Short Story Unit Reading Comprehension Passages | Activities & Projects

This resource includes activities for 33 short stories and poems. The goal of this reading literature journal is prepare students to recall, understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate a variety of texts while also using creative mini-projects to help encourage deeper thinking!

This resource has everything you'll need to teach a short story or poem once a week for the ENTIRE school year. ZERO prep necessary!

Answer keys for the short stories ARE INCLUDED in this resource.

NOTE 2: This resource has been proofread by a professional editor.

This resource has a DIGITAL component included as a way to incorporate distance learning! It is compatible with Google Slides and Google Classroom.

This resource includes the following:

-Teacher directions and answer keys

-Generic rubric for all mini-projects

-Activities for 33 short stories and poems that are appropriate for grades 6-8.

-Questions for each story based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate).

-Mini-projects or extension activities for each short story and poem.

-Links to all 33 short stories and poems that can be found in full-text, for free.

-Editable version so that you can adjust any questions as necessary for your students.

-Cover pages for each of the months.

You can use this resource in several ways. Here are 5 options:

1. OPTION ONE: Give students their journal at the beginning of the school year or semester and assign one short story or poem per week. They will work through all 33 works by the end of the semester.
2. OPTION TWO: Assign the different short stories or poems at your leisure. Instead of giving your students the entire journal, only pass out the activities as you see fit.
3. OPTION THREE: Three words– EMERGENCY SUB PLANS!!! These are great for a quick lesson if you have to miss a day.
4. OPTION FOUR: Use these activities as extra practice or reinforcement for struggling or advanced students.
5. OPTION FIVE: If you are a proponent of homework OR a flipped classroom atmosphere– assign the stories and poems for homework and complete the activities during the class period.

Activities for the following short stories and poems are included:

• The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
• The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
• The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
• The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
• Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl
• After Twenty Years by O. Henry
• The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
• The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
• The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
• O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman
• A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
• Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye
• Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier
• Aunt Misery by Judith Ortiz Cofer
• Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
• Seventh Grade by Gary Soto
• The Treasure of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers
• Hearts and Hands by O. Henry
• How to Eat a Poem by Eve Merriam
• Charles by Shirley Jackson
• Miss Awful by Arthur Cavanaugh
• This is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams
• The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
• An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
• Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
• The Moustache by Robert Cormier
• The Landlady by Roald Dahl
• Oranges by Gary Soto
• The Fun They Had by Isaac Asimov
• All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
• Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
• The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty

Each text includes comprehension questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy (recall, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate) and a mini-project that encourages students to think beyond the text.

Check out what other teachers, just like you, are saying about this resource:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Absolutely LOVED everything about this resource. You can even use it for both in-person and virtual learners. There is ZERO prep involved, so more time can be actually spent on TEACHING!! Win-win!" -Anice B.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Excellent resource! Questions are easily adaptable for multiple levels of learners, and I really appreciate the inclusion of links to the literature pieces on the digital version. Nice variety of literature pieces as well. Thank you!" -Donna H.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I really love this resource! It makes it simple for me to post assignments and pass them out. The questions that go along with the stories are thought provoking, but not so detailed that students require assistance understanding what the question is asking." -Katie B.

Please download the preview for more information. The preview provides images of the Reading Literature Journal in action.

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