Writing Short Stories Teacher Resources

Do your young authors suffer from writer's block when they try to write short stories? Access their natural creativity with C-Gor, the writing monster! The instructional activity takes aspiring authors through a new writing process...

Middle schoolers read the short story "The Californian's Tale" by Mark Twain and complete related activities. They discuss vocabulary for the story and complete a vocabulary matching definition activity. They complete  writing activities...

Middle schoolers explore the theme of "The Californian's Tale" by Mark Twain. After reading Twain's short story, they identify and study its literary theme. Additionally, they analyze information and relationships in the piece, and write...

A short story is only as strong as its characters, development, and conflicts. Encourage the young authors in your class to plan their stories based on the elements of narrative writing, all provided in brainstorming graphic organizers.

Students engage in a lesson that investigates the elements that are necessary in a short story. Each element is covered separately while they take notes for each part. Then the teacher points out each element while reading a short story...

Students compare two paintings, depicting urban life in America in the 1940's, answering a series of questions, then create a short story about the paintings' characters. They compare 'Nighthawks' and 'Nightlife.'

Read, discuss, and write short stories with your primary class. They read a short story and complete worksheets for the story. They also brainstorm ideas for a class story and choose an idea to write 3 ideas and then write the story as a...

Send your pupils on a hero's journey! Individuals must compose a story that includes six key elements of the hero's journey. In order to determine the basics of the content of their stories, class members use the included grid to circle...

This online quiz is really only useful if your class has read several short stories by Hemingway, as it doesn't focus just on one. There are 12 multiple choice questions here, and they almost all relate to a different story. 

First graders will be creating and filling in a graphic organizer using Kidspiration, as a pre-writing activity for their short story piece. They then use their graphic organizers to write their entire short story. Once written, the...

TV for homework? Your pupils' dreams have come true! After reading Sandra Cisneros's "Eleven," they analyze the elements of the story, particularly the plot and and climax. The lesson could work with any short story that you are using to...

There is more going on under the surface of Ernest Hemingway's work than one can glean in an initial reading. A literature resource compares the themes and structures of several of Hemingway's works before prompting class members to use...

Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce’s short story, is used to model how structural moves, the decisions an author makes about setting, point of view, time order, etc., can be examined to reveal an author’s purpose. Groups...

A reading of Kevin Lamb's short story "Lost in the Woods" launches a study of how writers use elements such as foreshadowing, mood, character development, setting, and conflict to engage readers. Class members then demonstrate what they...

In a previous lesson not included here, class members read Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None and then wrote a persuasive letter inviting someone to an island. Young sleuths use these letters as basis for a suspenseful short...

Make the writing process a breeze for literary lovers. Scholars identify literary elements in Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. They then choose their own short story from Edgar Allan Poe and repeat the processes independently. The final...

A packet full of old-fashioned short stories could be a review activity for a reading comprehension lesson. Learners read 14 stories before answering multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank sentences, and vocabulary exercises.

Second graders discuss what antonyms are and read the book, Quick as a Cricket.  In this antonym lesson, 2nd graders write a short story by describing themselves. 

Learners write and publish a short story using KidPix computer software. They discuss the basic elements of a story, observe a demonstration of how to use KidPix, select a setting and characters, and print out their background picture to...

Write short stories in which events are presented in logical order, point of view is clear, theme and characters are developed. Middle schoolers also work on sensory language, concrete language and/or dialogue. They establish their...

Have young pumpkin carvers use technology to create a unique pumpkin face and write a short story about the special characteristics of their pumpkin.

Scholars read three texts and analyze the dialogue of the characters to find examples of humor and irony that contribute to their characterization. They then walk through the writing process to create a final essay.