with 15 short stories by Avi T. A. Barron Joan Bauer Larry Bograd Joseph Bruchac Donna Gamache Kendall Haven Roy Hoffman Trish Holland C. S. Perryess Neal Shusterman Gloria Skurzynski Gene Twaronite Vivian Vande Velde Angel Vigil
While there are many collections of short stories available for young adults, precious few contain instructional support for their teachers. In Short does. With fifteen stories from award-winning authors, such as Avi, Joan Bauer, and T. A. Barron, and teaching suggestions for you, it's the ideal resource for offering students an entry point into the genre.
From parent-child relationships to the hardships of war, the broad scope of these pieces and the practicality of their associated teaching tools provide opportunities to sample the stories for one or two class periods or to fully immerse students over a semester by studying a story a week. Suzanne Barchers introduces each story with a plot summary and information about the author, then presents discussion topics for before, during, and after reading, as well as specific questions to ask your classes and book lists and websites for further information.
In Short can be used to study the form of the short story, introduce novels, tackle teen issues, link content across the curriculum, and teach literary elements such as theme, setting, character, and tone. And with its contemporary, diverse stories and powerful teaching tools, it's bound to be a hit with you and your students.
I like the suggested lessons that go with these stories better than most of the stories themselves. Story collections are always a mixed bag, there is a diverse representation of genres and styles here, but they are a bit dated. I teach ELA 8 and these tend towards more sixth. Lots here about the trials and tribulations of middle school life, good but not great.