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. These activities support Amy Tan’s recent short story ‘The Rules of the Game’, which can be found free online by searching for the title. Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks. A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. Tan’s story about growing up Chinese-American has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 8 class (12-13 years).

John Hersey’s Hiroshima is one of the narratives that have shaped our world, and is a great core text for a study of journalism, modern non-fiction, or life-writing. This extensive unit comprises: An introductory section on the event Six sections on each of the work’s parts An extra/extension section on short films about nuclear issues A bibliography of the influence of Hersey’s journalism A close-reading exercise which compares Hersey’s style in 1946 and 1985 A list of long-form analytical and creative responses Several contextual texts including the JapaneseImperial Rescript of Surrender and the Renouncing of Imperial Divinity; poetry by other survivors, and other American essays justifying the military’s decision This unit was tested with a mixed-ability Year 10 class (age 15-16) and a lower-ability Year 11 (age 16-17) class.

Higher-order questions for each chapter of Orwell’s novel, and essay-style questions for each of Parts I, II, and III. Many of the chapter questions require close reading of a selected passage, and help students build a bank of quotes and concepts for essays.

Short films can be engaging texts from which to construct a whole unit, or as reward breaks for single lessons. The rich variety of styles and stories in short films from around the world will appeal to even the most disengaged or low-ability student. This single-lesson activity comprises questions for the 10 minute short satirical film ‘Lena’, directed by Gosha Shapiro. The film was found on Lena by Gosha Shapiro and is suitable for students 14+. Please note this file does not include the film itself, nor can we guarantee that the film will remain at that site permanently. We advise teachers to check the link above, or make sure that they can view the film before purchasing.

Short films can be engaging texts from which to construct a whole unit, or as reward breaks for single lessons. The rich variety of styles and stories in short films from around the world will appeal to even the most disengaged or low-ability student. This single-lesson activity comprises questions for the 15 minute short satirical film ‘Utopia’, directed by Kosta Nikas. The film is suitable for students 15+. (There are multiple instances of swearing, blocked by a beep). Please note this file does not include the film itself, nor can we guarantee that the film will remain at that site permanently. We advise teachers to check the link above, or make sure that they can view the film before purchasing.

rich variety of styles and stories in short films from around the world will appeal to even the most disengaged or low-ability student. This single-lesson activity comprises questions for the 4 minute short animated poetry film ‘Verse’, directed by Tony Comley The film is suitable for students 12+. Please note this file does not include the film itself, nor can we guarantee that the film will remain at that site permanently. We advise teachers to check the link above, or make sure that they can view the film before purchasing.

Short films can be engaging texts from which to construct a whole unit, or as reward breaks for single lessons. The rich variety of styles and stories in short films from around the world will appeal to even the most disengaged or low-ability student. This single-lesson activity comprises questions for the 15 minute short satirical film ‘Mast Qalander’, directed by Divij Roopchand. The film is suitable for students 12+. Please note this file does not include the film itself, nor can we guarantee that the film will remain at that site permanently. We advise teachers to check the link above, or make sure that they can view the film before purchasing.

Short films can be engaging texts from which to construct a whole unit, or as reward breaks for single lessons. The rich variety of styles and stories in short films from around the world will appeal to even the most disengaged or low-ability student. This single-lesson activity comprises questions for the 7 minute short animated film ‘The Coin’, directed by Siqi Song. The film is suitable for students 8+. Please note this file does not include the film itself, nor can we guarantee that the film will remain at that site permanently. We advise teachers to check the link above, or make sure that they can view the film before purchasing.

Euripides’ Alkestis makes a great introduction to Greek tragedy, with its highly engaging story of a woman who volunteers to die in place of her husband. This unit was taught to a Year 9/10 (ages 15-16 years) mixed-ability class and can be taught with any good modern translation of the play. The 54-page unit comprises: An introductory lesson on Greek tragedy Lessons on the seven scenes of Euripides’ play, with questions which encourage lateral thinking, contextual reading, creative response, and comparison with other short texts These short texts are provided (modern poetry and short stories) An assessment question which requires students to write persuasively A selection of questions for other long-form responses NB If you buy this unit and would like to use the same play text as our class used, drop us a message and we’ll share it with you at no charge. We used George Theodoridis’ free translation (copyright to Theodoridis and the poetry in translation website. We have simply split Theodoridis’ text into seven scenes for ease of teaching.

Short films can be engaging texts from which to construct a whole unit, or as reward breaks for single lessons. The rich variety of styles and stories in short films from around the world will appeal to even the most disengaged or low-ability student. This single-lesson activity comprises questions for the 6 minute short animated film ‘A Night in Camp Heebie Jeebie’, directed by Dylan Chase. The film was found on A Night in Camp Heebie Jeebie by Dylan Chase | Horror Short Film (shortoftheweek.com), and is suitable for students 12+. Please note this file does not include the film itself, nor can we guarantee that the film will remain at that site permanently. We advise teachers to check the link above, or make sure that they can view the film before purchasing.

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).

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. These activities support Gary Paulsen’s recent short story ‘Wolfdreams’. Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks. A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. Paulsen’s beautiful character-driven story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 7 class (11-12 years).

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. These activities support Leah Silverman’s recent short story ‘Lenses’, which can be found free online by searching for the title. Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks. A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. Silverman’s sci-fi story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 8 class (12-13 years).

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 Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. John Collier’s short satirical story has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 8 class ( 13 years).

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 Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. Bierce’s classic story has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 10 class (15 years).

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. These activities support Amy Bloom’s recent short story ‘Silver Water’, which can be found free online by searching for the title. Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks. A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. Bloom’s tragic story about a young girl watching her sister’s struggle with schizophrenia has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 10 class (16 years).

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 Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. Dick’s comic short story has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 9 class (14 years).

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. There are four activities, corresponding 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. A choice of two creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. This character-driven short story, ‘The Old Man at the Bridge’, by Ernest Hemingway is around 800 words and has been successfully used with a Year 7/8 class (11-13 years).

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. These activities support Dio Genes’s recent short story ‘Emergency’, which is included in the purchase. Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks. A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. Genes’s speculative fiction about the harsh realities of emergency care for the poor has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 10 class (16 years).