We are past the first few days of getting-to-know-you activities and we read to start teaching literary elements to our students. By high school, most of our students know the elements of a short story even if they claim that they don’t! But, teaching story elements can be tedious. And, we don’t want to create a boring lesson that becomes the tone of the course. So we end up asking ourselves how to teach story elements. After trying so many literary elements lesson plan, I found that the best way is to show students exactly what you want.
Hmmm… that sounds too easy! But honestly, what better way to set the tone for the year? If you show kids exactly how you want them to interact with your lessons, they will do better. And, if you model your own thinking, they will see what a strong analyzer does. Even more, if you allow them to work with you, they learn your expectations for working in groups. So, by the time you ask them to analyze literary elements on their own, they are ready to go!
If that sounds like what you are looking for, then keep reading below to see my short story literary elements mini-unit.
Want that extra credit bonus that is going to make your life simpler? If you want to make these first weeks of the semester a breeze, then you need to snag my Short Stories Unit Plan. This print or digital resource includes a unit schedule, a short story lesson plan for each day, graphic organizers that go with any short story, and a theme analysis prompt. A section where students can collaborate to create a small group theme paragraph is even included. All you need are your short stories and your first unit is planned and ready to go!
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Teaching Literary Elements: The First 7 Days
Teaching Literary Elements Days #1-#3: “I Do” Method with “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”
So for the first unit of the year, I stick to what I know works well. Showing my students exactly what I want in the classic “I Do” Method. In case you are unfamiliar with the “I do, we do, you do” concept. You first walk students through the process modeling what you want. Then you give them a chance to work together in small groups. And they receive feedback from you as they go. Finally, they do it all on their own.
Day 1: Reading “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”
We start with the short story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This story is a great opener because the reading level is a little above most high school students. But it has an element of magic realism that carries the story. And the themes of the story are easy to identify. We first create a color-coded key and highlight the plot elements for the first reading. We spend a good deal of time understanding what is happening in the story because many students do not get it the first time. And, we even play a Kahoot immediately after reading the story to help students out.
Day 2: Finding Literary Elements in the Short Story
On the second day, we choose another color highlighter and focus on identifying literary elements in the story. I teach my students to answer my short answer literary elements prompts with cited evidence. On this day, we identify each literary element together and look for strong evidence for each one. We also work on explaining how our evidence answers the question. This is a great chance to review in-text citations and formatting as well. Don’t make citing evidence a special review lesson. Just remind students of formatting rules as you find each example.
Day 3: Teaching Literary Analysis Paragraph Writing with an Outline
Next, on the third day of the unit, we are ready to start discussing literary analysis. I like to start with a mini-lesson on analysis. And, I prefer to use the example of Cinderella because it is well-known. We discuss the theme and focus on what the story teaches us.
I then provide my students with a constructed response prompt similar to a standardized test question. We discuss how to unpack the prompt and flip it to create a topic sentence starter if needed. I then provide my students with a sentence-by-sentence outline of what goes into a literary analysis paragraph written for my class. The best part about this outline is that we do it 100% together. Students get to see my thinking live including all the mistakes and rewrites that I make as a strong reader. And it’s not just them watching me. They are first participating and providing evidence and stronger word choice. By the end of this day, students now have a strong model that they helped build that can become their reference for the rest of the semester.
If you want all these resources ready-made for you, check out my Short Stories Unit Plan. You can have all the literary elements worksheets in one easy place. Plus literary analysis prompts and guides to help you teach these concepts to your students.
Teaching Literary Elements Day #4-#5: “We Do” Method with “Dead Men’s Path”
Day 4: Small Group Literary Elements Analysis with “Dead Men’s Path”
Now that students have seen what a stronger reader and writer does with a text. It’s time to allow them to start practicing. This is where I give students the chance to work in groups. Side Note: I used to force kids into groups but unless there is a specific reason for the groups, I leave kids how they want to work.
For the “we do” method, we read the short story “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe. Students once again grab three color highlighters. They read through the story in their group and highlight the literary elements. The great part about this story is that it is short but the plot elements are not clear cut so it makes the students think. Once they have read through the story again, they will grab their second color highlighter. Students work with their team to answer nine to ten prompts about literary elements. They will go back into the story and highlight strong cited evidence for each example. And then answer each question for those prompts.
Day 5: Small Group Literary Analysis Paragraph
Once students have worked together in their group to better understand the story, they are going to write about their observations. Each group will first create a theme statement. They will then grab their third highlighter and find two pieces of evidence to support their theme. Students will then go into a “Dead Men’s Path” outline which once again helps them write their paragraph sentence by sentence. And, students will craft their literary analysis paragraph and one group member submits it. I then provide them feedback on their paragraph focusing specifically on the literary analysis.
If you want to be able to use these small group activities right away, check out my Short Stories Unit Plan. In this unit, you receive a detailed unit plan calendar for either 45-minute or 80-minute classes with links to all the resources. Plus, you have over 100 pages of resources to help you get started.
Teaching Literary Elements Day #6-#7: “You Do” Method with “The Aged Mother”
Days 6-7: Individual Literary Elements Analysis
We are in the final days of teaching literary elements. After working on literary elements and literary analysis writing as a class for the last five days. It is time to do it on their own. For their third and final short story, students read “The Aged Mother” by Matsuo Basho. Students will repeat our analysis pattern. They will spend one day reading the story and highlighting the plot. And they will spend the rest of the day answering literary elements prompt questions. Once again each prompt requires a short answer that includes a cited piece of evidence.
On the final day of teaching literary elements, my students use “The Aged Mother” Literary Analysis outline and write their literary analysis paragraph. Since this is still the first few weeks of the semester, I like to support them with the paragraph outline. As we go through the semester, I will slowly take the outline away when I believe they can do it on their own. Students have the entire class period to craft their paragraph and turn it into me. This is a test of their abilities so I do not provide any support. I want them to start gaining the confidence to know that they can do this. And, that they do not need my help. After the paragraphs are submitted, I will grade them with feedback. And, we will spend a class period working on our edits before we write another paragraph.
If you are feeling like this unit feels like a great idea but way too much work, you can still all my handouts! Just check out my Short Stories Unit Plan where you can have all the resources I mention and so many more. Just because school started, doesn’t mean you have to wait until next year to add this mini unit in! Grab your Short Stories Unit Plan now and start using it next week.
More Ideas for Short Story Unit
How to Teach Literary Elements in a Short Story in an Engaging Way
Create Your English 10 Short Story Unit in 5 Easy Steps
How to Plan Lessons for the Year: A Step-by-Step Guide for ELA Teachers
Now you have a great way to start the year off right by teaching literary elements. No more boring lectures or identification worksheets for your kiddos. All you need is a few days to show your students exactly what you want. Then give them the chance to try it out. That’s all there is to it! If you are looking for some help getting started, check out my Short Stories Unit Plan. It’s a great way to start this unit next week without any work on your end. Plus, with this bundle, you can use it over and over again for any short story in your curriculum no matter your subject matter or grade level!
If you found this blog post helpful and want more insights, check out the rest of my blog posts at www.theteacherrewrite.com and follow me on Instagram @theteacherrewrite. I focus on ELA resources, tips, and tricks to make your life easier without requiring you to rewrite your curriculum. Let me handle the hard work for you! I hope to see you there. And as always, remember to think smart, not hard. Be sure to steal all my ideas for teaching literary elements!
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