Short Story Unit
Holt Elements of Literature: Third Course (Purple/9th Grade Edition)
Thompson’s Ninth-grade English
For the next couple weeks, you
will be studying the elements of the short story. You are going to do this by
reading a bunch of short stories and completing a series of activities and assignments
that will require you to consider the effective elements of each work of short
fiction. Each day’s assignments are listed below. There are quizzes for
each of these stories, and you should read each one assuming that you will
have to take a quiz on it. Keep notes on the literary elements and vocabulary
words discussed in each story. At the end of this unit, you will be writing
a short story of your own, and I will expect you to be able to employ the elements
of good short fiction in that piece of writing. Enjoy the stories!
“The
Lady or the Tiger?”
by Frank R. Stockton
Literary Elements: Ambiguity, Verbal Irony, Inference, Motivation
- Read the article entitled “Irony and Ambiguity”on pages 284-285.
- Study page 297, including the vocabulary words.
- Read the story (pp. 298-304).
- Orally respond to questions 1-10 on page 305.
- On a separate paper, write the title of the story as a heading, and write
a one-paragraph response to the prompt under the heading "Your Verdict.".
Your paragraph should not only be very legible, but it should have a clear
topic sentence that answers the question, plenty of supporting details, and
a conclusion statement.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
“The
Most Dangerous Game”
by Richard Connell
Literary Elements: Plot (conflict, exposition, complication, climax, resolution),
Flashback, Flash-forward, Foreshadowing
- Read the article entitled "Plot" on pages 2-3.
- Complete the activity described under the heading "Practice" on
page 3.
- Study page 4, including the vocabulary words.
- Read the story (pp. 5-22).
- On the same paper you used for the "Practice" activity, write
responses to questions 1, 3, and 5 on page 24.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
"Thank
You, M'am"
by Langston
Hughes
Literary Elements: Characterization, Dialogue
- Read the article entitled "Character" on pages 84-85.
- Study page 86.
- Read the story (pp. 87-90) and the dramatic monologue "Mother to Son"
(page 92).
- Orally respond to questions 3, 4, 5, and 7 on page 94.
- Respond in writing to questions 1 and 2 on page 94.
- On the same paper, complete the assignment under the heading "A Letter
from Roger" on page 94.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
"Helen
on Eighty-Sixth Street" by Wendi Kaufman
Literary Elements: Point of View (first-person narrative), Character, Allusions
- Study page 104, including the vocabulary words
- Read the story (pages 105-112).
- Orally respond to questions 1-8 on page 114.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
"The
Interlopers" by Saki
Literary Elements: Omniscient Narrator, Surprise Ending (Irony), Tone
- Read the article entitled "Narrator and Voice" on pages 148-149.
- Study page 150, including the vocabulary words.
- Read the story (pp. 151-155).
- Orally respond to questions 3-6 on page 157.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
Although the unit is not yet complete, I am providing the instructions for the
final assignment here so that you can be thinking about it as we read the rest
of the stories. You may even decide to start drafting your own story now (hint,
hint!) so that you have more time to develop it.
Final Assignment: Write a story of no more than 1000 words which
contains a well-structured plot, believable, fully-described characters (at least
one of whom is dynamic or "round"), some form of symbolism, and a clearly
developed theme. This doesn’t mean you have to beat your readers over the
head with symbols or come right out and announce the theme; these things should
be obvious if the story is told well. Follow the steps on pages 132-139
of the textbook to complete your short story.
: “The
Necklace” by Guy de
Maupassant
Literary Elements: Point of View (Third-person-limited), Irony, Inference,
and Theme
- Study page 159, including the vocabulary words.
- Read the story (pp. 160-168). Pay careful attention to story details!
- Respond in writing to questions 1, 2, 3, and 6 on page 170.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
"The
Sniper" by Liam
O'Flaherty
Literary Elements: Theme and Conflict
- Read the article entitled "Theme" on pages 208-209.
- Complete the activity described
under the heading "Practice" on page 209.
- Study page 211, including the
vocabulary words.
- Read the story (pp.212-215).
- On the same paper you used for
the "Practice" activity, answer questions 1-9 on page 217.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes
as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst
Literary Elements: Sensory Details, Symbolism, and Theme
- Read the article entitled "Symbolism and Allegory" on pages 340-341.
- Complete the activity described under the heading "Practice" on
page 341.
- Study page 342, including the vocabulary words.
- (Get out your handkerchiefs.) Read the story (pp. 343-354).
- Orally respond to questions 1-5 on page 356.
- On the same paper you used for the "Practice" activity, answer
questions 6-9 on page 356.
- Write a paragraph in which you state the theme of the story and then prove
it’s the theme by giving examples, quotes, and references to the story.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
Literary Elements: Style, Mood, Imagery and Description, Cause and Effect,
Theme
- Read the article entitled "Evaluating Style" on pages 496-497.
- Complete the activity described
under the heading "Practice" on page 497.
- Study page 498, including the
vocabulary words.
- Read the story (pp.499-509).
- On the same paper you used for
the "Practice" activity, answer questions 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and
9 on page 514.
- Complete worksheets and/or quizzes
as assigned.
- Turn in written work.
Final Test
You will take a test dealing with the elements of short fiction as they appeared
in the stories we studied during this unit. It will also include some randomly
chosen vocabulary words from the stories. Study your notes on the literary elements
and vocabulary words!
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Last update: 01/02/2005 *<%^)