the next story they read. They are more frequently exposed to the craft of using language, the literary devices that authors use, and how these can make a story work (or not work) for a reader. The short stories themselves contain underlying themes or motifs that challenge the students to draw broader conclusions from the material, encouraging students to think on a wider level about interconnected issues and themes that run throughout the materials.
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:
Explore the elements of the short story;
Practice oral reading skills;
Work collaboratively on a variety of projects;
Develop their own creative writing skills through writing their own short story.
Additionally, students will have read a variety of different short stories, and been exposed to several different styles of writing.
Resources:
Stories: Jon Scieszka: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs Edgar Allen Poe: The Cask of Amontillado
Shirley Jackson: The Lottery
John Updike: A & P
Michael Bruce: Gentlemen, Your Verdict
Liam O’Flaherty: The Sniper
Alden Nowlan: The Fall of a City
James Thurber: The Secret Life of Walter