short stories Archives - The Teachers' Library

The Sniper: Writing for Pacing

Lauren Crowley — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 07:08:55 +0000

The Sniper, by Liam O’Flaherty, is a great short story to teach the basic elements of a story, including setting, climax, resolution, and plot twist. I also find it an excellent story to introduce students to the idea of pacing. The writing objective for this story and lesson is to use mentor sentences to write compound or complex sentences for description, and to use shorter, declarative sentences for action sequence.

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

We read the story together out loud either as a whole group, or in smaller groups. I encourage students to use punctuation to guide them on how to read the story for fluency. The reading handout and PowerPoint has essential vocabulary for comprehension, pre-reading discussion questions to build background and historical context, and post-reading comprehension questions.

Students then use mentor sentences to construct their own sentences of varied lengths. Then they move on to a flash fiction activity where they need to be mindful of the intention behind each sentence, and choose the length accordingly. The flash fiction activity can be as short or as workshopped as time allows, as either a quick paragraph exit ticket, or a longer extension activity.

[insert_php]
// INSTRUCTIONS: array(“url”,”title”,”type”,”size”),
// AND only the last array() line does NOT have a comma at the end
$downloads = array(
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Sniper.pptx”,”Download The Sniper”,”pptx”,”4mb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Sniper.pdf”,”Download short story and reading companion”,”pdf”,”363kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/The-Sniper.docx”,”Download short story and reading companion”,”docx”,”18kb”)
);
insertDownloads($downloads);
[/insert_php]

The post The Sniper: Writing for Pacing appeared first on The Teachers' Library.

To Build A Fire by Jack London

Lauren Crowley — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 08:58:45 +0000

Below is a PowerPoint I use when teaching the popular story, To Build A Fire, by Jack London. I use this story to teach characterization and character development, and how they are established by the author’s use of a particular point of view or perspective. Students are asked to consider how the dog, equally as important a character as the man, is used to reveal aspects about the man’s character.

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

* A fun extension activity I have done with students, especially students who live in hot climates, is to ask them to write their name or tie their shoes with their fingers taped together, to illustrate the debilitating effects of frostbite.

[insert_php]
// INSTRUCTIONS: array(“url”,”title”,”type”,”size”),
// AND only the last array() line does NOT have a comma at the end
$downloads = array(
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/To-build-a-fire.pptx”,”Download PowerPoint”,”pptx”,”519kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/to-build-a-fire.pdf”,”Download Jack London’s short story”,”pdf”,”142kb”)
);
insertDownloads($downloads);
[/insert_php]

The post To Build A Fire by Jack London appeared first on The Teachers' Library.

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl

Lauren Crowley — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 14:27:19 +0000

Below is a PowerPoint and vocabulary organizer I use when teaching Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter, usually as part of a larger short story unit. It’s a great model text for showcasing plot twist, irony, and characterization.

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

[insert_php]
// INSTRUCTIONS: array(“url”,”title”,”type”,”size”),
// AND only the last array() line does NOT have a comma at the end
$downloads = array(
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/the-lamb-to-slaughter.pptx”,”Download PowerPoint”,”pptx”,”3mb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/lamb-to-the-slaughter.docx”,”Download story”,”docx”,”26kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/lamb-to-the-slaughter.pdf”,”Download PDF”,”pdf”,”366kb”)
);
insertDownloads($downloads);
[/insert_php]

The post Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl appeared first on The Teachers' Library.

Hills Like White Elephants: Teaching Subtext

Lauren Crowley — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 16:35:06 +0000

Hills Like White Elephants is almost a perfect a story to show, as well as teach, students about sub-text and language vs. communication. Below is a lined version of the story and a PowerPoint that breaks down the text, context and subtext of the story.

Extension* If I’m using this as a model text in a creative writing unit, I ask students to try to write a short dialogue with a partner that asks the reader to make inferences to determine a specific subtext, and then the rest of the class, or other members of a group, have to guess.

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

[insert_php]
// INSTRUCTIONS: array(“url”,”title”,”type”,”size”),
// AND only the last array() line does NOT have a comma at the end
$downloads = array(
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/hills-like-white-elephants.pptx”,”Download PowerPoint”,”pptx”,”7mb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Hills-Like-White-Elephants-full-text.doc”,”Download the lined story”,”doc”,”36kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Hills-Like-White-Elephants-full-text.pdf”,”Download the lined story”,”pdf”,”338kb”)
);
insertDownloads($downloads);
[/insert_php]

The post Hills Like White Elephants: Teaching Subtext appeared first on The Teachers' Library.