Short Stories Unit Plan

Overview: This 7-week unit will have students learn about short stories and the literary
devices/elements that are used in order to create them. Through analysis of various short
stories, students will examine and distinguish the usages of these devices, then apply these
techniques in their own writing. Descriptive writing and transition sentences will also be covered
to further develop student writing and authorship skills. The unit will culminate with students
writing their own short stories using the knowledge that they have built throughout the unit. The
writing process will be scaffolded through mini-workshops and peer editing sessions to practice
effective writing habits and drafting skills.

Big Ideas:
★ Short stories as a unique genre with distinct features;
★ Story writing as a means for creative expression

Overall Expectations:
Oral Communication
1. listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a
variety of purposes;
Reading
1. read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational
texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning;
2. recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate
understanding of how they help communicate meaning;
3. use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently;
4. reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies
they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.
Writing
1. generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and
audience;
2. draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and
stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;
3. use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language
conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively;
4. reflect on and identify their strengths as writers, areas for improvement.

Unit Overview & Lessons Overview

Week 1: Intro to short stories and Literary Devices

● Lesson 1: Introduction to Short Stories [1 class]
○ What do we already know about short stories?
○ How are they similar and different from novels?
● Lesson 2: Literary Devices (Metaphor, Simile, Personification, Foreshadowing) [2
classes]
 ○ Prediction-making
○ Inferences
● Lesson 3: Literary Devices (Point of view) [1 class]
○ 1st, 3rd POV specifically

Week 2: Literary Elements

● Lesson 4: Literary Elements (Plot, Setting, Characters; definitions) [3 classes]
○ Graphic organizers for character profiles, setting, plot chart)
○ Analysis through various short stories (check comprehension with questions, but
also examining the elements
● Lesson 5: Literary Elements (Conflict, Theme/Topic) [2 classes]
○ Analysis of stories, inferring topic/theme from reading

Week 3: Recap and Synthesis

● Finish up and practice of the concepts seen in class with various stories [2 classes]
○ Kahoot: https://create.kahoot.it/share/literary-devices-and-elements/685b5159-
134e-4572-86ee-9f889d790fa7
● Quiz: Literary Devices and Elements

[January]

Week 4: Recap and Descriptive Language and Transitions

● Review and re-hashing topics covered in December [1 class]
● Lesson 6: Descriptive language [4 classes]
○ Day 1: What is descriptive writing?
○ Day 2/3: How to write descriptive pieces
■ Drawing setting by using a particularly descriptive piece of writing, start
writing your own
○ Day 4: Finish writing your own descriptive scene, then having a partner draw it
out afterwards (descriptive writing is graded)

Week 5: Writing Short Stories

● Lesson 7: Character Creation Workshop [1 class]
○ Thinking about our own stories, students will be walked through the process of
creating a compelling main character, someone who is believable and real.
○ Will be submitted for completion
● Lesson 8: How to outline a plot [1 class]
○ Students will be walked through creating a plot diagram to outline their short
stories
○ Will be submitted for completion
● Start writing stories for the rest of the week, check-ins (one-on-one) on Friday/Monday
with teacher to provide feedback
○ Formative assessment
○ Checklist for what to have by the one-on-ones
Week 6: Finalizing short stories
● Students will finish writing and polishing their final pieces
● Peer editing session
● Final polished piece due by Friday, but allow until Monday

Literary Devices and Elements Quiz:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/
1vSO9r6W8GxNZiUg94wWtJy66ZNt5bKsQLvaHqgFXVfw/edit?usp=sharing

Descriptive Writing Assignment:

Summative Assessment: Writing a Short Story

Students will write their own short story using the tools and techniques they’ve learned over the
last few weeks. They will have 2 weeks to complete the polished product.

Rubric
https://docs.google.com/document/d/115F_VTo9T0FlVXRlHgI1FbMov7g-
cpopAu4o7PiQvCw/edit?usp=sharing

Lessons

Lesson 1: Intro to Short Stories

Big Ideas:
● Short stories have different features than novels
● Shorts stories as a unique genre with their own stylistic elements

Specific Curriculum Expectations:

● 2.4 identify various elements of style – including foreshadowing, metaphor, and

symbolism – and explain how they help communicate meaning and enhance the
effectiveness of texts

Learning Goals:
● Students will be able to distinguish the different features of a short story;
● Students will be able to organize the features of a short story and novel using a
comparative organizer.

Prior Knowledge:
● Students have read novels and short stories in past years.

Required Materials:
 ● Powerpoint:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hpw7VOQyE0SlhGU6NIMuDt1NxuGjDQ6qi51NTNf
Mi_A/edit?usp=sharing
● Venn diagram organizer
● Short story portfolio
● Projector
● Chromebook

Main Activity/Lesson:
● Distribute duotangs to each student. These will be their Short Story Portfolios for the
coming unit. Have them label them as such.
● Hand out Venn diagram organizers to each student and put them into the duotang.
● Discuss that the upcoming unit will be short stories:
○ “What do we know about short stories already?”
○ “How are short stories different from novels?”
● Share the powerpoint and have students take notes in their Venn diagram

Post-Teaching Reflection:

Additional Feedback from AT:

Lesson 2: Literary Devices (Metaphor, Simile, Personification, Foreshadowing)

Big Ideas:
● Figurative Language is used in texts to enhance the reading experience and emphasizes
points of importance.
● Personification is a method of making writing more engaging, adding a layer of depth
and dimension to inanimate objects.
● Foreshadowing is a technique used to have readers anticipate what is to come in a
story, and to build suspense.

Specific Curriculum Expectations:

 ● 1.1 read a wide variety of increasingly complex or difficult texts from diverse cultures,
including literary texts;
● 1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately
before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts;
● 1.7 analyse a variety of texts, both simple and complex, and explain how the different
elements in them contribute to meaning and influence the reader’s reaction;
● 2.3 regularly use vivid and/or figurative language and innovative expressions in their
writing;
● 2.4 identify various elements of style – including foreshadowing, metaphor, and
symbolism – and explain how they help communicate meaning and enhance the
effectiveness of texts.

Learning Goals:
● Students will be able to define and distinguish metaphors and similes from each other;
● Students will be able to identify metaphors and similes in texts they read;
● Students will be able to describe the purpose of similes and metaphors used in texts.
● Students will be able to define personification and foreshadowing;
● Students will be able to use personification in their own writing;
● Students will be able to identify foreshadowing and predict what is to come in a story.

Prior Knowledge:
● Students have likely seen similes and metaphors in past classes and in the books the
read, and have been introduced to the genre of short stories

Required Materials:
● Powerpoint:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dBe4Sz1d8IiE2c61Zuc2QUYW2_aF9ci9rlJCTlE
FVUw/edit?usp=sharing
● Literary devices: simile and metaphor worksheet
● Short story portfolios
● Copies of “A hockey sweater”
● Glossary of terms sheet
● Copies of “After 20 years”
● Foreshadowing worksheet

Main Activity/Lesson:
● Day 1: What are metaphors and similes?
○ Give students glossary of terms to start marking down definitions
○ Start the powerpoint and walk through the definitions of each with examples
○ Hand out “A hockey sweater” (short story): do a read-aloud
○ Have students go through the text afterwards and highlight/underline different
examples of figurative language found in the story
○ On their worksheets, students will choose 1 simile and 1 metaphor that they
found, then explain their significance in the story.
● Day 2/3 [if needed]: Personification and Foreshadowing
 ○ Start by reading “After 20 years” as a class read aloud, then analyze what sorts
of foreshadowing could be found in the story to indicate what is to come.
○ Students will indicate 2 instances of foreshadowing that they examined on their
worksheets
○ This will be followed up by speaking about personification and spotting examples,
plus a writing activity where students will write about their morning routine while
incorporating personification into their writing.
■ This will be considered an exit ticket.

Post-Teaching Reflection:

Additional Feedback from AT:

Lesson 3: Literary Devices (Point of view)

Big Ideas:
● Stories can be told from different points of view in order to achieve different effects
● Telling a story from a different point of view can change the reader’s opinion of the
characters, plot, and story.

Specific Curriculum Expectations:

Learning Goals:
● Students will be able to define each type of point of view, including limited and
omniscient for the 3rd person point of view
● Students will be able to identify which point of view is being used in a text or story
● Students will be able to write in a particular point of view
● Students will be able to switch from one point of view to another

Prior Knowledge:
● Students have learned point of view last year and have discussed it in past classes.
Required Materials:
● Literary Devices Powerpoint
● Chromebook
● Fairy Tales list
● POV Rewrite Worksheet

Main Activity/Lesson:
● Start by defining and discussing what are the different points of view, and their usages.
● Students will then brainstorm and discuss what point of view their favourite
stories/movies are in
● Finally, students will choose a fairy tale (either from the list given or another they like)
and choose one passage. They must identify what point of view it is being written from,
then pick an alternate point of view and rewrite the passage from the new point of view.
○ This will be submitted on the Google classroom

Post-Teaching Reflection:

Additional Feedback from AT:

Lesson 4: Literary Elements (Plot, Setting, Characters)

Big Ideas:
● Plot is the backbone of a story and outlines the events in a logical sequence
○ Plots will vary in complexity depending on the type of story
● Setting is the when and the where of a story
● Characters are the entities that exist in a story, the quantity will vary depending on the
nature of the story
○ Short stories will likely have less characters and focus on a couple main
characters

Specific Curriculum Expectations:

 ●

Learning Goals:
● Students will be able to define characters, setting, and plot
● Students will be able to identify key features of each in the context of short stories;
● Students will be able to identify setting, characters, and plots in stories they read.

Prior Knowledge:
● Students have read a couple short stories and have been exposed to these topics in
past lessons informally, and have learned about this in past years.

Required Materials:
● Short Story Portfolios
● Literary Elements Powerpoint
● Chromebook
● Projector
● Miss Brill Short Story copies
● The Test Short Story copies
● Copies of the plot diagram
● Character analysis graphic organizer copies

Main Activity/Lesson:

● Day 1: Setting:
○ Lead with definition of setting and types in the Literary Elements powerpoint
○ Activity will be done through a drama lesson: creating tableau in groups of 3 or 4
of various scenes from popular movies/shows, or stories/fairy tales in 3 frames
(screenshot-style). Students will get time to prepare their 3 shots, then present
them to each other in the class. The rest of the class will try guessing the scene.

● Day 2: Plot:
○ Continuing the powerpoint Literary Elements, examining plot elements and their
uses. Talk about specifically in short stories, the simpler plot format\
○ Read through The Test together as a read-aloud in class. Discuss the story
afterwards to check comprehension, then have students pair up and fill out the
plot graphic organizer together.
○ Finally share the plot diagrams to make sure everyone is on the same page.

● Day 3: Characters:
○ Powerpoint continued: What is a character?
■ What is a protagonist? An antagonist?
■ Major versus minor characters
■ How is a character developed
 ○ Analysis of the short story: The Moose and the Sparrow
■ Read-aloud
○ Analyzing the two characters: Moose and Cecil, compare and contrast
○ Share together at the end of class to see what everyone has come up with.

Post-Teaching Reflection:

Additional Feedback from AT:

Lesson 5: Literary Elements (Conflict, Theme/Topic)

Big Ideas:
● Different stories will have different types of conflict between both animate and inanimate
entities
● Short stories can have one or two underlying themes that guide the plot to tell a
meaningful story.
● Topic is what the story is about, whereas theme is the author’s message on a topic.

Specific Curriculum Expectations:

Learning Goals:
● Students will be able to distinguish between topic and theme;
● Students will be able to identify the theme and topic in various stories.

Prior Knowledge:
● Students have visited themes in past years, and have learned about other literary
elements.
● Students have also read various short stories required for the activity.
Required Materials:
● Topic and theme worksheet
● Literary elements powerpoint
● Pixar shorts
● Short story portfolios

Main Activity/Lesson:
● Go over the definitions for topic and theme using the Literary Elements powerpoint
● Students will complete the topic and theme worksheet:
○ Identifying theme and topic in one of the short stories we read so far: After 20
years, The Test, The Hockey Sweater, The Moose and the Sparrow.
○ Afterwards, watch one Pixar Short and identify theme and topic.

Post-Teaching Reflection:

Additional Feedback from AT:

Lesson 6: Descriptive language

Big Ideas:
● Descriptive language utilizes imagery by drawing on the five senses using vivid sensory
language;
● Figurative language is utilized to make writing more descriptive (such as simile,
metaphor, personification);
● Precise language is a quality of descriptive language (specific adjectives, strong verbs);
● Good descriptive language is organized in a logical manner;
● Descriptive language engages readers in the text and enriches the passage.

Specific Curriculum Expectations:

●
Learning Goals:
● Students will learn about descriptive writing and the various techniques used in order to
achieve such a style (such as imagery)
● Students will write descriptively through a variety of writing activities.

Prior Knowledge:
● Students have learned descriptive writing in October and have practiced in a haunted
house writing activity
● Students have also already learned some figurative language such as metaphor and
simile.

Required Materials:
● Descriptive writing powerpoint
● Descriptive writing checklist
● Descriptive writing sample
● Descriptive writing prompts

Main Activity/Lesson:

Post-Teaching Reflection:

Additional Feedback from AT:

Lesson 7: Character Creation Workshop

Big Ideas:
● Creating a compelling character requires planning and an analysis of their purpose in
your story;
●
 Specific Curriculum Expectations:

Learning Goals:
●

Prior Knowledge:
●

Required Materials:
●

Main Activity/Lesson:

Post-Teaching Reflection:

Additional Feedback from AT:

Lesson 9: How to Outline a Plot

Big Ideas:
● Short stories have a simple plot structure with a clear beginning, climax, and resolution;
● Planning our plot is not always linear, but outlining it will organize our thoughts;
● Laying out the groundwork

Specific Curriculum Expectations:

Learning Goals:
 ● Students will be able to write out their own plot outlines to begin the planning stages of
their short story writing;
● Students will be able to identify the main plot points of their short story (exposition, rising
action, climax, falling action, conclusion)
● Students will be able to synthesize their ideas and plans to fit the format of a short story

Prior Knowledge:
● Students have previously read many different short stories, and have also been reading
various novels for monthly book reports
● Students have learned the key elements of a plot of the purpose of each section.

Required Materials:
● Plot diagram slide show (1 copy made for each student)
● Plot diagram
● Computers

Main Activity/Lesson:
● Students will be walked through the process of outlining their own plots for their short
stories.
● Share the slideshow with the class through Google Classroom so that each student can
have their own copy to work on
●

Post-Teaching Reflection:

Additional Feedback from AT: