Name ____________________________________________

Date _________________________

This assignment is due on 11/14/2014

SHORT STORY ASSIGNMENT

Directions: Read two short stories by the same authorand complete the activities below.
PART I
1.Chose an author and find two short stories to print and read by that author.
Author suggestions: (You can use authors not on this list but ask your teachers permission first.)
Aldiss, Brian (science fiction stories)
Andersen, Hans Christian (fairy tales)
Bradbury, Ray (fantasy and science fiction stories)
Buck, Pearl S. (stories about China)
Christie, Agatha (mystery)
Cormier, Robert (teens, often troubled)
Dahl, Roald (stories that deal with the unusual)
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan (mystery- Sherlock Holmes)
Jackson, Shirley (stories that have unusual endings).
Kipling, Rudyard (nature and cultural difference)
Lessing, Doris (stories about Africa)
Lewis, C.S. (science fiction stories)
London, Jack (stories about nature, animals)
Poe, Edgar Allan (stories of terror and fear)
Twain, Mark (humorous stories)

2:Read the stories and take notes. (highlight words you dont know, write questions and comments you have)
3: Write the authors name, the title of each story, and a one paragraphsummary ofeach short story. Don't
include every detail (You should end with two parts, one for each story.)
4. In at least one-half a page, answer these questions: How did the three stories relate to each other? How were the
two stories similar or different to each other? (Think about the theme, type of characters, type of setting, etc.)
Part II: Choose one of the stories and do any THREE of the following topics (you do not have to do all of
them).Choose your topics carefully, because not all topics will apply to your story. You may present the items in
any order.
1- Discuss the main conflicts in the story. Was there a primary conflict and a secondary or not?2
paragraphs.
2- Was there anything especially confusing or upsetting about the story?2 paragraphs.
3- Could you relate to this story? Did it remind you of anything in your own life?2 paragraphs.
4.Draw a picture of any character in the story and write 2 paragraphs describing that character.(Who
were they, what did they do in the story, what kind of character were they?)
5.Draw the setting or one of the locations in the story and write a1paragraph description of that location
and why it was important to the story.
6.Completea comic strip of the point of greatest conflict in one of the stories. Your comic must include 8
frames and 2 sentences per frame for a total of 16 sentences or roughly 3 paragraphs.
7.Complete a triangle plot diagram for each story. (you should have a two diagrams, one for each story
and include all parts of the plot.)