COR 011: 21ST Century Literature of the Philippines and the World

Module #6 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Lesson title: Short Story and its Elements Materials:

Learning Targets: Worksheets
At the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. identify the elements of short story References:
2. distinguish the point of view of the author in the 21st Century Literature from the
Philippines and the World by Ann
short story
Debbie L. Tan
3. appreciate short story

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW

Introduction

Welcome to the 6th part of the subject module – The Short Story! Here in this module you will be dealt
with elements of short stories where you will be guided in understanding and appreciating them. With
this, may I request you to accomplish the activities in the Lesson Preview? Read the following items
below and identify what term is being referred to. Write your answer on the blank space before its
number.

___________ 1.) The writer uses I pronoun in the story.

___________ 2.) It is a brief prose narrative fiction that can be read in just one setting.
___________ 3.) The part of a fully developed plot that follows the climax.
___________ 4.) It refer to persons who may be a man or a woman that acts and talks.
___________ 5.) It is an artistic arrangement of actions and events in a story.

Now check your answer in the KEY TO CORRECTIONS on the last page. What score did you get? Do
not worry if you answered some or all incorrectly.

B. MAIN LESSON

Content and Skill-Building

Kindly read the texts for you to understand the topic. Highlight the keywords for better understanding.

Short Story- It is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. It presents
one aspect of the life of a character. It could be an incident, an event, a description of a feeling, or even
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 COR 011: 21ST Century Literature of the Philippines and the World
Module #6 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

a simple act. A short story can also impact a reader and even inspire them. For persons who cannot
read novels, enjoy reading the short stories. Moreover, in a short story, the characters also share their
innermost thoughts, their motives, their feelings, their emotions, and different notions.

Elements of a Story
Every story, or narrative, has five essential elements. Let's take a closer look at each of the five.

Examples of Elements of a Story:

Plot-Plot is "what happens" in the story. The action of every story can be mapped out using a plot
diagram. There are five key points to the plot of every story:

1. Beginning or Exposition-this is when characters and problems are introduced to the reader.

Example: Romeo and Juliet's families are enemies, but Romeo and Juliet meet at a party and
like each other.

2. Rising Action-this is where the problem and characters are developed through a series of
actions that builds to the . . .

Example: Romeo visits Juliet on a balcony one night, and then she sends a message to him
through her nurse. They meet and secretly wed without their families' knowledge. Romeo kills
Juliet's cousin Tybalt, and he is exiled. Juliet's father orders her to marry someone else. Juliet
fakes her death, sending a message to Romeo to let him know, but he hears of her death and
doesn't get the message.

3. Climax-this is where the problem (or conflict) is resolved in one way or another. The climax is
often called the "turning point" in a story.

Example: Romeo kills himself, and Juliet wakes from her sleep, sees him, and kills herself.

4. Falling Action or Denouement-this is where the reader learns what happens as a result of the
climax-or the way in which the problem was solved.

Example: The two families mourn Romeo and Juliet.

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 COR 011: 21ST Century Literature of the Philippines and the World
Module #6 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

5. Resolution-where the entire plot is wrapped up and there is a sense of closure for the reader.

Example: Romeo and Juliet's deaths have ended their families' feud and there is peace in
Verona.

Sample Plot Diagram:

Characters-Narratives have characters. A narrative has to have a protagonist, which is the main
character in the story, and one or more antagonists, characters who are in conflict with the protagonist.

Example: Romeo and Juliet are the protagonists. Their conflict is with their families and their
parents, especially Juliet whose parents wish her to marry someone else.

Conflict-For there to be a narrative, the main character, or protagonist, has to have a conflict, or
problem. Sometimes the conflict involves the protagonist and another person (man versus man).
Sometimes the conflict involves the protagonist and the environment or nature (man versus nature). At
other times, the conflict involves the protagonist against himself (man versus self), as he attempts to
overcome a weakness or flaw.

Example: Romeo and Juliet's conflict is that their families are in a feud, and they are not allowed
to be with each other.

Setting-Narratives have a time and place where the action is set.

Example: Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy.

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 COR 011: 21ST Century Literature of the Philippines and the World
Module #6 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Theme-Narratives have a theme, or main idea/underlying meaning. Theme should be stated in a

complete sentence.

For example, Romeo and Juliet is not just about "love," but you could state the theme as "Love
overcomes hate."

Skill-building

Great job in reading the texts above! It’s time for you apply what you have learned. Read the excerpt
of O. Henry’s short story, The Gift of the Magi and identify its elements by doing the steps below:

1. Underline the characters in the short story.

2. Encircle the setting.
3. Identify the theme.
4. Identify the plot.

The Gift of the Magi

O. Henry

Tomorrow is Christmas Day, and Della is distraught. The meager savings she managed to put aside to
purchase a gift for her beloved husband is a mere $1.87. It is simply not enough for a present worthy
of her Jim.

There were brighter days for this young, loving couple. Earlier, Jim managed to bring home thirty dollars
a week. Now, with their income reduced to twenty dollars a week, there is nothing left after basic living
expenses are met. Della managed to save her $1.87 by doggedly bullying the grocer, the vegetable
man, and the butcher into giving her better prices. Lean living, however, has not dimmed the couple’s
devotion to one another. Jim returns home from his job punctually every evening to be greeted by
Della’s loving embrace.

Della simply cannot bear the thought of giving her husband a shabby gift or no gift at all. She collapses
in tears of frustration, but then inspiration strikes. After taking a long look at herself in a mirror, Della is
reminded that her assets extend beyond the pittance she is hoarding. She catches sight of her long,
flowing hair, the one worldly possession she takes pride in, and realizes that there is a way to
accomplish her goal.

Della sheds a few tears for what will be her lost glory. Just as quickly, however, she represses her
emotions, scoops up her old jacket and hat, and leaves the flat. Arriving at a shop whose sign reads
Mme Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds, Della inquires what the proprietress would pay for her hair.
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 COR 011: 21ST Century Literature of the Philippines and the World
Module #6 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Coldly, Madame Sonofrie appraises Della’s tresses with an experienced eye and hand and offers
twenty dollars. Without hesitation, Della submits to the shearing and walks out with money in hand.
After two hours of joyful searching, Della finds the perfect gift for Jim.

If Della has one possession that means the world to her, Jim has one, too, a beautiful gold watch that
belonged to his father and his grandfather before him. Jim does not display the watch willingly, however,
for it hangs on an old leather strap instead of a suitable gold chain.

Jim will not have to be circumspect any longer about his watch; Della finds a platinum fob chain, simple
in design and of exquisite quality, which will do justice to Jim’s treasure. Thrilled that she procured a
gift worthy of her husband, Della hurries home to repair the damage the shearing did.

After styling her short hair into curls that resemble those of a “truant schoolboy” or a “Coney Island
chorus girl,” Della readies the dinner things and sits down near the door. As she waits expectantly, gift
in hand, she prays that he will still find her pretty.
Punctual as always, Jim arrives. As he steps inside the door, he freezes, his eyes on Della. Della cannot
read his reaction. It does not seem to be anger, disapproval, surprise, or anything she might expect.
He simply stares. She runs up to him and pleads with him not to be upset; she sold her hair so that she
could give him a present for Christmas.
When Jim finally comes out of his stupor of disbelief, he takes Della into his arms. He admits that
nothing could make him love her any less, but that if she will have a look at what he bought her for
Christmas, she will understand his shock. He draws a package out of his overcoat pocket and hands it
to her. Della quickly unwraps the parcel and lets out a shriek of joy that soon turns to tears, for Jim’s
gift to her is a pair of combs, side and back, tortoise shell with jeweled rims, which she long admired in
a shop window. She never dreamed that she would actually be able to have them.

Once her tears subside, she reminds Jim, weakly, that her hair grows very fast. She brightens when
she recalls that Jim did not yet see his present. She holds the fob out to him expectantly, reminding
him that now he can look at the time a hundred times a day. Upon seeing Della’s gift, Jim collapses on
the couch and smiles at her. He suggests that they put their lovely Christmas gifts away for a while; he
sold his watch to buy Della the combs.

If you were given a chance to change anything in the story, The Gift of Magi, what would it be?
Why? How would you change it?
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 COR 011: 21ST Century Literature of the Philippines and the World
Module #6 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

________________________________________________________________________________
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Check for Understanding

Congratulations for a job well done in your activities! Now try this. Tell whether the item below is true or
false. Write your answer on the blank provided before each number.

_____________1. A Plot is the description of characters and place and time.

_____________2. A writer’s point of view when he uses I pronoun in the story is called as third
person point of view.
_____________3. A summation of the meaning of the story is called point of view.
_____________4. Characters in the story refers to the artistic arrangement of actions of events.
_____________5. The theme in the story refers to the exact place and time of the events.

Did you find the questions easy? Kindly check your answers in the KEY TO CORRECTIONS on the
last page.

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

FAQs
{The teacher writes 2-3 Questions with Answers that they anticipate students would ask about the topic.
FAQs help make-up for decreased opportunity for students to ask for clarifications or explore related
topics.}

1. What is the purpose of short stories?

Short stories provide authors the freedom to convey a message or experiment with a theme
without the burden of committing to a lengthier, more time-consuming task. By their nature, they
are more accessible to more categories of readers, especially students, and provide a more
concise format than full-length novels.

2. How do I write a short story?

Step 1. Find your key emotion

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 COR 011: 21ST Century Literature of the Philippines and the World
Module #6 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

Step 2. Start with a hook

Step 3. Write the story
Step 4. Write a strong ending
Step 5. Reread your story
Step 6. Edit yourself
Step 7. Ask others for editing help

Thinking about Learning

Work Tracker

You are done with this session! Let’s track your progress. Shade the session number you just
completed.

Think about your Learning

Congratulations! You have made it all the way here. Share us how you feel about today’s lesson by
choosing an image below that best describes it. Write your name below the image of your choice. Why
did you choose that image?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.

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 COR 011: 21ST Century Literature of the Philippines and the World
Module #6 Student Activity Sheet

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: ________________________________________ Date: ________________

KEY TO CORRECTIONS

Introduction

1. first person point of view

2. short story
3. falling action
4. characters
5. plot

Skill-building

Characters – Della, Jim, Madame Sofia

Setting - The story takes place in New York during the Christmas holiday season
Theme- The most prominent theme in “The Gift of the Magi” is love

Check for Understanding

3. False - A Plot is is "what happens" in the story

4. False - A writer’s point of view when he uses I pronoun in the story is called as first-person point
of view
5. False- A summation of the meaning of the story is called theme
6. False- Plot in the story refers to the artistic arrangement of actions of events
7. False - The setting in the story refers to the exact place and time of the events

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