Short Story Unit: Student bundle

Name: _______________________________

Tic Tac Toe Question Prompts

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Directions: Pick any row, column, or diagonal set of questions. For each of the 3 boxes, finish the question and answer it. The answer will be what you write on your paper.

Why did…?

What would happen if…?

What should (character name) have done/do…?

What literary element…?

Explain why…?

How did…? What does…?

How would the reader know…?

What literary element…?

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Reading Check Questions“The Lady of the Tiger” Questions:

1. For what purpose did the king use his arena?2. How was a subject’s guilt determined?3. Why was the young courtier thrown into prison?4. How did the princess learn the secret of the doors?5. What is unique about this plot?6. What is ironic about this system of determining who is innocent and guilty?

“The Most Dangerous Game” Questions:1. What is the name of Zaroff’s island?2. What animal does Zaroff believe to be the most dangerous game?3. What is the first trap Rainsford plans for Zaroff?4. How does Rainsford escape from Zaroff and the hounds?5. What is unique about the ending?6. Why does the author use spaces in between parts of the text?7. What is ironic about the title?8. Where is the climax of the story? Find one line that represents the highest moment of

the story (the climax).

“The Cask of Amontillado” Questions:1. Why are there no attendants at the narrator’s palazzo?2. Where does Montresor lead Fortunato?3. What is ironic about what Fortunado says on page 97: “Enough, the cough is a mere

nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.”4. Why is Fortunato unable to resist when Montresor chains him to the granite wall?5. What literary element is Poe using when Montresor pulls out the trowel?6. What tone does Poe create in his story?

“The Lottery” Questions:1. When you think of a “lottery” what do you usually think of?2. What are the children, and eventually the men, collecting at the beginning of the story?3. Who is in charge of the lottery and the box?4. Describe the box.5. Who shows up late to the lottery? How could this foreshadow the end of the story?6. Who picks for the family if the father isn’t present?7. What does it mean at the end when it says, “…and then they were upon her”?8. What is ironic about the title of this story?

“The Veldt” Questions:1. What is the setting of this story?2. In what ways are the Hadley’s the typical American family? Give examples!3. How does the nursery work?4. Indentify 2 external conflicts. Identify at least 1 internal conflict.5. What is important about the change of program in the nursery from innocent fairy tales

to the appearance of lions?6. What are the lions off in the distance doing in the nursery?7. What significant object(s) does George find in the nursery?8. Name 3 foreshadows.9. Who are the “adults” in this story? Who are the “children”?

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Literary Terms To Know

Plot

Characterization

Setting

Theme

Point of View

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Conflict

Symbol

Irony

Protagonist

Antagonist

Imagery

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Figurative Language

Simile

Metaphor

Personification

Flashback

Tone

Foreshadow

Suspense

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Title: “The Lady or the Tiger”

Author: Frank R. Stockton

Setting

Conflict:

Plot: Exposition:

Rising Action:-

-

-

Climax:

Falling Action:

-

-

Resolution:

Irony:

Theme:

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Title: “The Most Dangerous Game”

Author: Richard Connell

Setting

Characters: Protagonist:Characteristics of Protagonist:

Antagonist:Characteristics of Antagonist:

Conflict:

Plot Traps:

1 –

2 –

3 –

4 –

Foreshadow

Suspense

Theme:

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Title: “The Cask of Amontillado”

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

Setting:

Characters: Antagonist:

Others:

Conflict:

Plot: E: CLIMAX:

RA: FA:

R:

Point of View:

Tone:Proof:

Imagery:

Irony:

Figurative Language:

____________________Foreshadow:

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Title: “The Lottery”

Author: Shirley Jackson

Setting:

Characters: Protagonist:

Others:

Conflict:

Plot: E: CLIMAX:

RA: FA:

R:

Point of View:

Tone:Proof:

Symbol:

Irony:

Flashback:

Foreshadow:

Theme:

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Title: “The Veldt” from the novel, Illustrated Man

Author: Ray Bradbury

Setting:

Characters: Protagonist:

Antagonist:

Conflict:

Climax:

Point of View:

Foreshadow:

Flashback:

Simile/Metaphor/Personification:

Symbols:

Irony:

Theme:

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“The Cask of Amontillado” Vocabulary Half-Sheet HelpCut the worksheet below at halfway. Distribute the vocabulary to the students the night of this reading assignment for help. I do not give my students the assignment of memorizing the words. They seem to pick up on them just fine when we discuss the story.

Vocab from “Cask of Amontillado”

Amontillado – a kind of wineConnoisseur – a person who knows a lot about the differences in the taste of wineImmolation – sacrificeMotley – being dressed in a jester (clown) outfitPalazzo – fancy houseFlambeaux – lit torchCatacombs – underground cemeteryEndeavor – attempt to do somethingIgnoramus – ignorant personNiche – a recess (carved out space) in wall

Vocab from “Cask of Amontillado”

Amontillado – a kind of wineConnoisseur – a person who knows a lot about the differences in the taste of wineImmolation – sacrificeMotley – being dressed in a jester (clown) outfitPalazzo – fancy houseFlambeaux – lit torchCatacombs – underground cemeteryEndeavor – attempt to do somethingIgnoramus – ignorant personNiche – a recess (carved out space) in wall

Teacher Guide Packet

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Short Story Unit

How to Derive a Theme

1. What is the story/poem about? Put into one or two words.

2. What point is the author trying to make using this story/poem?

Format:

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(Answer from #1) ________________ :

(Answer from #2) _________________

“The Lady or the Tiger?” Writing Assignment

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Name: __________________________________________________________ Date: _________Short Story Unit“The Lady or the Tiger?” Writing Piece

As you know, we were left hanging at the climax. Does he open the door to the tiger or the lady? What happens after that?

Directions: Write the ending to this short story. 3 page minimum (on the front sides; double spaced)

Typed or neatly handwritten final copy.

Begin you story with the following paragraph (pg. 36):

“He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right and opened it.”

You MUST have either the tiger or the lady come out of the opened door, AND the appropriate scene must follow (be eaten or married).

Explain what happens to the following characters and how they feel after the door opens:

The King The Princess The young man The lady behind the door

You MUST actually have an ending – no leaving the reader hanging!

Be descriptive! Be sure to use story-like language. Don’t write this like an essay.

Follow the writing process.

Turn in pre-write, rough draft with revision and edit, and final copy.

Due Date: _______________________________________________

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“The Lady or the Tiger” Creative Writing AssignmentGrading Rubric

Excellent Getting There Whoa, needs work!

Evidence of Writing Process

+ /30

The student has demonstrated that he/she understood and utilized the writing process. There is evidence of a pre-write that is detailed, a rough draft that demonstrates a complete revision and edit, and a neat final copy. Essentially the student has made use of the process to make a well-written story.

The student has incorporated all parts of the writing process in his/her project, but has not utilized them to their fullest. This student demonstrates that he/she understands the process, but not how it can create a well-written work. In this case, the pre-write might be skimpy in that it doesn’t include detail, and/or the rough draft, revision, and edit stages have not been utilized for making the story clearer.

The student has not incorporated all parts of the writing process in the final project. It is also possible that the student has turned in paperwork, but that it doesn’t represent a true pre-write or rough draft with revision and editing. The final copy may then reflect the student’s lack in utilizing the writing process for a well-written story.

Content of story

+ /45

The student has gone above and beyond with a creative story and ending. He/she has stayed true to the original story Stockton has written, picking either life or death for the man. The story also includes information about how the princess, the king, the man, and the lady feel.

The content of the story may be interesting, but lacks a true ending, consistency with the original story, and/or following directions to pick either life or death for the man. The story may or may not include information about how the princess, the king, the man, and the lady feel.

The content of the story lacks interest due to an incomplete ending, inconsistency with the original story, and/or not following directions in picking either life or death for the man. The story may or may not include information about how the princess, the king, the man, and the lady feel.

Detail

+ /25

The student’s story has incorporated detail as a means of explaining exactly what happens in the story. The detail, vocabulary used, and/or description and story-like language is a cut above giving an almost animated, quality to the story. Just superb!

The student’s story has incorporated some detail as a means of explaining exactly what happens in the story, but may need a bit more to make certain parts of the story more clear. A lack of story-like language could also be making the story unclear to the reader.

The student’s story has very little detail and story-like language as a means of explaining exactly what happens in the story. The student needs to consider how he/she will communicate the suspense in the story through his/her words.

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Climax:

Falling Action:

Resolution:

Pre-Write

“The Most Dangerous Game” M&M Notes Activity

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M&M Literary Elements: “The Most Dangerous Game”

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M&M Literary Elements:

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

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Red ______________________________________

Yellow ______________________________________

Green ______________________________________

Blue ______________________________________

Orange ______________________________________

Brown ______________________________________

“The Veldt” Paragraph Writing Assignment

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Name: _______________________________________________________ Block: __________________Short Story Unit“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury

Directions: In a well-written paragraph analyze the story, “The Veldt,” according to its literary elements. In your paragraph, be sure to do the following:

o Begin with a topic sentence or intro sentenceo State the title and authoro Explain 3 literary elementso Give examples for each elemento End with a wrap up sentence or conclusive sentence (How does

everything connect back to the topic sentence?)o Put a heading at the top.

Example:** You may not use the literary elements in the example (setting, characters, or point of view). Check page 14 in your packet to see elements that are in the story.

The short story, “The Veldt,” by Ray Bradbury, is an

interesting read because of the many literary elements. For

example, Bradbury uses setting, characters, and point of view.

The setting of the story takes place in the future. What is

interesting is that Bradbury wrote the story in the 1950s, so the

future was supposed to be the year 2000. The setting is important

to the story, otherwise we wouldn’t have a mechanical nursery that

children change with their own thoughts. In addition, there are

characters in the story. George Hadley is the protagonist as he

struggles to understand why the nursery is stuck on the veldt

scenery. Other characters include the children who seem slightly

evil. These characters become important to a major conflict at

the end of the story. The reader will also notice that the author

uses point of view in his short story. The point of view is 3rd

person because there is an outside voice as the narrator. Ray

Bradbury, author of “The Veldt,” creates an interesting and

suspenseful story using the literary elements of setting,

characters, and point of view.

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Topic or intro sentence

Wrap up or conclusive sentence. I got my ideas from the first two sentences. I completely re-worded the first two sentences to create a new sentence. I also added a new idea, mentioning that the literary elements create suspense.

First literary elements

Several sentences of information about first literary element.

I used transition words and phrases to move between by three different literary elements.

Literary Terms Quiz

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“An Arrest” Review Game

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“An Arrest” By Ambrose Bierce

Having murdered his brother-in-law, Orrin Brower of Kentucky was a fugitive from justice. From the county jail where he had been confined to await his trial he had escaped by knocking down his jailer with an iron bar, robbing him of his keys and, opening the outer door, walking out into the night. The jailer being unarmed, Brower got no weapon with which to defend his recovered liberty. As soon as he was out of the town he had the folly to enter a forest; this was many years ago, when that region was wilder than it is now.

The night was pretty dark, with neither moon nor stars visible, and as Brower had never dwelt thereabout, and knew nothing of the lay of the land, he was, naturally, not long in losing himself. He could not have said if he were getting farther away from the town or going back to it—a most important matter to Orrin Brower. He knew that in either case a posse of citizens with a pack of bloodhounds would soon be on his track and his chance of escape was very slender; but he did not wish to assist in his own pursuit. Even an added hour of freedom was worth having.

Suddenly he emerged from the forest into an old road, and there before him saw, indistinctly, the figure of a man, motionless in the gloom. It was too late to retreat: the fugitive felt that at the first movement back toward the wood he would be, as he afterward explained, “filled with buckshot.” So the two stood there like trees, Brower nearly suffocated by the activity of his own heart; the other—the emotions of the other are not recorded.

A moment later—it may have been an hour—the moon sailed into a patch of unclouded sky and the hunted man saw that visible embodiment of Law lift an arm and point significantly toward and beyond him. He understood. Turning his back to his captor, he walked submissively away in the direction indicated, looking to neither the right nor the left; hardly daring to breathe, his head and back actually aching with a prophecy of buckshot.

Brower was as courageous a criminal as ever lived to be hanged; that was shown by the conditions of awful personal peril in which he had coolly killed his brother-in-law. It is needless to relate them here; they came out at his trial, and the revelation of his calmness in confronting them came near to saving his neck. But what would you have?—when a brave man is beaten, he submits.

So they pursued their journey jailward along the old road through the woods. Only once did Brower venture a turn of the head: just once, when he was in deep shadow and he knew that the other was in moonlight, he looked backward. His captor was Burton Duff, the jailer, as white as death and bearing upon his brow the livid mark of the iron bar. Orrin Brower had no further curiosity.

Eventually they entered the town, which was all alight, but deserted; only the women and children remained, and they were off the streets. Straight toward the jail the criminal held his way. Straight up to the main entrance he walked, laid his hand upon the knob of the heavy iron door, pushed it open without command, entered and found himself in the presence of a half-dozen armed men. Then he turned. Nobody else entered.

On a table in the corridor lay the dead body of Burton Duff.

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“An Arrest” Literary Element Game Names of Team Members:

With a partner, list as many literary element examples from the story as you can with only the amount of time the teacher gives you. The team with the most correct will win the game.

Literary Element

Example from Story (be clear, or I won’t understand you)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

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Short Story Essay Writing Assignment Rubric

Excellent Work You’re getting there Whoa, needs work/effort

Evidence of writing process

+ /15

The student has demonstrated that he/she understood and utilized the writing process. There is evidence of a pre-write that is detailed, a rough draft that demonstrates a complete revision and edit, and a neat final copy. Essentially the student has made use of the process to make a well-written story.

The student has incorporated all parts of the writing process in his/her project, but has not utilized them to their fullest. This student demonstrates that he/she understands the process, but not how it can create a well-written work. In this case, the pre-write might be skimpy in that it doesn’t include detail, and/or the rough draft, revision, and edit stages have not been utilized for making the story clearer.

The student has not incorporated all parts of the writing process in the final project. It is also possible that the student has turned in paperwork, but that it doesn’t represent a true pre-write or rough draft with revision and editing. The final copy may then reflect the student’s lack in utilizing the writing process for a well-written story.

Organization

+ /35

The student has organized the essay assignment into three specific parts of an intro, body, and conclusion. The student has created a clear thesis statement that focuses the essay. In addition, this essay exhibits a logical structure that has skillfully used transitions/transitional phrases that allow the reader to follow the essay with ease.

This student has clearly separated the assignment into three specific parts of an intro, body, and conclusion. This student may need to work on his/her thesis statement in order to help focus the essay. This essay may be lacking in the consistency of some of the paragraphs or phrases in the paragraphs that makes the essay unclear. This is called internal inconsistency.

The students may be lacking any essay structure/ paragraph structure. In addition, this student may not have a thesis statement, or needs to work on making it more clear. There is a great issue with the consistency and/or focus of this essay.

Conventions:GrammarPunctuationSpellingWord choice

+ /25

The student has really spent time revising and editing for such grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and word choice issues demonstrating a control of the language. What will really separate this student from the next level down is the sophistication of the language the student uses to describe his/her topic. This essay is a cut above.

The student has obviously shown effort in the revision and editing stages, but is still acquiring skills to better his/her essay (and there’s nothing wrong with that). The student should pay attention to conventional issues in order to improve on the next essay. The writer may also need to work on word choice and selection (picking the right word for the right sentence).

This student demonstrates a lack of control in conventions. Chances are the student did not utilize the revision and editing stage to better his/her essay. The errors in this paper ultimately make it difficult to comprehend the writer’s main point.

Development

+ /25

The student has elaborated on ideas making them clear. Nothing is left up for questions. The student has also made effective use of appropriate literary elements from 2 texts.

Some ideas may be more developed than others. There may be a reference to literary elements, but is underdeveloped and/or unclear. Possibly the student needs to consider finding more evidence or examples to support the literary elements used.

The student has made few connections with vague reference to the text. Ultimately, the writer has skimped on detail. He/she needs to spend more time and effort in the drafting stage locating places where detail needs to be added.

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Avoiding “You” in EssaysWHY: Slipping into “you” is confusing because you are switching perspectives. Instead of just talking about the literature, you are suddenly addressing the reader directly, and the reader is not part of the text about which you are writing.

HOW TO FIX IT: The fix will depend on the situation.

1. Replace “you” with “the reader.” Do this when writing about things that the author shows.Incorrect: Stockton shows you how difficult it is to make a decision.CORRECT: Stockton shows the reader how difficult it is to make a decision.

Incorrect: Bradbury shows you how technology could slowly destroy the world.CORRECT: Bradbury shows the reader how technology could slowly destroy the world.

2. Replace “you” with “one.” Do this when talking about people in general.Incorrect: Clearly, you must not judge people before knowing them.CORRECT: Clearly, one must not judge people before knowing them.

Incorrect: Without education, you have little chance to succeed.CORRECT: Without education, one has little chance to succeed.

3. Replace “you” with “people.” Do this when talking about people in general.Incorrect: You should consider reading Of Mice and Men to get a feel for the suspense.CORRECT: People should consider reading Of Mice and Men to get a feel for the suspense.

4. Cut out the “you” phrase altogether . Do this when you make the mistake of speaking directly to the reader.

Incorrect: As you read this essay, you will see how baseball is like fishing.CORRECT: Baseball is like fishing.

Incorrect: As you can see, the author uses both metaphors and personification to express her point.CORRECT: The author uses both metaphors and personification to express her point.

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Avoiding “You” and “I” Practice

Without having studied it carefully, you cannot understand how great the story, “The Lady or

the Tiger?,” is. Frank Stockton creatively leaves you hanging by ending the story abruptly at the

climax. As you know, the theme of the story suggests the difficulty in making decisions. You can

see the focus is on weighing options in the way the author has left you with the choice of which

comes out of the door: the lady or the tiger? In addition to the irony in the plot and the theme, this

story’s appeal is in the several conflicts that surround this decision. Stockton presents to you the

internal conflict between the semibarbaric princess and herself. This action draws you into the

climax. Will she risk the life of her lover by having him open the door to the tiger? Or will she risk

the jealousy and hate that will ensue if she allows him to live and marry another woman?

Throughout this essay I will show you how these literary aspects of “The Lady or the Tiger?” that

you have read above make this story worth reading.

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Directions: In place where the word “you” appears, cross it out and write the words that should be there instead above sentence.

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