As high school English teachers, we all know we need to create a short story lesson or unit because that is a major focus of our standards. However, creating that unit and making it enjoyable for both us and our students can be a challenge. Finding the best texts to fit their needs, covering the right content, and figuring out what to assess them on can be a challenge. If you are thinking “Where do I start to creating my short stories unit plan?” then I am here to help, friend. Check out how I do my 10th grade short story unit first then follow the steps I share to create your own fun and thrilling short story lesson or unit for your kiddos.
If the thought of planning any part of this unit is too much, I have you friend. Check out my Short Story Unit Plan for an easy way to use texts that you already have or use the short story example that I include. Either way, you can skip the planning and jump right to the instruction. Want to see what my short story lesson plan looks like in action? Keep reading to find out more!
What I Do for My 10th Grade Short Story Unit
What I Teach in my Short Story Unit
My short stories unit plan focuses on reviewing literary elements so I do not include many texts. Furthermore, this 10th grade short story unit is focusing on world literature so I am purposely choosing texts that focus on different cultural perspectives from around the world. Here are the three short stories for high school students that I chose.
- “Apollo” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe
- “The Interlopers” by Saki
Besides deciding on my texts, I also focus on teaching literary elements. Here is my list of literary elements that I cover in my short stories lesson. I have also included the Common Core Standard for 9th-10th grade English that I think best aligns with each literary element.
- Plot Diagram: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5
- Setting in a Story: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6
- Point of View of a Story: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6
- Conflict in the Story: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
- Characterization in a Short Story: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
- Mood and Tone: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4
- Symbols in Literature: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
- Author’s Style: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4
- Themes in Lit: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
When I Teach my Short Story Unit
Since I teach my class in semester blocks, we have to move quickly to reach all the standards before our Pennsylvania standardized test at the end of the semester. Therefore, I start with my short story unit as a review. We spend a week’s worth of lessons focusing on making sure that my students know and can identify the literary elements in a story. Using short stories is a great way to ease into learning especially at the beginning of the year. Plus the shorter texts help to keep your students engaged.
How I Teach my Short Story Unit
Here is an overview of what I do for each day of my 10th grade short story unit. If you would like to see a more detailed plan, check out my “How to Teach Literary Elements in a Story in an Engaging Way” blog post.
Day #1: Whole Group Short Story Reading
We start by reading “Apollo” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as a whole class. I have students grab a highlighter and create a color-coded key. This first color will be for the plot. I review the plot diagram with them first. As I read the story, students should mark up the six elements of the plot: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. After I finish reading the story, students fill in a plot diagram.
Day #2: Literary Elements in a Story
On the second day of instruction, students will choose a second color highlighter and label this color as literary elements in their color-coded key. I review each literary element with the students. If you want to hang posters to review each element, here are the Literary Elements Posters that I created for my class. Students then work in small groups to find examples of each element by completing graphic organizers.
Day #3: Literary Analysis Paragraph
Students take out a third color highlighter and reread the story for the theme. We then discuss what goes into a theme statement and each student creates a theme sentence. This sentence serves as the topic sentence for their literary analysis paragraph. Students will work with me following a guide I have created and write their analysis paragraph on the theme. Students turn in this paragraph for a grade and feedback.
Day #4: Student Choice
Students now complete this process at a faster pace with a new story. I allow students to choose between stories to analyze on their own. The two stories I use are “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe and “The Interlopers” by Saki. Students will read the story on their own and complete a plot diagram. Students will then find examples of literary elements in the text and complete graphic organizers on each one.
Day #5: Independent Literary Analysis Writing
Today, students will read their chosen story one final time and then find examples of themes. After creating thematic statements, students will write a literary analysis paragraph. Students should refer to the feedback you provided them and edit their paragraphs before submitting. If you want more details on each part of my literary elements in a story lesson plan, check out my blog HERE! Now that I have shown you what I teach for my 10th grade short story unit, I want to show you the steps I took to create this unit.
How to Create the Short Stories Unit Plan
Step #1: Determine How Much Time You Want to Commit to this Short Story Unit
Take a look at your semester or year-long calendar and decide how much time you want to spend on your short story unit. Maybe you want to have students become comfortable with short stories so you want to commit a large chunk of time to this unit. Maybe like me you just want to review short story elements so you don’t need as much time. You will also need to consider when in the semester or year you are teaching the unit. That will help to determine how much time you need based on what the students have already done for your class.
Step #2: Choose Your Short Story Final Assessment First
After determining how long you want to spend teaching short stories, consider what you want the students to be able to do by the end of the unit. I choose to have my students write a literary analysis paragraph on the theme. Students are also expected to write lots of literary analysis paragraphs for their standardized tests so this paragraph is great practice. Since this is my first unit of the year, I am easing them into their writing and do not want to overwhelm them with this type of writing at the beginning. Once again, you need to consider when in the semester or year you are teaching this unit. If students have already written paragraphs for you, you might have them write an essay to challenge their writing. You could also have students complete a project as a break from writing if they have been writing a lot lately.
Step #3: Create a List of Standards You Want to Cover
Once you know how long you want to teach the unit and what students will complete at the end of the unit, you need to create a list of the standards students need to complete your assessment. Since students are working towards theme paragraphs, I wanted to cover the literary elements in a short story because they help students find the theme. Here again, is my list of literary elements and the standards that align with each one:
- Plot Diagram: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5
- Setting in a Story: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6
- Point of View of a Story: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6
- Conflict in the Story: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
- Characterization in a Short Story: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
- Mood and Tone: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4
- Symbols in Literature: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
- Author’s Style: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4
- Themes in Lit: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
Step #4: Find Short Stories For High School Students
Now you are ready for the fun part: finding short stories that fit your needs. The theme is my major focus so I am looking for a short story that teaches a lesson. I also want one that can demonstrate all the standards that I want to cover. I then pick a few more stories for student choice that focus on theme and literary elements. I recommend checking out this blog post: “The 3 Best Short Stories for High School”. These three English teachers provide great short story options different than my own and share ideas for how to teach them.
Step #5: Create a Teacher Model Short Story Lesson Plan
Choose your most difficult story and use that as a teacher model. Create a lesson plan that focuses on hitting all your standards. In this lesson, plan on reading the story aloud first with your students. Consider what you want your students’ purpose for reading will be. Then determine how you will teach all your standards in this story. Will you complete graphic organizers, create a collaborative document, mark up the text, or just share your examples? Think of ways to make your students do most of the work while you guide them through the correct answers.
Here are some other questions to consider for this lesson:
- How many days do your students need for the teacher model?
- Will you have them read multiple stories or just one story?
- Are you going to demonstrate how to complete the final assessment as a practice?
- Do you want guided instruction for the entire lesson or independent work time as you teach these standards?
Step #6: Give Students Choices to Show Their Learning
Students love choice so to reiterate the teacher model, it’s now time to allow students to work on their own short stories to identify and write about the standards you have chosen for your unit. Give students the option to choose among a few stories. Give students time in class to work either independently or in groups to identify the main standards you have taught in your teacher model lesson.
This is also the part of the lesson where students complete their final assessment for me. Plan in time to introduce the final assessment and give time in class for students to work on it. If you have already modeled the final assessment, you will be able to give less time for them to work in class.
Here are some questions to consider for student choice:
- Will you allow students to choose any story or one on an approved list?
- Will you assign stories to students based on their own personal needs?
- Do you want the students to work in small groups or independently?
- How will the students show their learning: graphic organizers, writing, project?
- Will the final assessment be independent or in groups?
Step #7: Plan In Edits & Revisions
It’s always important to build in a cushion for revisions and a chance to revisit any parts of the standards that students struggled with in the short story unit. Sometimes, I have classes that move at a slower pace through the teacher model lessons or need more time to work through their final assessment. Having flexibility and a little cushion of time built into your short story lesson plan will help you not to stress. I normally allow students a chance to revise their final assessment after receiving my feedback. If you think it will be too early to know about what areas your students need, check out Step #8 for how to incorporate your students’ needs related to short stories in future lessons.
Step #8: Plan Your Next Unit to Build on Your Short Story Lesson
I know that I will not have time to grade all my student’s literary analysis theme paragraphs before we move on to the next unit. For that reason, we move into a novel study as our next unit. I teach my novel study similar to my short story unit plan so that I can incorporate review lessons for any areas that students struggled with as a whole. Allowing a place for you to reiterate your standards is a great way to ensure that your students truly understand the concepts they need to know.
Adjusting the Schedule for Your Short Story Lesson
If you go to plan your short story unit and you find that you are struggling to fit everything into this unit, I have a few recommendations.
First, remember that less is always more when it comes to unit planning. Trim down any standards that you really are not teaching your students. If it feels complicated to you as you plan it, your students will definitely get lost. It’s also important to remember that you are an expert on this material so always assume it will take your students longer to understand these concepts.
Secondly, cut down on the number of texts that you use. My purpose for short stories is to review so my students are only reading two stories. One story with me as the teacher model and one on their own. If you want your students to move quickly through the material, it is easier for students to remember one or two plots and keep revisiting the same text for answers as opposed to many different stories.
Finally, look at your final assessment. Are there any parts that can be cut out or trimmed? One thing that teachers tend to do is create fun exciting projects that peak student interest but when we look at what standard students are demonstrating, there is not a clear answer. Perhaps there are parts of your final assessment that don’t really align with your standards. Maybe you can shorten the assessment while still asking for the same skills to be shown.
Check Out These Other Ways to Teach Short Stories
Follow my steps for how to build a short story lesson and unit plan and share with me how it goes. I would love to hear your ideas for how you teach short stories to your students. That’s what I love about high school English! You never have to teach the unit the same way. You get creative and choose stories and projects that fit your student’s needs.
If you are still feeling overwhelmed after reading how to plan a short story lesson and unit, don’t worry! I am here to help. Check out my Short Story Unit Plan where you can follow these steps with graphic organizers to help you. I even include a unit schedule with day-by-day lesson plans for you. Either way, your students will be so grateful that you took the time to create a fun and thrilling short story lesson for them!
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