Genre Study:  The Short Story

by Richard Leise

As teachers continue to search for means to fortify their classrooms by way of a scaffolded, constructivist approach, genre studies have emerged as the leading supplement to traditional reading and writing instruction.  Educators such as Randy Bomer (1995) have turned to genre instruction because “genre is the most basic tool for a literate imagination….the fundamental shaping force” (1).  And the role of genre is not simply limited to the shaping of imaginations.  Lucy McCormick Calkins (1994) posits that genre studies are created as a means to scaffold and support reading-writing connections, and, therefore, such studies are fundamental enough so as to shape entire curriculums around them. 

Of course with change comes resistance.  Charles R. Cooper (1999), professor from the University of California-San Diego, argues, “The greatest resistance to the genre theory of literacy comes from expressivist teachers, whose primary goal is to facilitate students’ discovery of their voices” (46).  This paper is written in response to such resistance.  Through the examination of one particular genre, the short story, I will illustrate the effectiveness of genre study, how working with one particular genre in close detail, how, in fact, shaping one’s curriculum around a genre, allows a teacher to assist students as they work to discover their voices while at once providing the necessary scaffolding inherent in any constructionist setting.  Students need “real-world” reasons to write:  of this fact most educators agree.  Genre studies, by their very nature, not only allow for, but demand, such writing.  Moreover, when properly employed, genre studies hold teachers to higher levels of accountability.  If we, as teachers, possess greater understandings of particular genres, Cooper continues, “if we understand the unique characteristics of these genres….then we can give more productive assignments and evaluate students’ writing more insightfully.”  Perhaps most importantly, an in-depth knowledge of the particular genre we are studying will assist us to see greater promise in the weakest of student writing.  Gone, perhaps erased completely, is the simple division between good and bad writing. 

As one might imagine, the main component of any genre study is the genre itself; the particular discourse and subsequent keystone texts selected to scaffold reading and writing instruction.  There is no doubt that the short story is a capable genre, its long history and contemporary relevance solidifying the discourse as worthy of in-depth study.  Rhetorician Theresa Enos (1996) cites genre as “a cognitive construction, a coding template that leads to active, often purposeful, reading and writing” (280).  The short story is indeed a cognitive construction:  authors, through painstaking calculation and revision, word choice and syntax, create texts that can only be understood through perception, reasoning, or intuition.  Granted, nothing may ever be known after reading a short story, but knowledge is generated.  Unlike genres with relatively clear templates such as haiku, or sonnet, short stories lack true “blueprints” from which to decode.  Short stories do not consist of fourteen total lines, for example, the last two of which are a rhyming couplet.  One could go so far as to argue that unlike some forms of poetry and, to include another genre, feature writing, there is no template for generating a short story.  This fact, however, should not exclude the genre from the type of instruction discussed here.  Educators speak of genres as contracts:  the idea that those writing within genres do so on the belief that their readers will be accessing their work with a set of “tools” with which to attack the text, the author agreeing to stick within the confines of the genre, that form which the reader expects to receive information.  Authors of short stories, while perhaps less formulaic in their creations, adhere to this idea of a contract:  to do anything less is to negate the purpose of their projects (unless, of course, the project of a given story is to confuse and alienate, which is another discussion in and of itself).  While a later section of this paper is devoted to defining the definition of short story in some depth, it is important to note here a few basic tenets:  While novels are known for their sprawling grandeur, often associated with (in some basic form) a beginning, middle and end, short stories are associated with general simplicity:  the accurate rendering of a scene, thought, subject, or, in some cases, mood. 

To illustrate the relative uniformity of short story writing, two keystone texts will be referenced:  Powder, by Tobias Wolff; and The Raft, by Peter Orner.  Both authors of contemporary fiction, Wolff and Orner have similar approaches to writing the short story:  the creation of conventional, almost transparent prose, to tell a tale and evoke a mood.  This is dissimilar to the short fiction of such author’s as Toni Morrison, who, in the vein of William Faulkner, disregards convention and uses language much more elaborately.  Of course there is no right or wrong way to write short fiction.  However, there may be a right and wrong way to introduce such fiction to students new to the genre.  William Faulkner has written some of the greatest short fiction the world has ever seen:  that said, is it reasonable to expect our students to duplicate such prose?  Of course not.  Nor, for that matter, is it wrong to expose our students to such writing.  To the contrary, all students should read both William Faulkner and Toni Morrison – in due time.  Of significance here is Wolff’s more basic prose and his association with the short story:  in line with Raymond Carver, he is considered a master.  Orner too, rings true to this form.  It is important to select works which entire classrooms of students can relate – not simply a select few. 

Other researchers agree.  Kathleen Dinneen and Maryanne O’Connor, proponents of genre study, particularly of the short story, cite poor student achievement on the Reading Section of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, particularly deficiencies in the areas of generalizations and inference, as the catalyst for their creation of their short story genre study (Elements of a Short Story, 1983).  “This deficiency shows an inability on the part of students to comprehend the ‘whole’ of what they are reading,” the researchers argue.  “Their understanding is limited to the literal and the simple recollection of factual details….One way to improve students’ ability in the areas of forming generalizations and inferences is by exposing students to the elements of the short story” (1).  Dinneen and O’Connor stress the importance of selecting short stories appropriate for the reading levels of the students.  Age-appropriate texts “can give all students equal exposure to works of merit and hopefully bridge the gap which exists between high and low achievers” (1).   

In Teaching Reading and Writing Popular Fiction:  Horror, Adventure, Mystery and Romance, Karen M. Hubert defends a similar approach to genre instruction. “Children are familiar, by the remarkably early age of seven or eight, with nearly all the literary forms:  poems, diaries, fiction, essays, biographies, interviews and book reviews” (11).  And while acknowledging that student writing assignments are often eclectic, Hubert notes that “for the most parts our students write to entertain us, not themselves.  We tend to lose sight of the variety of literary forms with which they themselves are familiar” (12).  It is this familiarity with such a wide array of discourses that suggests the importance of genre instruction.  Students come to class with a working knowledge of many genres.  As teachers, we need to, as Calkins suggests, “use and extend whatever genre knowledge our students bring with them” (35).  If Cooper is correct in that teachers rarely arrange and discuss genres before writing activities, allowing students the opportunity to analyze and discuss specific elements of a given genre will sharpen both reading and writing skills dramatically.  The genre approach to reading and writing instruction will enable students to move past simply writing to impress their teachers and afford them the opportunity to impress themselves. 

A Brief History of the Short Story 

The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory has a comprehensive, and useful, historical account of the short story.  It cites the rather long short (D.H. Lawrence’s The Fox (1923), 30,000 words) and the short short (Kleist’s ghost story, Das Bettelweib von Locarno (1810), 800 words), but no concrete definition is offered.  As point of fact, Penguin goes so far as to suggest, “there seems to be little point in measuring” the classification of the short story (864).  Nevertheless, Somerset Maugham is noted for remarking in his preface to Complete Short Stories that the shortest work is about 1,600 words and the longest 20,000.  From this information, one gets the sense that no one knows the length constraints placed upon the short story.  This just might be the point. 

It is argued that the short story is “related” in some way to myth, parable, legend, fable, fairy tale, essay, character study and even anecdote.  Penguin notes that the term “short story” has relatives in the shapes of French, Spanish, Italian and German words, suggesting a deep and complex ancestry.  Some suggest that many of the earliest short stories can be found in the Bible, accounts of Cain and Abel, Judith and Suzannah, to name a few. 

What we consider the modern short story – written in prose, for example, as opposed to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (which, paradoxically, are considered short stories) – probably arose in Britain during the second half of the 18th century as a response to a growing appetite for Gothic novels.  While other writers influenced the emerging genre, perhaps the most notable names to arise at or about this time are Sir Walter Scott, Washington Irvine and Nathaniel Hawthorne (interestingly, the works of each author are associated with “ghost stories” in some regard.) 

Edgar Allen Poe has often been credited with “creating” the modern short story, a claim that Penguin refutes.  However, Poe is certainly given credit for advancing the genre and writing some early theory.  In a review of Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales, Poe “expressed some serviceable precepts on the short story, by which he meant a prose narrative (of indeterminate length) requiring anything from half an hour to one or two hours in its ‘perusal’; a story that concentrates on a unique or single effect and one in which the totality of effect is the main objective” (Penguin, 866-867).  (Poe’s take on the short story will be used to define short story for the purposes of this study.)     

If nothing else, the short story has survived as a genre, clearly defined or not.  “In the end the form has shown itself to be so flexible and susceptible of so much variety that its possibilities seem almost endless,” (Penguin, 867).  That said, it seems that early and contemporary short story authors adhere to those basic tenets outlined by Poe.  In the end, as always, it is up to the reader to decide. 

Defining Short Story 

A quick Google search reveals that short story does not have one definition.  It has dozens.  Some, as you will see, are more entertaining than others:  a short piece of prose fiction, having few characters and aiming at unity of effect; a prose narrative shorter than a novel; one search simply leads to a definition of story (a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events) apparently leaving the reader to deduce that a short story is just a “short one of those;” and the last, most detailed (if not confusing) explanation being that the usual expectation of a short story, as a form in writing, is prose narrative, that establishes a unified mood to relate an incident involving a few characters often in a single setting, generally comprises less than 10,000 to 20,000 words (though usually more than 500 words) and if lacking a narrative arc, its unitary mood will be paramount.  Hmmmm.  Do not think you can turn to The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory for a simple definition, either:  the definition of short story begins, “When it comes to classification this is one of the most elusive forms,” (864) and subsequently sprawls on for pages and pages, easily, ironically enough, one of the book’s longest entries.  Enter the idea of a short novel, or novella – a work of fiction that is longer than a short story and shorter than a novel – and it becomes clear that this researcher will never succeed in catching his tail.  However, lack of a definitive definition aside, careful research does point to certain characteristics that, in some combination or another, are intrinsic to most, if not all, short stories.  Consider the following list: 

1.  Short stories are generally written in prose (that ordinary form of writing or manner of

     speech differentiated from verse).  This is not to suggest that short stories lack any

     lyrical elements, but as a general rule most authors write short stories using direct

     forms of language as they are most ordinarily used. 

2.  Short stories do not have a great number of characters.  In fact, many great short

     stories only have one character.  This is simply a result of the scale of the story.

     Contemporary novelist and short story writer Charles Baxter speaks of

     characterization in his short fiction.  He suggests that you take two characters who

     know one another and simply add a third; the idea is that something is bound to

     happen.  The point is also to convey the “simplicity” of short fiction. 

3.  Writers of short stories aim for a unity of effect.  Short fiction does not necessarily

     require a plot, or narrative arc.  Although narrative arcs are quite prevalent in short

     fiction, some authors choose to create a specific feeling or mood instead of telling a

     tale.  They use various figures of speech to create fiction that evokes, much like a

     poem, a certain feeling.  Of course some short stories possess both narrative arcs and

     highly charged figurative language.  Wolff’s Snow, for example, chronicles the events

     of a late afternoon while underscoring the deep pathos of divorce. 

4.  Setting is usually confined to one basic area (a city, house, room or street).  Basically,

     short stories possess no wild shifts in setting like one might find in a novel.  Again,

     this is a testament to the length of the story.  An author simply does not have the space

     to describe a variety of venues.  Situations are usually confined to one specific,

     generally small area.  Quite often setting plays the role of catalyst driving the narrative

     action of the story, or functions in some way metaphorically. 

Ernest Hemingway’s “Nick Sat Against the Wall…” is a fine example of what today would be considered an extremely short story. 

Nick sat against the wall of the church where they had dragged him to be clear of machine-gun fire in the street.  Both legs stuck out awkwardly.  He had been hit in the spine.  His face was sweaty and dirty.  The sun shone on his face.  The day was very hot.  Rinaldi, big-backed, his equipment sprawling, lay face downward against the wall.  Nick looked straight ahead brilliantly.  The pink wall of the house opposite had fallen out from the roof, and an iron bedstead hung twisted toward the street.  Two Austrian dead lay in the rubble in the shade of the house.  Up the street were other dead.  Things were getting forward in the town.  It was going well.  Stretcher-bearers would be along any time now.  Nick turned his head and looked down at Rinaldi.  “Senta, Rinaldi, senta.  You and me, we’ve made a separate peace.”  Rinaldi lay still in the sun, breathing with difficulty.  “We’re not patriots.”  Nick turned his head away, smiling sweatily.  Rinaldi was a disappointing audience. 

This selection can be considered a short story not simply because of its word length (170) or publication (part of The Nick Adams Stories), but because of Hemingway’s close attention to setting, character, dialogue and imagery.  Analyzing the features of such a concise short story is beneficial to students new to the genre.  In one simple, straight-forward paragraph, Hemingway uses skillful prose, introduces few characters and confines the setting to one general area to relate a story that concentrates on a unique or single effect and one in which the totality of effect is the main objective.  Ironically, some students will take heart in this short of a selection, believing that their own writing time will be reduced.  Only when students begin to write their own stories will they come to appreciate Hemingway’s true genius, will they arrive at the understanding that it is far more difficult to write an effective short story using few words than many. 

It is important to note that this study will not focus on traditional aspects of a story, those elements of a narrative that students are probably familiar with.  Discussion will not revolve around writing a beginning a middle and end (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement).  Students will be encouraged to model their stories after the keystone texts, stories that avoid plot in favor of creating a mood, or unity of effect.   

Pursuing a Genre Study on the Short Story 

Much like the creation of a short story, there is no definitive right or wrong manner by which to conduct a genre study.  Teachers, like authors, have the freedom to use their imaginations to create a series of lessons that will scaffold student reading and writing as both teacher and student work closely together to examine a particular genre.  As research continues and more educators turn to genre instruction as a means to teach reading and writing, several consistencies have emerged as being most beneficial.  The following outline reflects a combination of research and independent thought.    

1.  Selecting Keystone Texts.   

As Calkins suggests, the first step of any whole-class genre study should be the location of a sample text(s) that “Knocks my socks off” (364).  Because only a select few of these keystone texts will be used (considering the relative length of short stories more than two or three stories would be impractical) this process is given heightened urgency.  Because these texts will be used to “introduce” students to the genre, age-appropriate stories with engaging subject matter must be selected.  Avoided are specific “types” of short stories (i.e. science-fiction or horror) that might lock students into a specific pattern of writing from which they will feel confined.  In this case, students are encouraged to write non-traditional, contemporary stories that aim for a unity of effect; as such, the keystone texts should come from non-traditional, contemporary authors.   

Copies of the keystone texts can be found after the appendices.   

2.  Introducing Students to the Genre. 

Because a study of this kind will be unfamiliar to many students, it is necessary to spend ample time allowing students to become comfortable with the short story as a genre.  However, as Bomer suggests, “A danger in reading texts connecting to genre studies is that we may become so concerned with technique, with how these texts do what they do, that we forget to let them do it” (126).  Bomer suggests allowing students the space to respond to keystone texts simply as readers, as human beings who are affected by literature.  Journal writing is an appropriate activity here.  “From the beginning of a genre study….students begin keeping a notebook as a maker of this kind of thing” (128).    Students need time to respond to the texts on a personal level, noting their impressions of the stories citing feeling and emotion rather than analyzing the quality of the writing.  They should document memories these stories bring about, places they have been, experiences they have had, etc.  There is a time and place for analytical responses.  Students must first have the opportunity to reflect. 

Following a first read of the stories and journal reflection, the class begins to analyze the “parts” of the short story.  “The reading and writing of the short story is similar to the development of a fine athlete,” (2) Dinneen and O’Connor suggest.  “The reading of the short story is knowing the rules of the sport and the writing allows the student to actively participate in the game.  The refinement of students’ skills like that of an athlete will improve with consistent, meaningful practice” (2).   

Dinneen and O’Connor do a fine job outlining a useful analysis of the short story, and aspects of their model will be referenced here.  Reading and writing lesson plans are designed to isolate and foster deeper student understanding of the following components of the short story: 

• Character
• Setting 
• Point of View
• Theme (Unity of Effect) 

Several of the reading and writing lessons included in this study are based on Dinneen and O’Connor’s unit plan.  However, all of the lessons employ a constructionist, scaffolded approach to reading and writing instruction; a method that allows students the opportunity to work in groups, the chance to revise one another’s work, provides time for oral reading and encourages publication.  Group work is an integral aspect of a genre study; students will work together in small groups to define clearly the basic elements of the short stories they are reading, and, ultimately, writing.  Character, setting, point of view and theme will be clearly defined through a combination of group work and participation in a series of pointed lessons.  The teacher’s role in synthesizing this information is critical; concepts will be reviewed and clearly defined; handouts detailing a complete list of the short story’s characteristics (and their definitions) will be provided.         

An overview detailing the reading and writing activities can be found in Appendix A.  These lessons will be taught in conjunction with the reading of the keystone texts, before students begin writing their stories.  At this point students will be listing ideas in their writers notebooks and working to develop understandings of select language devices and literary conventions. 

3.  Developing Topics for Student Writing 

Aside from the formal “Reading Day” (an entire class period in which students read their stories and which will serve as this study’s culminating activity), the drafting and revision of student writing is the final aspect of a study on the short story.  Journal writing, in conjunction with scaffolded reading and writing lesson plans, are designed to, among other objectives, assist students as they work to develop topics for their short stories. 

Selecting a topic “worthy” of the time it takes to write a good short story is problematic for writers of all ages.  Marion Dane Bauer, author of What’s Your Story, A Young Person’s Guide to Writing Fiction, suggests that keeping a writer’s notebook is beneficial to writers working to find the perfect subject matter.  “At the top of the first page….write two questions to remind yourself of what you’re doing,” (4) Bauer suggests.  “Who is the story about? and What does he[/she] want” (4)?  Most importantly, students need to keep their notebooks with them at all times.  That way, “When an idea comes to [a student] – from something in [their] own life, a newspaper story, television, school, a conversation overheard at the mall – [they can] jot it down in their notebook.  [They] don’t need to write it out fully or to write it so that anyone else can understand it.  Put down just enough to prompt [their] memory when [they] check [their] notes later” (4-5).   

Because students are more interested in creating a mood, are aiming for a unity of effect, Bauer’s second suggestion, having students consider what the character wants, is not practical.  In its stead, students will be directed to consider what words, actions, symbols or images will work to create an effect that shows, rather than tells, what the story is about.  Because this is not an easy concept, it is vital for the teacher to refer to the keystone texts regularly, noting specifically the aspects of the stories that the students are to embrace. 

Students will begin writing in their journals on the first day of the study, and by the time the drafting process begins students will have a wealth of material from which to select their topics.  To select the best possible idea, Bauer offers three suggestions (in the form of questions) as students begin sorting through pages of notes:  Can your main character solve her own problem?  Will your main character have to struggle to solve his[\her] problem?  Is the problem important to the main character?  Of course the keystone texts selected for this study are more interested in creating a tone than following a linear, narrative arc.  Bauer’s suggestions are important to note, however, because those types of questions are precisely those that students should avoid dwelling upon.  Instead, students should wonder:  Who are the characters in my story?  What is their relationship to one another?  From where does tension arise?  Where are these characters placed?  What words, or images, can I use to accurately represent the characters?  The tension? 

A portion of class-time will be set aside so that students can have the opportunity to discuss their topics with the class.  This will give students the chance to brainstorm their ideas with peers, and offer students who are struggling to decide upon a topic the chance to hear the direction that their classmates are heading. 

4.  Short Story Assignment 

While students are brainstorming topics for their short stories, a formal assignment will be presented, accompanied by a grading rubric.  As Bomer suggests, “Genre studies condition reading – in the emphasis on short texts, in directing readers’ attention explicitly toward the writer’s craft, in valuing responses written in literary modes over expository writing about literature” (128).  Students will be exposed to elements of well-written short fiction, and the assignment will cater to those specific elements. 

Grading student fiction is difficult.  Joseph Howard Anderson, in Meeting a Character:  A Way to Teach Short Fiction Writing, stresses the importance of making grading criteria clear before students begin work on their final drafts.  He notes two criteria that he has found fairly easy to evaluate:  completeness (does the student tell the story fully); and conflict (is the character involved in truly challenging situation?).  Because our students are interested in dealing with mood, emphasis will be placed upon their ability to evoke a tone that, coupled with imagery, works more to show the reader a story rather than simply telling one.  As Soven suggests, criteria for evaluation and grading scales will be distributed at the same time the assignment is presented.  This is important for a few reasons.  Soven notes that many students feel that teachers are intentionally vague when grading; furthermore, many students believe that it is useless to question a score they receive.  The distribution of specific criteria will go a long way towards alleviating such fears.  Students can also use the material to “grade” their own work before submitting final drafts.  “Although it is impossible to develop a mechanical formula for assigning grades, it is possible to describe a range of characteristics typical of papers that will receive specific grades.  Developing such descriptions has the added advantage of helping instructors avoid the eccentricity of judgment that can occur if they focus too heavily on one element in the paper when assigning a grade” (Soven 118). 

See Appendix B for a copy of the formal assignment and criteria for evaluation.   

5.  Selected Mini-lessons:  Tone, Imagery and Point of View 

Mini-lessons, according to Nancy Atwell, “are lectures at the start of a class about procedures, conventions, craft, genre, and topic development” (15).  More importantly, “the mini-lesson is a forum for sharing [teachers’] authority – the things they know that will help writers and readers grow” (150).  Atwell does not see mini-lessons as brief, five or ten minute scripted lessons.  She sees them as long and fully interactive.  Perfect, in other words, for a genre study. 

Specific elements of short stories have been established.  Namely: prose; character; effect; setting; and, to a lesser degree, conflict.  With this basic knowledge students can draft the shells of capable stories.  A knowledge of a few fictional conventions and language devices, however, will go a long way towards shaping more sophisticated, meaningful stories.  Mini-lessons, used to teach specific elements found in fine short stories, will be given between drafts of student writing.  Writing workshops must follow every mini-lesson; students need time to directly apply what they have learned as they draft and revise their stories.  

The tone of a story is the reflection of a writer’s attitude, manner, mood and moral outlook in his or her work.  A mini-lesson on tone will allow students to use listening, speaking, active reading and writing activities to document and analyze the tone of the keystone texts, looking specifically at diction (word choice) to discover what the tone of the story reveals about the authors’ true beliefs, attitudes, feelings, or changes they wish to see in the world.  For an example of a mini-lesson on tone, see appendix C. 

A mini-lesson on imagery, which can be found in appendix D, is used to illustrate the importance of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas.  Basic figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, hyperbole and understatement will be discussed.   

Finally, students have selected their topics and are ready to begin writing.  As Bauer suggests, “There is one final decision to make before [one is] ready to begin writing.  It is a quite simple one, though essential.  What point of view are you going to use for telling [the] story” (57)?  For those students who have never written creatively (and those who have never wrote outside of the first-person) selecting a point of view will be a difficult task.  In fact, most students will probably opt to write in the first-person, sticking inside the confines of that which comes most easily to them.  A mini-lesson on point of view will encompass the following: 

• First-person
• Third-person limited
• Third-person omniscient
• Second person (This would depend on the class) 

Pros and cons of each point of view will be discussed in some detail, and examples taken from well-known short stories and novels will be provided.  A mini-lesson on point of view can be found in Appendix E. 

6.  Peer Review 

Unlike the evaluation of formal papers, where a high emphasis is placed upon grammar and peer review is often discouraged, such is not the case when assessing fiction.  While attention to grammar is of course required, this is given little importance in the initial drafting stages.  Students are much more concerned with content.  And it is here, for perhaps the first time in their academic lives, that students are on a level playing field with their instructors:  there are simply no authorities on the short story.  In highly advanced and competitive MFA programs around the world, writing workshops and student evaluation play an integral, if not key, role.  Instructors guide, but in no way function as authoritarians.   

Jim Burke, in The English Teacher’s Companion:  A Complete Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession, notes that “students listen to each other if given the chance; they appreciate being taken seriously, having the teacher recognize that they have something to say” (292).  More importantly, it is quite possible that students will better understand other student writing.  Once removed from the adolescent experience, it is difficult for adults to fully immerse themselves in the intricate complexities of the juvenile mind.  So much escapes us:  terminology, popular culture, allusions, feelings.  In many ways, quite possibly, a teacher is ill equipped to assist student writers; it is we who will need to be brought up to speed.  Writing workshops and student evaluation is a great means by which to not only help the writer, but ground the teacher. 

A copy of the student evaluation sheet can be found in Appendix F.  

7.  Publishing        

For most professional (or would-be professional) writers, publishing is the final stage of the writing process.  We want to publish our work; be it a short story, novel, poem or article.  As Soven suggests, “One of the most valuable techniques for encouraging good writing is giving students the opportunity for publication.  Publication as a way of motivating writing seems to work at all levels, from first grade or second grade….to the junior, senior, and college levels” (51). 

Soven notes that for publication to be truly effective, the opportunity must be available for all of the students.  All too often only the best of the class receive notoriety for their work.  There are no contests that award prizes for mediocre writing.  Students benefit greatly from seeing their work in print, their stories in collections next to the work of other student writers.  Students are much more likely to take their work seriously if aware that the finished product will be on display.  Moreover, the promise of seeing their stories in print will motivate students to put out their best work. 

It is not all about reading and writing.  Publication of student writing allows for a formal “reading day,” class time set aside for the reading of stories.  Not only is this a great break from the normal class schedule, such a day allows for a particular type of camaraderie and fraternization not experienced at any grade level.  The teacher provides refreshments and students are provided the opportunity to enjoy themselves.  Students will read their own stories, after which their peers will take a few moments to write personal (How does the story make you feel?  What did you see?) and analytical (What language devices or fictional conventions did the author use?  What were the story’s strengths and weaknesses?) responses.  These responses will be shared with the authors.   

Genres emerge as the result of repeated social interactions.  Cooper asks the question:  “How can students gain perspectives on genres that may seem to them to exclude, constrain, or alienate” (27).  The only way for students to feel as though they belong is if they do belong.  Publication, and subsequent reading days, seems to provide students the opportunity to partake in a genre from which they are most often alienated. 

8.  Reflection  

Any culminating activity ultimately requires some degree of reflection.  A genre study is no different.  Of particular importance here, however, is the teacher’s role.  An important component of the genre study is the teacher’s active involvement.  A teacher must be flexible, willing to change lesson-plans, devise new mini-lessons as gaps in student achievement become prevalent.  Randy Bomer, when considering genre, wonders:  “What do writers in this genre do?  What are the conditions under which they do it?  What are the main things they have to pay attention to?  How can those things become a part of my class, both in the physical room and also in structures of time and activity” (132)?  Of course these are important questions to ask at the beginning of any study, but they seem to hold a certain importance for teachers following their studies.  There seems to be no better time to answer these questions than directly following a genre study. 

For their part, students can perform a number of activities in reflection.  Especially useful will be a return to their writer’s notebooks.  Students will have filled many pages with dozens of ideas, possible topics for more stories, fodder for poetry, humorous anecdotes, insights into their lives that they might not have thought interesting prior.  Students could use this information to write an essay on the process of creating a short story.  Most students are familiar with essay as a genre and can produce some meaningful reflection via another mode of writing. 

Building Ties to Other Genres 

The creative aspect of short story writing crosses nicely into many other genres.  Students can take the knowledge and concepts they have developed as part of a genre study on the short story and apply it to other reading and writing activities such as:  memoirs, journals, essays, feature articles, different types of poetry, etc.  Most importantly, students will have developed the ability to see past the literal and the simple recollection of factual details to arrive at greater understandings of the different genres they are engaging.  It is important to remember that students bring a wealth of knowledge to any text they engage.  If students refine a few basic skills (and practice what they have learned), our students will have much greater reading and writing experiences.            

Works Cited

Anderson, Joseph Howard.  (1989).  Meeting a Character:  A Way to Teach Short Fiction

Writing.  English Journal, 78(2), 44-47. 

Atwell, Nancie.  In the Middle:  New Understandings About Writing, Reading and

Learning.  Portsmouth, NH:  Boynton/Cook Publishers, 1998. 

Bauer, Marion Dane.  What’s Your Story?  A Young Person’s Guide to Writing Fiction.

New York, NY:  Clarion Books, 1992.   

Bomer, Randy.  Time for Meaning:  Crafting Literate Live in Middle and High School.

Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann, 1995. 

Burke, Jim.  The English Teacher’s Companion:  A Complete Guide to Classroom,

Curriculum, and the Profession.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann, 2003. 

Calkins, Lucy McCormick.  The Art of Teaching Writing.  Portsmouth, NH, Toronto,

Canada:  Heinemann, Irwin, 1994.

Cooper, Charles R., Odell, Lee.  Evaluating Writing:  The Role of Teachers’ Knowledge

            about Text, Learning, and Culture.  Urbana, Ill:  National Council of Teachers of

English, 1999. 

Dinneen, Kathleen, O’Connor, Maryanne.  Elements of the Short Story.  1983.   

            <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1983/3/83.03.09.x.html> 

Enos, Theresa.  Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition:  Communication from

Ancient Times to the Information Age.  New York & London:  Garland Publishing, Inc, 1996. 

Fournier, David N.E., Graves, Michael F.  (2002).  Scaffolding Adolescents’

Comprehension of Short Stories.  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46(1),

30-38. 

Hubert, Karen M.  Teaching and Writing Popular Fiction:  Horror, Adventure, Mystery,

and Romance in the American Classroom.  New York, NY:  Teachers and

Writers, 1985. 

Orner, Peter.  The Raft.  Ed. Barbara Kingsolver.  The Best American Short Stories 2001.

Boston, New York:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. 

Cuddon, J.A. (Ed).  Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms, The.  London:  Penguin Books

            Ltd, 1991.   

Soven, Margot Iris.  Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools:  Theory,

Research, and Practice.  Needham Heights, MA:  Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 

Wolff, Tobias.  The Night in Question.  New York, NY:  Vintage Books, 1996. 

Appendix A (See O’Connor and Dinneen for complete lesson plans.)

Section One:  Character

Character development in life is a continual evolutionary and vital process in which we are all participants; some more actively, directly and dynamically than others.  Because we bring to the reading of short stories our own intrinsic character development, we have a very read basis with which to explore the character development in the short story. Wilson Thornley writes in his book, Short Story Writing, “the reader intensely participates through identification and such identification and participation are imperative.”

We come to know the characters in the short story through the indirect method of 1) physical description, 2) the character’s thoughts, feelings and words, 3) the comments and reactions of others and 4) the actions of the character and the direct method of the author’s stated opinion about the character.

The adolescent age of uncertainty as an optimum time for students to utilize this stage in their development to understand the elements of the short story and use the insights gained from the analysis of such character development in the short story to better understand their own character and its development.  The reading of selected short stories will engage the students’ active participation in an understanding of self, their life’s central character, and the others that touch their lives.

To illustrate the element of character students will look at elements of character in The Raft. 

Reading Lesson Plan

Writing Lesson Plan

Character Analysis

1. Ask students to write a description of someone in the building. Include in their description a physical description, what the person says and actions the person does. Ask students to read their description to class without mentioning names. The class should try to identify individual being described.

2. Ask students to think of someone special in their lives. Describe this individual physically and tell different things this person does that makes them special. Have students tell how they believe this special person thinks and feels. 

Section Two:  Setting

Setting or the time and place of the action in a short story has a definite impact on the character development and plot. The setting is often found in the exposition of the plot and readily establishes time and place. Frequently it plays an important role in the conflict giving credence to the rising action as a climax or turning point is approached. 

The element of setting in a short story quite readily lends itself to writing activities that focus on figurative language and effective use of adjectives to create vivid, exact sense images and impressions.

The study of setting in the short story not only enables the students to analyze the importance of this element to the whole but will allow them to reflect upon the importance of time and place in their own life and understand how it contributes to their own character development and conflicts. 

Students will analyze the setting of Tobias Wolff’s Powder. 

Reading Lesson Plan

Writing Lesson Plan

Have students choose five non-human objects and give the objects a human characteristic or trait. 

-or-

Have students choose one object and choose five human traits for that object. 

Creative Writing

Ask students to choose one subject from the following list:

1. A special pet

2. A unique object

3. A tranquil place to go

4. An important person in my life

5. Themself

6. Anything they choose

7. A favorite food

Write a descriptive paragraph on the topic chosen. Be certain to use descriptive language that appeals to the senses. Utilize figurative language (similes, metaphors and personification) in their description.

Pair students and have each read the other’s descriptive paragraph making suggestions for improvement on an index card.

Return paper and index card with comments for possible rewriting.

Teacher should also give positive feedback before final writing is completed in journal.

Vocabulary Worksheet

The setting of the short story tells the Time and Place of the action. To make a setting or background for the main character to come alive, we often use descriptive language which is not meant to be taken in its literal sense called Figurative Language.

Some examples of such descriptive language are:

1. Simile: A comparison between two unlike things that uses the words like or as; for example, This bread is as hard as a rock.

2. Metaphor: A comparison between two dissimilar things that does not use the words like or as; for example, Life is a short story of conflicts and compromise.

3. Personification: That which give human traits to non-human things; for example, The waves danced on the jagged rocks.

Using language that appeals to any sense or any combination of senses is called Imagery. These senses are Sight, Hearing, Taste, Touch or Smell. Sometimes using an object, person, place, or action that has a meaning in itself and stands for something larger than itself; an idea, belief, or value called Symbol helps to improve our writing of a short story. It is important that we can differentiate between the literal meaning of a word Denotation and the emotion or association that a word may arouse Connotation.

Section Three:  Theme (Unity of effect.)

Theme is that controlling idea or belief as to what is important and unimportant in life. It gives a basic meaning to a literary work. Generally, theme is inferred from the other elements in the short story and often evolves through conflict(s) experienced by the main character.

Adolescence finds itself vacillating between childhood securities and a young adult’s search to know oneself. In an effort to respond positively to students’ confusion and self-doubts, their preoccupation with peer status, their desire to achieve personal autonomy as well as help them to accomplish academic success, we believe a focus on the conflicts characteristic of the adolescent period and their emerging themes will help students to better understand themselves and those who touch their lives.

If we provide opportunities for this self-awareness through selected short stories most students will more readily and willingly see self in their readings and more confidently share that self with others through their writings. 

Reading Lesson Plan

Appendix B

Short Story Assignment

At last, the time has arrived:  the opportunity to use all that you have learned to write your own short story.  We have discussed definitions of the short story; elements found in most short fiction; ways to generate the perfect topic; figures of speech to breathe live into your stories.  Not it is time to write. 

Because of the nature of the short story, few constraints will be placed upon you; similarly, little by way of traditional evaluation will be used here.  You will be treated as responsible, mature authors.  Therefore, there is no: 

• Set page length (it is up to you to decide when your story is finished)
• Required research (although many authors research their subject matter)
• Set format (other than the use of prose)
• Required first draft (although you will be expected to revise your work both in and of class)

You will be expected to: 

• Fully explore your story (there must be some sense that you have achieved a unity of effect)
• Type your final draft (use any font or spacing, although variations must be meaningful)
• Use classroom appropriate language (use figurative, not foul, langage)
• Select appropriate themes (avoid senseless “gross-out” scenes)

Remember:  You are creating a piece of art.  Artwork is only as meaningful as the effort put into it by its creator. 

Due Dates: 

1st Writing Workshop ___________

2nd Writing Workshop ___________

3rd Writing Workshop ____________

4th Writing Workshop ____________

Short Story due date and Reading Day TBA

Grading Criteria

In line with the New York State Regents Examination, your stories will be assessed in accordance with the following rubric.  Use this rubric to assess your own writing.     

6 = Complete understanding; clear focus; fully developed.    

5 = Consistent understanding; thorough; a few minor flaws. 

4 = Basic understanding; minor flaws more evident. 

3 = Flawed understanding; some major flaws. 

2 = Vague or inaccurate understanding with major flaws.

1 = No understanding or attempt made.  

Context (25%) 

__ Does the story fit the class definition of a short story?                                           1  2  3  4  5  6 

__ Is a unity of effect achieved?                                                                                          1  2  3  4  5  6 

__ Does the story have a clearly defined tone?                                                           1  2  3  4  5  6

__ Is the subject matter appropriate?                                                                                    1  2  3  4  5  6 

Procedure (50%)

__ Does the story contain the elements that comprise a short story?                                            1  2  3  4  5  6   

__ Is a clear point of view established?                                                                                 1  2  3  4  5  6 

__ Is there varied and sophisticated use of figurative language?                                          1  2  3  4  5  6   

__ Does the author use classroom appropriate language?                                                    1  2  3  4  5  6   

__ Does the story seem fully explored, leaving the reader

     with a sense of finality?  If ambiguous, does the uncertainty work?                               1  2  3  4  5  6       

Mechanics (15%) 

__ Is the story typed?                                                                                              1  2  3  4  5  6    

__ Are grammar and punctuation correct?                                                                      1  2  3  4  5  6   

__ Are typos and spelling errors corrected?                                                                        1  2  3  4  5  6     

__ Is unconventional font and/or spacing justified?                                                            1  2  3  4  5  6   

Literary Merit (10%) 

__ Is the overall story well conceived?                                                                       1  2  3  4  5  6   

__ Does the author demonstrate skill in creating his/her story?                                              1  2  3  4  5  6       

Appendix C

Mini-Lesson on Tone

Short-Range Objectives: 

Students will use listening, speaking, active reading and writing activities to document and analyze what the tone of Ernest Hemingway’s “Nick Sat Against the Wall…” reveals about the author’s true beliefs, attitudes, feelings, or changes he wishes to see in the world.  Students will use directed reading skills and graphic organizers to analyze the tone of the story; they will document several reasons why Hemmingway chooses to establish this specific tone; and student’s will analyze several links between this tone and Hemmingway’s broader theme or vision.  Students will apply this knowledge as they draft their stories.       

Long-Range Objectives: 

Students will develop a thorough understanding of tone, which will enable them to recognize tone in other pieces of literature, and to form a greater understanding of tone as a fictional convention.  Students will learn how to recognize tone via changes in word choice, or diction, and how tone should be read and/or internalized. 

Inspiration: 

• Tone is an important convention employed by writers of fiction and non-fiction alike.  However, tone is also quite subversive in nature, often on the periphery of any good text, and, therefore, quite often outside the realm of a student’s ability to grasp.  Providing students with the tools necessary to recognize the tone of any given text will essentially provide students with the tools necessary to understand the world around them.

• Students will be able to see the power of word choice.  Subsequently, students will be able to use tone as a tool help them to develop fresh, original ideas, and to add variety to their sentences. 

Inquiry-Based Activity 

The tone of a story is defined as:  The reflection of a writer’s attitude, manner, mood and moral outlook in his work.  Students break into pairs.  Teacher posts blown-up passage of story on overhead.  Students are instructed to complete their graphic organizers (see below).  Students are required to document and summarize the tone of the passage; analyze and document whether this tone is consistent with the action of the story; analyze and document several reasons why Hemingway uses this specific tone; and analyze and document several links between the tone established in the story and what changes Hemingway might wish to see in the world. 

Debriefing: 

- Why is tone such an effective fictional convention? 

- What role does the reader play in deciphering the tone of the text? 

Tone and Diction 

************************************************************************

Tone is the attitude a writer takes toward a subject.  One way in which writers create tone is through diction, or word choice.  Choose two words from the following list (or select your own) that best describe the tone of the story:  serious, playful, bitter, proud, anxious, shocked, sad.  Write these words in the chart below, then record examples of diction from the story that contribute to each tone you have identified. 

Appendix D

Mini-Lesson on Imagery

Short-Range Objectives: 

Students will use listening, speaking, reading and writing activities to document and analyze examples of imagery in Powder.  Students will use imagery handouts, concept maps and directed reading skills to document three different instances of imagery in the story; document what category each example of imagery falls in; analyze how each categorized example of imagery functions to establish the tone of the novel; and to analyze what each categorized example reveals about Wolff’s greater vision or theme.  Students will apply this knowledge to create imagery as they continue to draft their stories.          

Long-Range Objectives: 

Students will develop a thorough understanding of imagery that will enable them to discover and identify imagery in other written texts.  Students will apply this understanding to help shape both their fiction and non-fiction writing. 

Inspiration: 

• Virtually any great novel, short story or poem contains some element of imagery.  Many students can identify basic functions of imagery.  This understanding is similar to a basic understanding of symbolism:  a writer is using one thing, or things, to describe or represent something else.  And while some students might be able to recognize certain symbols in novels such as To Kill A Mockingbird or The Great Gatsby, high school students do not necessarily recognize, or understand, the order that these symbols take in aligning each novel.  It is the teacher’s job to illustrate such intricacies.  Imagery too is often patterned, given order by an author so as to relate a greater idea.  As such, students need to move past the basic function of imagery as “one thing representing something else” if they are to arrive at greater understandings of the texts they are engaging.

• Imagery is a fun, vital aspect of writing.  Imagery breathes life into the written word, enables paragraphs to pulse with focus and meaning.  Students enjoy making discoveries and unraveling mysteries, and figures of speech and imagery often function as clues; clues, that, when connected, often help the reader crack the surface of the novel and delve into the deeper underpinnings of the text. 

 Main-Inquiry Activity 

Students will break into groups of two or three.  Students will complete concept maps.  The concept maps require students to document two examples of imagery from Powder and to answer the following questions:  What figure of speech is this example of imagery?  What category does this figure of speech fall under?  How does each example of imagery work to shape the tone of the novel? And what does each example reveal about Wolff’s greater vision or theme? 

Debriefing Questions: 

-What differentiates imagery from other language devices such as simile and metaphor? 

-What function does imagery play in creating meaning? 

The Building Blocks of Imagery

Authors use imagery to build, or reinforce, ideas in their stories.  Fill the bottom blocks with one instance of imagery from Powder and The Raft. Following the prompts, use the remaining blocks to analyze specific functions of imagery.  Make sure to document page numbers, note the figure of speech used (i.e. allusion or alliteration) and to categorize your example of imagery (either imagined similarities, suggested associations, or appeals to ear and eye).

Appendix E (Taken from Dinneen and O’Connor) 

Mini-Lesson on Point of View

Case Conference

Teddy is twelve years of age. He is constantly having conflicts in school, this behavior is quite different from that of a year ago. He flatly refuses to participate in class activities and intentionally disrupts such activities by humming aloud, repeatedly tapping his pencil on the desk and outwardly criticizing others: students and teacher. Last year he had a good rapport with his teachers especially in math and English. This year he has the same teachers for math and English, but is verbally abusive to one and simply ignores the other.

His parents are understandably concerned. His father believes the situation should be handled firmly; taking away privileges and time spent with friends. His mother feels a soft, sensitive approach is in order.

Ted’s best friend, Sam feels a need to help Ted because he too, has seen a drastic change in Ted’s behavior.

1. Identify the main character in this case conference.

2. Identify supporting characters.

3. With another student write a dialogue between two of the characters. Write from your characters point of view.

Ted and his father

Ted and his mother

Ted and one of his teachers

Ted and Sam

Ted’s mother and father

4. Allow sufficient time for this activity.

5. Ask students to act out their dialogue and accompanying point of view in class.

Appendix F 

Short Story Peer Review Questions 

Reviewer _______________________

Writer __________________________

The revision process of any writer’s work is crucial.  Writers have editors who look not only for errors (typos and mistakes in grammar) but who hope to offer suggestions that might help to strengthen the piece on a literary level (places where imagery might be used or a word might be replaced with another).  This is your opportunity to function as an editor. 

Read through the story from beginning to end; do not make any comments, just work to get a feel of the story.  Then, read the story a second time, making appropriate suggestions.  Remember:  This review will factor into your grade.  Make sure to do a complete, thoughtful job. 

• Does the story make sense?  Specifically:  Are there places where you as a reader feel lost?  Where you have difficulty making connections?  Does the reader succeed in conveying his or her message or theme?  If the writer fails, how so? 

• Has the author succeeded in creating a unity of effect?  Does the novel have a tone?  If so, list the word(s) you can use to express it.  If not, offer suggestions that might help the author more clearly express his or her tone. 

• Consider what words, actions, symbols or images the author uses to work create an effect that shows, rather than tells, what the story is about.  Highlight or underline them for the author, and list them here.     

• Does the author establish a clear point of view?  Does it remain consistent throughout the story?   

• Are the characters’ actions/thoughts believable? 

• Has enough attention been devoted to the setting?  Explain your answer citing examples from the story. 

• Is the subject matter appropriate? 

Additional Texts 

Snow by Charles Baxter

Winds And Clouds Over A Funeral by Ha Jin 

Call If You Need Me Raymond Carver

Black Elvis by Geoffery Becker

The Fix by Percival Everett

The Fat Girl by Andre Dubus

Rock Springs by Richard Ford

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates 

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien 

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid