Inside: You’ll find expert advice on middle and high school short stories to bring fresh light to your classroom. One of the best ways to build innovative ideas is to collaborate with other teachers. This post highlights secondary teachers, their favorite middle and high school short stories, and how to use them.
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“It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night.”
~ “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
Running out of my room, I found my brother and cornered him.
“You have to read this story!”
“Come on, Chelle!” He rolled his eyes at his hopelessly nerdy older sister. “Fine,” He relented, knowing I wasn’t going to give up.
Instead of letting him read it himself, I began dramatically narrating it, and continued, pausing to explain the exposition so that he could fully appreciate the conflict and climax of the story. (By the way, this was when I was “never” going to be a teacher because that’s what everyone expected me to be.) At some point, his eyebrows raised and he leaned in. My mom also joined us on the bed, and soon, we were all sucked into Poe’s gripping world of sorrow and guilt. Thankfully, he was adequately wowed, and “The Tell Tale Heart” has since been one of our favorites.
Oh, the Short Story!
Middle and high school short stories are powerful. There’s no underestimating what a masterful author can craft in just a few short pages. It’s also written at just the right length for adolescents. Which stories should we choose though?
Here’s where the experts come in! Hear from our ELA experts about what middle and high school short stories they love and what to teach with the short stories. While you’re at it, check out their blogs and social media accounts for other great literacy ideas!
The most helpful part of this collaborative post is that it includes the skills that we teach through these texts. Researched based practices are that we choose the skills to teach first, and then select the text – planning with then end in mind.
I typically use short stories and mentor texts to teach topic and theme. If you’re looking for a strategy to teach topic/theme, sign up to receive a free printable download. It includes a sheet for students to use and detailed teacher directions! Also, if you teach secondary, check out my posts on poetry for middle and high school. 
Middle and High School Short Stories
Short Story 1: “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin
- Audience: Middle 6th – 8th Grades
- Use to teach: Comprehension and Vocabulary
- Bonus: The theme of the story correlates to our required readings, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Plessy vs Ferguson.
- Contributor: Dacia Cobb – I am a lifelong reader who loves to pass down stories from my grandmother and other ancestors about the struggles and greatness of African Americans. Recently, I completed year 16 of teaching and it was anything but sweet with the current demonstrations and attacks on American’s public education system. Educators interested in reform may follow schoolemdacia on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Short Story 2: “Big Joe’s Funeral” (from 145th Street) by Walter Dean Myers
- Audience: 7th – 12th Grades
- Use to teach: plot structure, prediction, major vs. minor characters, types of conflict, character traits, dialect
- Bonus: I love teaching this short story because it is so different from most stories. Big Joe cashes out his insurance money and has a funeral for himself while still alive to enjoy the attention of it. His actions throughout the story provide a great classroom debate set-up.
- Contributor: Jennifer Koss – This will be my 13th year teaching English and I have taught every grade from 6-12. Currently I teach English 9. I am the advisor for Link Crew, National Honor Society, and Student Council; I also coach volleyball and chess. You can find me on Instagram.
Short Story 3: “Flowers for Algernon“
- Audience: 7th – 12th Grades
- Use to teach: Point of view, discussion (socratic seminar), characterization, symbolism
- Bonus: Students connect emotionally to this story, can clearly see in a unique way how the character changes throughout, it’s great for teaching symbolism and having deep class discussion
- Contributor: Stacey Wassif – I have been teaching secondary ELA since 2012 in Southern California. I have taught both middle and high school grades. Before settling into public school, I taught ESL in America and Japan! I’m married to another teacher and we have a two-year-old son. I’m a new TPT author and enjoy sharing my ideas with other teachers (and getting ideas in return!) I love teaching my students to connect with stories and diving deep into meaningful discussion. TPT store, Instagram, and Facebook.
Short Story 4: “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
- Audience: 8th – 9th Grade
- Use to teach: This story is replete in symbolism. I have my students “act out” the events in the story (such as having a chair for Mrs. Mallard to sit in and using another piece of furniture to represent the door that the other characters remain on the other side of) and use simple props (mostly made of construction paper) to represent objects from the story that are symbolic of greater truths in the text. I make a cardboard cutout of the window Louise looks through and use construction paper to draw a musical note on and have a student hold that, tantalizingly, several feet from the open window (“The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.”) That student moves the musical note back and forth towards the window throughout the story until it is moved right up to the window, through the window, and right up to Louise when she realizes she is free of Brently Mallard and all that goes with being his wife in that era. There are several other quite tangible symbols in the story that can also be represented and manipulated to demonstrate the symbol’s influence in the story.
- Bonus: This story is winning because of its: short length, shock value, interest in the oppressive stature of women in the past, extensive symbolism
- Contributor: Carol McNally – Well, I’m a retired teacher who just can’t seem to stop teaching. read more on my website – Youtube channel – TPT – Facebook – Linked in:
Short Story 5: “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Audience: 10th – 12th
- Use to Teach: Point of View, Theme, Shift, Close Reading, Imagery, Metaphor
- Bonus: It has the rare use of 2nd person point of view and my students “felt something” when they read it, which is hard to come by sometimes. This story affected them emotionally and that is a great moment as a teacher.
- Contributor: Tara Heimberger I’m a first year teacher of 10th graders and AP Literature students in rural Georgia who loves Harry Potter and stories that make me cry. My Instagram is: @litwithmissh
Short Story 6: “Cinderella” by The Brothers Grimm (plus other versions of Cinderella from around the world)
- Audience: 9th – 12th
- Use to Teach: Critical thinking & analysis, comparing & contrasting literary works
- Bonus Ideas: I love to look at how almost all cultures around the world have their own version of the Cinderella story, and to have students discuss the cautionary tale aspect of fairy tales. We also watch Disney’s film version and talk about its cultural impact.
- Contributor: Marie Morris I have been teaching for over 10 years, most of which were in high school English and Theatre Arts. My teaching style is energetic and fast-paced, but I constantly check for student understanding. I like to engage students with references they can connect with and give students a sense of belonging to my classroom community. I should also mention that I am quite loud. 😉 Teaching is in my blood. I have been unsure of many things over the course of my life, but of two things I have always been certain – I wanted to be a mom and I wanted to be a teacher. I love to connect with other educators! Instagram– Blog– TPT–
Short Story 7: “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut
- Audience: 6th – 12th
- Use to Teach: Inference and evidence, theme, story elements, comparing and contrasting to film (“2081”)
- Bonus Ideas: Ties into short unit that wraps up dystopian texts, students’ reactions to the concepts of dystopian texts
- Contributor: Allyssa Graham I’m a 7th/8th grade ELA teacher in CNY. I spent the last 5 years teaching in ENC and moved back to my home state in the summer of 2017. I just finished my first year teaching back in NY! My IG and TPT is under @grahamcrackerela.
Short Story 8: “The Gold Coin” by Alma Flor Ada
- Audience: 3rd – 12th
- Use to Teach: Character analysis, conflicts, text evidence for analysis
- Bonus Ideas: There are great discussions of what makes someone a good/bad person. Can people change? What makes someone rich?
- Contributor: Lisa Kalinowski – I’ve taught 8 years (7 years in 4th grade and 1 year in middle school 6-8). I have an MA in Reading and Literacy. I am Reading Specialist, Master Reading Teacher, ESL certified. I am just starting to build my online/social media presence. My Pinterest account is lisakal and my Instagram account is @mrskteachesela
Short Story 9 : “Harrison Bergeron” (by: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.)
- Audience: 9th – 12th
- Use to Teach: This story can be used for a myriad of literacy skills such as Characterization, Diction/Vocabulary Analysis, Connotation, Foreshadowing, Irony…etc.
- Bonus Ideas: The BEST part of teaching this story is the thematic discussion. This can be used to introduce students to dystopian literature and they can debate about the pros and cons of Equality and Media.
- Contributor: Griselis Reyes-Gil I’m a 9th/10th grade ELA Teacher entering Year 14! I also run our Capstone program and teach AP Seminar and AP Research. I was recently awarded the Education Merit and Inspiration Award as High School Teacher of the Year for the City of Hialeah. You can follow me on Instagram: @_reyesrules, Twitter: @_reyesrules, and my TpT Store (Reyes Rules) will be opening soon!
More Short Stories
Short stories should pack that powerful punch that stays with you until the end. They often include a gut-wrenching twist at the end that leaves you puzzling. Also, don’t forget to Sign up to receive the topic/theme chart printable download!
Over the years I’ve enjoy teaching and reading a variety of short stories. Here are the ones that have always stuck with 
me. They are appropriate for 6th – 12th grades
- Eleven by Sandra Cisneros
- All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
- Shame by Dick Gregory
- The Fun They Had by Issac Asimov
- The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
- Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes
- Names/Nombres by Julia Alvarez
- Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan
- The Land Lady by Roald Dahl
- Seventh Grade by Gary Soto
- The Pie by Gary Soto
- The Stone by Lloyd Alexander
- The Scholarship Jacket by Martha Salinas
- The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
What’s your favorite short story to teach? Find me on instagram using #mrspricewrites and let me know! There is power in collaborating and sharing ideas. Also, I love to give a shout out to other educators who work together and share ideas.
Interested in being a featured contributor on Mrs. Price Writes? Visit our contributor page to learn about our upcoming round-up posts.
