Coming-of-Age Short Story Activities Bundle for High School Readers

Use this bundle of plot-based quizzes, close reading analysis worksheets, and vocabulary application activities to help high school students engage meaningfully with several coming-of-age short stories. Six narratives are highlighted: "Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing, "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara, "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote, "The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield, "The Challenge" by Gary Soto, and "A White Heron" by Sarah Orne Jewett. Answer keys are included. In addition, emergency lesson plans for unexpected absences are provided for two selections. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. (Alternatively, a Google Drive bundle option is available.) By engaging with these materials, students will do the following:

• Identify what the texts state explicitly and implicitly

• Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words

• Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings

• Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

• Infer the intended effects of the authors' word choices and narrative techniques

• Describe tone in context

• Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop

• Discern the functions of given characters and passages

• Apply knowledge of literary devices including dramatic irony, foreshadowing, metaphor, simile, situational irony, and more

• Consider themes in context

• Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence

• Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision

• Come to class better prepared to discuss literature

• And more

This resource may facilitate small-group discussions in which students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will improve their ability to present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly and convincingly.

More materials are available for teaching short stories:

• The Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Volume 1) - Google and printable

• The Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Volume 2) - Google and printable

• The Works of H.P. Lovecraft (Volume 1) - Google and printable

• The Works of H.P. Lovecraft (Volume 2) - Google and printable

• The Works of O. Henry - Google and printable

• The Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne - Google and printable

• The Works of Ray Bradbury - Google and printable