Fairbloom, ENG4U 2016

Short Story Analysis Assignment

Step 1: Choose a Short Story. You are welcome to choose your own. If you cannot decide, I have
provided a list below for you to choose from.
 “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
 “William Wilson” by Edgar Allan Poe
 “Araby” by James Joyce
 “Eveline” by James Joy
 “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
 “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gillman
 “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
 “Border” by Thomas King
 “Jade Peony” by Wayson Chop
 “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
 “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
 “The Looking Glass” by Anton Chekhov
 “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty

Step 2: Read the story

Step 3: Make notes and reread the story

Topics to think about include…

 The historical period and background of the author, of the story, and of the time it was written
 Include information about the author and the author’s background if it is relevant to the story
 Setting: What is the place and the social environment within which the events take place? Why
is the setting important to the story?
 Characterization: What are the characters like? What techniques are used to portray them?
 What is the plot of the story?
 Point out any important literary devices (i.e. imagery, symbolism, and allusions)
 Who is the narrator and how does this affect the way the story is told?
 What is the central idea of this story?
 What questions about society or individuals does this story raise?
 Is there a genre worth mentioning?
 What is happening for the main character?

Use the lessons on The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and
Harrison Bergeron to help you plan how you want to present your selected short story. Think about
what information I should know before we read the story and what we should do after reading the
story. Check the Active Reading Process: Own What You Read table in this package for support.

Think about what kinds of questions and activities would benefit the student’s (me) understanding of
the short story.

Step 4: Put together your lesson

You are going to teach me about your story. Assume that I have not read the story, what information do
I need to know before reading the story and how are we going to reflect on our reading?

You must print or email any necessary material for your lesson: the story, handouts, slides, videos etc.
You are in charge of the decisions and the analysis of the short story.

Include the reasoning for your short story selection in your lesson. Why did you choose this particular
short story? What do you like about it?

Criteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Knowledge Limited and Some accuracy Considerable Thorough
inaccurate detail, and detail, and accuracy and accuracy and
____/10 and a limited some knowledge detail, and detail, and
knowledge of the of the text and itsconsiderable thorough
text and its components knowledge of the knowledge of the
components text and its text and its
components components
Thinking Little evidence of Some evidence of Considerable Thorough
analysis task analysis task evidence of evidence of
____/10 understanding, understanding, analysis task analysis task
accurate accurate understanding, understanding,
interpretation, and interpretation, and accurate accurate
planning planning interpretation, and interpretation, and
planning planning
Communication Little evidence of Some evidence of Considerable Thorough
clear articulation clear articulation evidence of clear evidence of clear
____/10 and diction and diction articulation and articulation and
diction diction
Application Little evidence of Some evidence of Considerable Thorough
proper, formal proper, formal evidence of evidence of
____/10 English usage, English usage, proper, formal proper, formal
grammar and grammar and English usage, English usage,
punctuation punctuation grammar and grammar and
punctuation punctuation

Final Mark: ____/40 = ______%

Graphic Organizer for Your Brainstorming

Title of Short Story & Authors Name:
When was it written? What time period does the story take place in?

Who is the main character? What themes are present in the story?

What literary devices are used? What symbols are present in the story?

Brainstorm a list of questions: Are you going to use any activities in your
lesson?

What information does the reader need to know Why did you choose this short story? What do
before reading your short story? you like about it?

Plan the order of your lesson:

What material do you need for your lesson? (Computer? Videos? Handouts? Images? Slides?)

Active Reading Process: Own What You Read

PURPOSE Know why you are reading.
BEFORE Know why the author wrote this text.
PREVIEW Skim read the text. Examine the title,
 pictures, captions and subtitles.
PLAN Decide what strategies you will use to
complete the assignment.
HIGHLIGHT Mark key words, names, dates, and ideas.
QUESTION Ask questions as you are reading.
DURING REFLECT How do you feel / what do you think about
the action? How is it similar to your life or
to other stories / events you have seen or
heard of?
PREDICT Guess what will happen next based on what
you have already read.
VISUALIZE Make a picture of the action in your mind to
help you remember it.
VOCABULAR When you come across a word you do not
Y know, read the sentence before and the
sentence after to try and guess what the
word means. Then use a dictionary or
thesaurus.
REFLECT Take a minute to think about what you have
AFTER read and write down any comments /
questions.
REREAD Go back and reread parts that you think are
important and parts that you have trouble
understanding.
REMEMBER Think of ways to help you remember what
you have read (summarize main points in
your own words).