Stray by Cynthia Rylant
Doris finds an abandoned puppy during a winter storm. She brings it inside to take care of, but her parents remind her that they can’t afford to keep a pet. Once the storm passes, her dad takes the dog to the pound. Doris is heartbroken, but surprisingly her dad returns home with the dog. It’s a heartwarming story that touches on compassion, love, and holding onto hope even in hard times
Skill Focus:
This is the first short story we read in sixth grade, and I like to focus on a few core skills that we’ll use
throughout the year.
• basic story elements
• text evidence
• literal and connotative meaning of words.
Try this free short story resource here.
Just Once by Thomas Dygard
Moose is a high school football player known for his amazing blocking skills, but his real dream is to carry the ball and score a touchdown. Moose gets his chance, but it turns out to be way harder than he expected.
Skill Focus:
For every short story we read I like to review and practice some of the skills from the previous story and build on them.
• review basic story elements
• expand vocabulary work with idioms and context
• text evidence
• how a specific sentence or paragraph contributes to the development of the theme
Check out these reading comprehension skills and more in my “Just Once” unit here.
The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher
Grab -and keep – your students’ attention with this eerie & suspenseful story. It was written as a radio play for the Orson Welles show and then appeared as an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Ronald Adams is driving alone across the country, from New York to California. He keeps seeing the same mysterious hitchhiker, no matter how far he drives, or how many states he drives through. Ronald becomes increasingly terrified and paranoid with every sighting. Your students will be shocked when Ronald calls home and realizes what’s really going on.
Skill Focus
This is the perfect way to introduce, review, or practice skills related to drama.
• story devices, specifically flashback, suspense, and foreshadowing
• compare the written, audio, and video versions by listening to the Orson Wells radio broadcast and watching The Twilight Zone episode
My “Hitchhiker” short story resource can help you do all of this.
Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes
When Roger, a teenage boy, tries to steal a purse from Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, she doesn’t call the police. Instead, she drags him home with her. She feeds him, talks to him, and treats him with kindness instead of anger.
Skill Focus
When we read this story we focus a lot on character – motivation, action, growth – but what I really love is exploring the theme of kindness in the author’s own life.
Pair this story with three other short passages:
• the poem “Wealth” by Langston Hughes
• an excerpt from his autobiography, The Big Sea
• an excerpt from the biography The Life of Langston Hughes.
I’ve included all three of these text passages in my “Thank You Ma’am” unit if you’re interested.
“The Emperor’s New Clothes” and Other Classic Folktales
This classic folktale by Hans Christian Andersen is about two con men who trick the emperor into believing they have a magical fabric that only smart and brave people can see. He hires them to make him an outfit, but no one, not even the emperor, wants to admit that they can’t see it. Everyone pretends to see the fabric until a child blurts out the truth: the emperor isn’t wearing anything at all!
Skill Focus
- Text Evidence multiple activities and formats
- Review folktale genres – fairytales, tall tales, fables, legends, and myths
- Conflict Internal vs. External
- Figurative Language
- Review theme, character traits, characterization, story elements, plot pyramid
The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida
“The Bracelet” is about Ruri, a young Japanese American girl who is sent to an internment camp with her mother and her sister during World War II. Her best friend gives her a bracelet as a goodbye gift, but Ruri loses the bracelet as soon as she arrives at the camp. Ruri’s mother helps her understand that her memories will last longer than any bracelet.
Skill Focus
This short story is perfect to pair with a nonfiction text because there is so much students may not know about Japanese American internment camps. My short story resource “The Bracelet” includes an original five-page nonfiction article with activities to help your students explore this part of history.
- Citing Text Evidence Writing Activity with the ACE Method
- Annotating Historical Fiction for Facts
- Informational Text Analysis – Pairing Nonfiction With Historical Fiction
- Point of View (including first person, third person, etc. plus characters’ perspectives)
- Genres of Fiction
- Character Traits
Take a look at these activities and more for the short story “The Bracelet” here.
The Gold Cadillac by Mildred D. Taylor
A story about an African-American family living in Ohio in the 1950s. When the dad brings home a new gold Cadillac, his two daughters are thrilled, but their mom isn’t happy about the expensive purchase. The real trouble starts when the family decides to drive the car to Mississippi to visit relatives. Along the way, they face the harsh realities of racism, from angry stares to unfair treatment and even scary run-ins with the law.
Skill Focus
This short story is perfect to pair with a nonfiction text because there is so much students may not know about Japanese American internment camps. My short story resource “The Bracelet” includes an original five-page nonfiction article with activities to help your students explore this part of history.
- Text Evidence Questions – ACE Method
- Mood and Tone
- Dynamic/Static Characters
- Character’s Point of View
- Informational Text Analysis
Put all of these skills together with “The Gold Cadillac” short story resource.
