Description

Working on a short story unit? Look no further. This is THE VAULT of the most popular short stories taught in secondary ELA—all in one comprehensive bundle.

This resource is designed to save you time while giving students meaningful, standards-aligned practice with high-interest texts commonly taught in grades 5–12.

Included in This Bundle

This bundle includes activities for 76 short stories, spanning classic literature, contemporary fiction, and culturally relevant texts. 

(1) The Hitchhiker – Lucille Fletcher [Grades 6–9]
(2) We Ate the Children Last – Yann Martel [Grades 7–12]
(3) The Lottery – Shirley Jackson [Grades 7–12]
(4) The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas – Ursula K. Le Guin [Grades 7–12]
(5) Eleven – Sandra Cisneros [Grades 6–9]
(6) Currents – Hannah Bottomy Voskuil [Grades 9–12]
(7) The Outsider – H.P. Lovecraft [Grades 7–10]
(8) My Name – Sandra Cisneros [Grades 7–11]
(9) There Will Come Soft Rains – Ray Bradbury [Grades 6–11]
(10) The Pedestrian – Ray Bradbury [Grades 6–12]
(11) The Fall of the House of Usher – Edgar Allan Poe [Grades 8–12]
(12) The Pie – Gary Soto [Grades 6–11]
(13) Girl – Jamaica Kincaid [Grades 7–11]
(14) 2BR02B – Kurt Vonnegut [Grades 9–12]
(15) Raymond’s Run – Toni Cade Bambara [Grades 6–9]
(16) The Minority Report – Philip K. Dick [Grades 9–12]
(17) Names/Nombres – Julia Alvarez [Grades 6–10]
(18) Fish Cheeks – Amy Tan [Grades 5–10]
(19) The Black Cat – Edgar Allan Poe [Grades 7–12]
(20) The Treasure of Lemon Brown – Walter Dean Myers [Grades 5–9]
(21) The Landlady – Roald Dahl [Grades 6–11]
(22) The Body Snatcher – Robert Louis Stevenson [Grades 7–12]
(23) The Machine Stops – E.M. Forster [Grades 9–12]
(24) Guilty or Not Guilty Activity (The Tell-Tale Heart BONUS) [Grades 7–11]
(25) Désirée’s Baby – Kate Chopin [Grades 8–12]
(26) The Veldt – Ray Bradbury [Grades 6–10]
(27) The Lesson – Toni Cade Bambara [Grades 6–11]
(28) The Gift of the Magi – O. Henry [Grades 5–9]
(29) The Scholarship Jacket – Marta Salinas [Grades 6–9]
(30) Harrison Bergeron – Kurt Vonnegut [Grades 7–12]
(31) The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman [Grades 7–12]
(32) Battle Royal – Ralph Ellison [Grades 8–12]
(33) The Tell-Tale Heart – Edgar Allan Poe [Grades 6–10]
(34) Sol Painting, Inc. – Meg Medina [Grades 6–9]
(35) The Story of an Hour – Kate Chopin [Grades 8–12]
(36) The Necklace – Guy de Maupassant [Grades 7–11]
(37) Everyday Use – Alice Walker [Grades 6–10]
(38) The Masque of the Red Death – Edgar Allan Poe [Grades 7–12]
(39) The Flowers – Alice Walker [Grades 8–12]
(40) Luella Miller – Mary E. Wilkins Freeman [Grades 8–12]
(41) The Hand – Guy de Maupassant [Grades 7–12]
(42) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Washington Irving [Grades 7–12]
(43) The Most Dangerous Game – Richard Connell [Grades 7–11]
(44) Thank You, Ma’am – Langston Hughes [Grades 6–10]
(45) Snow – Julia Alvarez [Grades 8–12]
(46) The Monkey’s Paw – W.W. Jacobs [Grades 6–10]
(47) Seventh Grade – Gary Soto [Grades 6–9]
(48) The Third Wish – Joan Aiken [Grades 6–11]
(49) All Summer in a Day – Ray Bradbury [Grades 5–10]
(50) Geraldine Moore the Poet – Toni Cade Bambara [Grades 6–10]
(51) The Cask of Amontillado – Edgar Allan Poe [Grades 8–12]
(52) Lamb to the Slaughter – Roald Dahl [Grades 6–11]
(53) A Sound of Thunder – Ray Bradbury [Grades 6–11]
(54) Frost and Fire – Ray Bradbury [Grades 9–12]
(55) “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman – Harlan Ellison [Grades 9–12]
(56) The Open Window – Saki [Grades 6–10]
(57) Sweat – Zora Neale Hurston [Grades 9–12]
(58) A Kidnapped Santa Claus – L. Frank Baum [Grades 5–10]
(59) The Little Match Girl – Hans Christian Andersen [Grades 7–12]
(60) Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor – John Cheever [Grades 8–12]
(61) Christmas Every Day – William Dean Howells [Grades 7–12]
(62) The Burglar’s Christmas – Willa Cather [Grades 8–12]
(63) In a Grove – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa [Grades 9–12]
(64) I Am Not My Skin – Neema Komba [Grades 9–12]
(65) The Lady, or the Tiger? – Frank R. Stockton [Grades 7–10]
(66) Araby – James Joyce [Grades 8–12]
(67) Rules of the Game – Amy Tan [Grades 7–10]
(68) A Good Man Is Hard to Find – Flannery O’Connor [Grades 9–12]
(69) Winter Dreams – F. Scott Fitzgerald [Grades 8–12]
(70) The Devil and Tom Walker – Washington Irving [Grades 8–12]
(71) Green Willow – Japanese Folklore [Grades 9–12]
(72) The Sniper – Liam O’Flaherty [Grades 9–12]
(73) The Gift – Ray Bradbury [Grades 6–9]
(74) Birthday Party – Katharine Brush [Grades 9–12]
(75) A Man Who Had No Eyes – MacKinlay Kantor [Grades 8–12]
(76) Sticks – George Saunders [Grades 8–12]

What’s Included with Each Story

All products include reading comprehension questions and answer keys, along with activating strategies, anticipation guides, summarizing activities, discussion questions, academic vocabulary, and project ideas.

Lessons focus on key ELA standards and literary elements, including theme, irony, point of view, allegory, suspense, mood, plot, setting, characterization, foreshadowing, dialogue, text structure, and more.

PLEASE READ

Please note that only a portion of the short story texts are included in this bundle. Due to copyright restrictions, some full texts are not provided. All activities and resources are designed to accompany stories that are either in the public domain or permitted for educational use.