This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
We will read a variety of short stories from a number of authors, including Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ring Lardner, O Henry and more. We will discuss two short stories in class each day – for a total of sixteen stories! We will analyze the stories on the basis of plot, character development, and theme. And we will look at the prose styles of the various authors. Each story should take no more than about an hour to read.
Total classes: 8
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 7th, 8th, and 9th Grade
Suggested credit: ½ Semester English or Literature
Description
We will read a variety of short stories from a number of authors, including Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ring Lardner, O Henry and more. We will discuss two short stories in class each day – for a total of sixteen stories! We will analyze the stories on the basis of plot, character development, and theme. And we will look at the prose styles of the various authors. Each story should take no more than about an hour to read.
Outline
A different short story by a different author will be discussed in each class meeting.
Class 1: “The Birthday Party” and “The Selfish Giant”
Class 2: “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Necklace”
Class 3: “How Much Land does a Man Need?” and “The Happy Prince”
Class 4: “Desiree’s Baby” and “The Gift of the Magi”
Class 5: “The Enchanted Bluff” and “Tobermory”
Class 6: “Golden Honeymoon” and “The Quiet Man”
Class 7: “Leaf by Niggle”
Class 8: Discussion
Materials and Homework
Course Materials: 100 Great Short Stories, edited by James Dailey. ISBN-10: 0486790215 (ISBN-13: 978-0486790213) also available as an ebook. The instructor will also provide free PDF files with stories in the public domain.
Homework: We will read two different short stories as homework each day and discuss the stories in the next class. There is no homework before our first class meeting. We will read a few very short stories together in the first class meeting to get our feet wet.
