Short Story Unit Plan - Presentation Slides, Assignments, Games, and Activities
What Teachers Are Saying About This Short Story Uit Plan:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ By far one of my best TPT purchases. Use again every year and always look forward to seeing students' reactions to the stories! Especially when they write their own creepy short stories!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Presto you did it again. Another great resource. I used it in a variety of year levels with great success. Super well presented and works well every time. Thanks!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amazing Unit!! Contains all the PowerPoints, comprehension questions and engaging activities! The stories are so intriguing as well!
What Teachers This Short Story Unit Plan:
➡️ Introduction to Short Stories: This opening lesson prepares students for the unit by reviewing essential short story elements and literary terms they will need throughout the reading. Students are introduced to the plot diagram, conflict types, atmosphere, tone, point of view, foreshadowing, irony, setting, and theme through a guided presentation and a fill-in-the-blank note-taking page. The lesson also includes an interactive review game, Who Wants to Be a Literary Terms Expert, along with a quiz and detailed lesson materials to check for understanding before moving into the stories.
➡️ The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: This highly engaging short story is used to explore the dangers of blindly following traditions. The lesson includes a guided PowerPoint presentation, in-depth reading analysis questions on foreshadowing, symbolism, tension, suspense, and irony, and a symbolism assignment focused on character names, objects, and setting. Students also compare the text to a short film adaptation, explore real-world traditions through a multimedia research project, and complete a creative final newspaper project where they write as journalists living in the town of the lottery.
➡️ Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl: This surprising and darkly humorous story helps students examine dramatic irony and characterization. The lesson includes a detailed PowerPoint presentation with discussion questions, literary device notes, a plot diagram activity, reading questions with text evidence, and a video comparison. Creative extensions include writing diary entries from Mrs. Maloney’s perspective and completing a police investigation report based on events in the story.
➡️ The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe: Poe’s classic tale of guilt and madness is taught through a structured lesson that includes a comprehensive presentation on Gothic fiction, author background, and literary devices. Students read the full text, complete figurative language and vocabulary activities, answer comprehension questions, and analyze the story through creative writing tasks such as a prequel or sequel and a police report written from an officer’s perspective. Video interpretations and guided discussions support understanding throughout.
➡️ The Chaser by John Collier: This short story focuses on inference and author’s message. Students are guided through the lesson with a step-by-step presentation, make predictions based on the title, and complete post-reading analysis questions using text evidence. An inference assignment walks students through what the text says, what they know, and what they can infer, and a creative Dear Abby–style advice column allows students to apply their understanding of character motivation.
➡️ Essay Writing Resources: The unit concludes with a full literary analysis writing component. Students choose from provided essay topics and use included graphic organizers, checklists, and planning tools to write a five-paragraph essay analyzing one or more of the stories. An MLA style guide student handbook is included to support formatting and citation expectations.
Pair this with our creative short story assignments
>>> Assignments for Any Novel or Short Story
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Please note that the full text of most of the short stories are not included for copyright reasons, but can easily be found by searching the title and author online. If you need support finding a story, you can email us at prestoplans@gmail.com.
