Literature Odyssey: Short Stories

Literature Odyssey: Short Stories

Grade level: 8th - 10th

Pages: 324

Course type: Consumable textbook

Print: Looseleaf, binder-ready

eBook: PDF file

Author: Amelia Ostrowski

Literature Odyssey: Short Stories Teacher's Guide is available separately.   

Literature Odyssey: Short Stories is a 16-week course targeted at 9th grade but appropriate for 8th to 10th grade. It is the first in a planned series of eight courses that will cover a typical four-year high school English sequence. 

This first Literature Odyssey course focuses on building deep and active reading habits while practicing purposeful annotation. Students are required to find and use textual evidence to support their analysis in a variety of assignments. In this course, plot structure, setting, characterization, conflict, and theme are examined within ten short stories from a diverse range of authors and topics. The curriculum includes the requisite short stories and generous annotation space.

Each lesson incorporates two activities: 1) Content Assignments designed for focused practice of newly introduced concepts; and 2) Story Assignments that require students to apply these concepts within the context of the lesson’s short story. Assignments include creating a travel journal, designing a book bento, finding foreshadowing and irony in your favorite shows, comparing mood and tone in classic and recut movie trailers, and conducting a capstone conversation. 

To accommodate diverse learning styles, students can choose from a selection of assignments for each unit: 1) Traditional essay;  2) Alternative writing task (such as an interview); or 3) Creative assignment that allows for a more imaginative and hands-on application of the concepts.

Literature Odyssey: Short Stories includes the following stories printed with generous space for annotation:

•  "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
• "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
• "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes
• "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst
• "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain
• "The Medicine Bag" by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
• "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe
• "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl
• "The Stolen Party" by Liliana Heker
• "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

What's included with Literature Odyssey: Short Stories?

• Ten short stories with space for annotation exercises
• Learning objectives
• Suggested timeline
• First read, second read, and annotation instructions
• Story and content assignments
• Story comprehension checks
• Vocabulary
• Analysis questions
• Reflection activities
• Charts and worksheets
• Author biographies

Important Copyright Information

If you choose the eBook version of this course, you are purchasing a license to use the PDF for your own children. You may make copies for your own children, but you may not share (email, download, print and distribute, resell, etc.) this eBook or any portion of it with others.

Licensing is available for group, school, and co-op use. Please contact Pandia Press for details on group licensing: info@pandiapressbooks.com