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Short Fiction Unit Plans

Short Fiction Unit Plans | CyberEnglish9 | 2010

 Links to online stories (when they are available):

  1. The Most Dangerous Game
  2. The Lottery
  3. Thank You M’am ; short video on YouTube

We will be studying several short stories this year. Our unit goals are as follows:

  • Improve inferencing skills
  • Improve close-reading skills
  • Improve literary analysis skills
  • Understand and apply literary devices in responding to literature and literary analysis
  • Improve general writing, speaking, thinking, and listening skills.

 Story List

Title Themes Literary Focus
The Most Dangerous Game Power, survival, perfection Plot, Diction, Connotation
The Lottery Intolerance, prejudice, fear Conflict, suspense, point of view, connotation, symbol
Thank You M’am Honesty, compassion, clash of generations Character, Point of View
Barba Nikos Cultural perspective Character, Point of View
The Princess and the Tin Box Choices Irony
The Scarlet Ibis Cruelty, respect for nature, brotherhood Setting (imagery), figurative language, symbolism, and theme

 Unit Activities/Assignments

  1. Inferencing Lesson
  2. Lit Terms Packet
  3. Study Guide for each story or pair of stories
  4. Two blog posts (see directions below)
  5. Unit Test

 Blog Post Assignment

 You will practice your literary analysis skills by writing a blog post for two of the stories you read in this unit. Each post must be average length, 250-300 words. Use the prompts below to guide you. Use only one prompt per post. You must use two different prompts. The best posts are going to be those that have a strong thesis supported by evidence from the story.  You need to use direct and indirect evidence to prove your thesis. Create a new category: Short Fiction

  1.  The character I most identified with was ______________ from title. [Develop this post with the main reasons you are like this character. Write about actions, personality, conflicts, etc. Write about ways that this character develops and how you can relate to the changes he/she goes through. You must choose a main character for this post].
  2. The story I can’t get out of my head is title. [For this post you need to give at least two reasons why the story is unforgettable. Maybe the story had an exciting plot or an unusual setting, or some other literary feature that made it hard to forget. Focus on one particular aspect of the story. Give examples to support what you say].
  3. Everyone should read title because. Give at least two reasons. [For this blog post, you will focus on the theme of the story, what we can learn from it, what the author teaches us. You need to also say something about why it is important for others to know].
  4. The story with the best imagery was title. For this post, cite a short passage that supports your claim. The passage itself does not count for the 250-300 words. [Use these questions to guide you: Which senses are most engaged in the passage? How did the imagery in this passage make you feel? Why did the author describe __ in this way?]
  5. A major symbol in title is ___. [For this post, you need to explain the symbol and how it functions in the story. Why does the author create the symbol? Why is it important? What does it mean in the context of the theme? You’ll have to say what the theme is.]

 Note to students:

While a few work days are built in, if you cannot finish your work in class, you must work on it at home or in study hall. Please plan ahead.

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