Lesson Plans: The Best Short Stories for High School

Supplementing our Best Short Stories for High School compilation, we have created lesson plans for all sixteen stories. Here’s the lineup:

The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
The Murder by John Steinbeck
Guests of the Nation by Frank O’Connor
The Little Room by Madeline Yale Wynne
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed by Ray Bradbury
The Storm by McKnight Malmar
Sorry, Wrong Number by Lucille Fletcher
Click-Clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman
The Landlady by Roald Dahl
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut
A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
Catching Cold by Neal Shusterman
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Examination Day by Henry Slesar

189 pages of material available at Teachers Pay Teachers.

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Short Story Intro

Each of our lesson plans begins with a short intro page giving a brief review of the story and its publication history: when it was first published and where.

In Context

Brief background is provided for certain concepts that students may be unfamiliar with. Enough to encourage class discussion, but not enough to be distracting to the story itself.

In these lessons we explore how prisoners were hung during the civil war, the history of unreliable narrators, ponder the legal concept of coverture, consider the butterfly effect, look at the history of ice cream trucks, and learn about the legacy of Southern Gothic literature.

Stories in Conversation

Stories do not exist in a vacuum. Our lesson plans try to connect the dots between the story itself and other stories, movies, and media that came before and after.

In these lessons we draw connections between a wide range of stories, songs and movies from Bruce Springsteen to Stephen King to The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. We consider the history of dystopian literature, Christmas stories, and how many stories have been adapted for television and radio.

Interrogating Characters

Interrogating Characters presents students with a way to engage with specific characters in the story. We select characters other than the main character or narrator so that students can ponder other points of view.

In these lessons we interrogate an old man with a vulture eye, an adulterous cousin, a slave-owner who attempts to blow up a Union bridge, a young boy exploring abandoned Martian cities, an assassin for hire, an unsuspecting boyfriend, and a husband who just might be a murderer.

Missing in Action

Every story has gaps or missing points of view. In Missing in Action, we ask students to consider those neglected viewpoints in order to gain a better understanding of what the author has left out.

In these lessons we ponder why the Martians died out thousands of years ago, whether or not an escaped convict is as horrible as he seems, question why a Union scout sets up a civilian to be caught and hanged, consider a rebellious ballerina who takes a courageous stand, step inside the mind of dinosaur, and wonder about a sea captain who once had his hand refused in marriage.

Analyzing Language

Analyzing Language provides 6 questions that look specifically at the language the author has used and asks students to consider those choices to better understand the story.

Activity

Each lesson plan has one Activity. Some are solo projects, others are done with partners or in groups. Activities engage students with the text in ways that are analytical but not based on essay responses.

In these lessons we debate just what a good man really is, ask why time seems to speed up and slow down depending on what you’re doing at the moment, craft our own time safari, create a 20-flavor ice cream truck menu, select the perfect Christmas gits, consider what kind of romantic relationship codes of conduct are still acceptable and examine whether or not we would execute prisoner of war.

Launchpad

Launchpad asks students to write their own stories using the story selection as a starting point. Usually this is a continuation of the tale that asks students to use their imaginations.

In these lessons we contemplate the fate of a woman who has rushed into a terrible storm, craft letters to the mother of a POW we executed, follow a grief-stricken father as he investigates his son’s disappearance, consider how a single act of rebellion can reshape society, and imagine ourselves in the stands of a horrific murder trial.