SHORT STORIES

Lesson Plan

Ms. DiBona's 9th Grade English Class

 ◦ A short story has a fully developed
theme and plot but is less elaborate
Short Story than a novel. Short stories
Definition: most commonly focus on creating one
mood, have a limited number of
characters, and are fiction based.
 Setting
Character/s
The 5 Key
Elements to a short Plot
story:
Conflict
Theme
 1ST KEY The place or type of

ELEMENT:
surrounding where
something is
positioned or where

SETTING an event takes place

 Things to Consider:

How is my setting created? Time of day, weather, etc.

What role does my setting play? Is it an important part of my plot or

theme?
Does my setting take place in the past, present, or future, and how will
this play a role in my word choice?
Does the setting change? If so, does this change benefit my short story?
 2ND KEY
ELEMENT:
The person or being
within a novel or
play

CHARACTER
 Who is the main character?

Are the characters believable?

Things to
Consider: Have I properly described their physical
appearance, thoughts, and feelings when
necessary?
Do my characters symbolize something
relating to my plot or theme?
 3RD KEY The main events of
the play, novel,
movie, or similar

ELEMENT: work, devised and

presented by the
writer as an

PLOT interrelated
sequence.
Plot Reminder!

◦ Story Elements - Plot - Main Events - Literacy Short Clips - YouTube

 How is my plot structured?

Does my plot have a proper

Things to
climax that ends in a
Consider:
resolution?
Is it believable in the sense
that it follows a sequence of
events and is in proper order?
4TH KEY ELEMENT: An extended

CONFLICT struggle: battle

7 TYPES OF
CONFLICTS
IN FICTION:
 How are you going to describe the main conflict?

Is it an internal conflict or a conflict within your

characters?

Things to Is it an external conflict caused by my character’s

surroundings or environment that my main
Consider: character finds him or herself in?
How can I use my conflict to create a proper plot?

Is my conflict interesting?
 5TH KEY The subject of a

ELEMENT:
talk, a piece of
writing, a person's
thoughts, or an

THEME  exhibition
EXAMPLES OF
THEMES IN
FICTION:
 Things to Consider:

Do you notice any patterns in imagery, diction, etc?

Do you include any statements that reveal a theme or observation?
How is the topic developed?
What is my story about? (Family, money, fear, success, etc.)
What point am I trying to get across?
What do I want my reader to remember?
 ◦ They highlight what is most important
◦ You can utilize small ideas!
◦ You can easily make short stories into a series.
◦ Read in one sitting
Benefits to ◦ Easily shareable!

Writing Short ◦ Enhances creative writing

◦ You are more inclined to write when you know
Stories: the requirement is not lengthy!
◦ Allows you to focus on one character, place, and
topic; ultimately improving your writing skills by
keeping you focused.
◦ Easier to edit than novels
 USING
GOOGLE
DOCS:
 HOW TO
SHARE
THROUGH
GOOGLE
DOCS:
 ACTIVITY:
COLLABORATION
CREATION – SHORT
STORY
As a Group of 3:

1 2
Choosing a topic Choosing a character
 Topics:

1. A long journey is interrupted by a disaster.

2. A talented individual's deepest fear is holding his life back.

3. A character living in poverty comes into an unexpected fortune.

4. A character runs into the path of a monster.

5. A character runs into their soulmate.

 Create a short story using
your groups chosen topic and
character

Individually:
Post your individual essay on
your group's shared Google
Doc.
Categories 50
Group Work Student fully engages in
choosing a topic and character
for their short story and fully
considers each group member's
opinion in the brainstorming
process.
Short Story Assignment Student uses their group's
chosen character and topic to
create their individual writing
and effectively includes all 5
elements of a short story along
with all 5 elements of the plot
accordingly.
Technology Student demonstrates that they
have a great understanding of
how to use Google Docs
features including fully
submitting their individual
short story, as well as
successfully using the share
feature with their group
members.  members.
35
Student adequately participates
in choosing a topic and
character for their short story
and take into consideration
most of the group member's
opinions in the brainstorming
process.
Student uses their group's
chosen character and topic to
create their individual writing
and adequately includes 4-5
elements of a short story along
with 4-5 of the 5 elements of
the plot.
Student demonstrates that they
have a pretty good
understanding of how to use
Google Docs features including
submitting their individual
short story, as well as
adequately using the share
feature with their group
20
Student somewhat participates
in choosing a topic and
character for their short story
and partially considers each
group member's opinion in the
brainstorming process.
Student uses their group's
chosen character and topic to
create their individual writing
and includes 3-5 of the 5
elements of a short story along
with 3-5 of the 5 elements of
the plot.
Student demonstrates that they
have a decent/fair
understanding of how to use
Google Docs features including
partially submitting
their individual short story, as
well as using the share feature
with their group members.
5
Student does not participate in
choosing a topic and character
for their short story and/or does
not consider other group
member's opinions in the
brainstorming process.
Student does not use their
group's chosen character and/or
topic to create their individual
writing and/or includes 2 or less
of the 5 elements of a short
story along with two or less of
the 5 elements of the plot.
Student does not demonstrate
that they have an understanding
of how to use Google Docs
features when it comes to
submitting their individual
short story, and/or using the
share feature with their group
members.