The beauty of the short story

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Myles Eaton
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1 Objectives By the end of this unit, I will know and be able to identify the literary elements of plot, conflict, theme, and point of view in short stories. be able to explain and discuss how knowing the literary elements enhances my understanding of a story. grow my composition book entries about literary elements and short stories into a literary essay. Knowing these terms and how they work in short stories will increase your understanding and enjoyment of the stories character conflict plot exposition inciting event rising action climax falling action resolution point-of-view 1st person 3rd person structure suspense theme The beauty of the short story Short stories can take us to another world; they may introduce us to new ideas or remind us of our own lives. Ann Walters, author of Books on the Table blog, offers five strong reasons for reading short stories. 1. They re... short. When you re between books, or don t have the time to immerse yourself in your current book, it s very satisfying to read a thoughtful, well- written story. You feel like you ve accomplished something. And there are many stories you can read in 10 or 15 minutes... stories that you will be thinking about for much, much longer than that. 2. They re usually very well-written. Writers who are able to publish collections of short stories are generally well-established literary writers. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to write a good short story. Even if you scratch your head trying to figure out what the story was really about, you will appreciate the writing. 3. They re perfect for book clubs. No one can show up to your book club without having read the selection anyone can find the time to read a short story or two. 4. They are wonderful to listen to or to read aloud...short stories are ideal for car trips or walks. 5. They lend themselves to rereading. I m much more likely to reread a short story than a novel. I m often amazed by how much more I appreciate a story when I read it again.

2 Directions for our short story literature circle unit You and your group members will choose a minimum of six short stories to read over a three-week period of time. You will meet as a group to discuss your short stories twice during this unit. To take part in the discussions, you must have read, annotated, and journaled about the agreed upon stories, and you must arrive in class on the discussion day with all of your materials (textbook, Post-It Notes, journal, etc.). Step 1: Meet with your group to browse the list of short story options on the 4 th page and together choose your stories. Step 2: With your group, decide the order in which you ll read the stories and determine which stories you will discuss at the first lit circle meeting and which you will discuss at the second lit circle meeting. Let Ms. Mohit know what your first three stories will be. Step 3: Before reading, read the How to read a short story section on the next page and the Writing about reading section. Discuss the importance of these steps and suggestions with your group members. Step 4: Practice the before-reading and during-reading strategies from How to read a short story as you get started reading your first short story (and all the rest, too). Read with Post-It Notes beside you and have your composition book nearby. Step 5: Practice the after-reading strategies when you finish a short story and be sure to create your journal entries while the story is still fresh in your mind.

3 Mon Tues(3 rd ) /Wed(5 th ) Thurs Fri 2/29 3/1 or 2 3/3 3/4 Introduction to Short Story Unit Class Story: Gift of the Magi Homework: What was the turning point of the story? Begin story #1: 1st story and composition book entries/post-its Complete story #1 or begin story #2: and composition book entries/postits Continue to work on stories #2 and #3. Complete discussion sheet #1. 3/7 3/8 or 9 3/10 3/11 Literature Circle Discussion Materials needed Comp book entries/post-its Discussion sheet #1 Text Begin story #4: 4th story and composition book entries/post-its Complete story #4 or begin story #5 and composition book entries/postits Complete stories #4 and #5 or begin #6. and composition book entries/postits 3/14 3/15 or 16 3/17 3/18 No School Teacher Workday Continue to work on stories #4, #5, and #6. Complete discussion sheet #2. Literature Circle Discussion Materials needed Comp book entries Discussion sheet #2 Text Writing workshop Pre-writing Homework: Begin draft 3/21 3/22 or 23 3/24 3/25 Writing workshop Writing workshop Writing Workshop Peer revision Homework: Revise draft Homework: 2nd draft Homework: Final Draft 3/28 Final draft - Literary essay due

4 Group members: Stories selected: Class Story. The Gift of the Magi Story Options Stray by Cynthia Rylant The Homecoming by Laurence Yep Eleven by Sandra Cisneros Names/Nombres by Julia Alvarez Thank You, Ma am by Langston Hughes The All-American Slurp by Lensey Namioka Southpaw by Judith Viorst The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez The Wrong Lunch Line by Nicholasa Mohr The Amigo Brothers by Piri Thomas The Crush by Cynthia Rylant Charles by Shirley Jackson The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe Aaron s Gift by Myron Levoy The Sound of Summer Running by Ray Bradbury Rules of the Game by Amy Tan A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury The Landlady by Roald Dahl The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr

5 How to read a short story Before Look at the story s title. What might this story be about? Use and develop your background knowledge about this subject. If the title is The Lesson, (by Toni Cade Bambara) ask yourself what kind of lessons there are, what lessons you have learned, and so on. Establish a purpose for reading this story. Because my teacher told me to is one obvious purpose, but not a very useful one. Try to come up with your own question, one based perhaps on the title or an idea you recently discussed in class. How about, Why do we always have to learn the hard way? if the story is titled The Lesson? Of course, you should also be sure you know what you are expected to do and learn from this story; this will help you determine what is important while you read the story. Orient yourself. Flip through the story to see how long it is. Take a look at the opening sentences of different paragraphs, and skim through the opening paragraph; this will give you a sense of where the story is set, how difficult the language is, and how long you should need to read the story. During Identify the main characters. By main I mean those characters that make the story happen or to whom important things happen. Get to know what they are like by asking such questions as What does this character want more than anything else and why? Identify the plot or the situation. The plot is what happens. Some writers prefer to put their characters in a situation. Pay attention to the setting. Setting refers not only to where the story takes place, but also to when it happens. It also includes details like tone and mood. What does the story sound like: a sad violin playing all by itself or a whole band charging down the road? Does the story have a lonely feeling or a scary feeling, as if any minute something will happen? Consider the story s point of view. Think about why the author chose to tell the story through this person s point of view instead of a different character; why in the past instead of the present; in the first instead of the third person.

6 Pay attention to the author s use of time. Some short story writers will make ten years pass by simply beginning the next paragraph, Ten years later... Look for any words that signal time passed. Sometimes writers will also use extra space between paragraphs to signal the passing of time. Find the crucial moment. Every short story has some conflict, some tension or element of suspense in it. Eventually something has to give. This is the moment when the character or the story suddenly changes direction. A character, for example, feels or acts differently than before. Remember why you are reading this story. Go back to the question you asked when you began reading. Double- check the assignment, too. These will help you read more closely and better evaluate which details are important when you read. You might also find your original purpose is no longer a good one; what is the question you are now trying to answer as you read the story? After Read first to understand...then to analyze. When you finish the story, check to be sure you understand what happened. Ask: WHO did WHAT to WHOM? If you can answer these questions correctly, move on to the next level: WHY? Why, for example, did the character in the story lie? Return to the title. Go back to the title and think about how it relates to the story now that you have read it. What does the title refer to? Does the title have more than one possible meaning?

7 WRITING ABOUT READING Writing can help us learn from the characters in the books we read. Just as writing allows us to pause in our hurried lives and really notice and experience and reflect on things that have happened to us, so, too, writing allows us to pause in our hurried reading and really pay attention to the characters in our books. Literary essayists read with an attention directed to texts. As a reader, you want to live within your story and gather your thoughts into journal entries about it. Eventually, you ll choose your seed idea for an essay from these entries. As you read during this unit, pause to observe what is happening in the text and then develop an idea using prompts such as The thought I have about this is... and This makes me realize... As you read, it s also important to think of the story as containing an external as well as an internal storyline. This kind of thinking will lead you to discover the theme or message of the story.

Write a Short Story. Short Story Unit Overview:

Write a Short Story. Short Story Unit Overview: Write a Short Story Subject: Prep Advanced Writing Short Story Unit Overview In this unit, you will examine the craft of using language, the literary devices that authors use, and discover how these can