English Unit: 1 & 2 Short Story construction: Copel
UNIT: ELA Short story unit
Section 1 The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: Students will read, as a group in class, a
short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and will analyze story elements found
within the work.
Strand/Standard:
Strand: Reading and Literature
Grade Span: 9-10
Standard: Fiction - Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure and elements of
fiction and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.
12.5 Locate and analyze such elements in fiction as point of view, foreshadowing, and irony.
Example: For example, after reading a short story such as Saki’s “The Open Window,” students work in
small groups to analyze the story for these elements and present evidence supporting their ideas to the
class.
Strand: Reading and Literature
Grade Span: 9-10
Standard: Understanding a Text - Students will identify the basic facts and main ideas in a text and use
them as the basis for interpretation.
8.30 Identify and interpret themes and give supporting evidence from a text.
1: Introduction: Activate prior knowledge
 What is a short story? How is it different than a novel?
 What short stories have students in this class read?
 What short stories are famous and come to mind? Examples? (Poe- telltale heart,
pit and the pendulum)
 What types of genres of short stories are there?
 What is a genre? List and describe some of the types of genres? (horror, mystery,
romance, humorous, autobiographical, satirical, action-adventure, realistic-fiction.
Science-fiction, western,- children-juvenile-young adult-adult)
 How is a short story different than a novel? Does it still have character
development and plot conflict? How does this develop in the story in comparison
in each?
_____________________________________________________________________
Stop and Explain: Differences between novels, novellas, and short stories:
Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually, a short story will focus on only
one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a limited number of characters, and
covers a short period of time.


A Mini Saga is a short story of exactly 50 words
A Flash fiction is generally defined as a piece of prose under a thousand words.
1



A short story comprises prose writing of less than 10,000 to 20,000 words, but
typically more than 500 words, which may or may not have a narrative arc.
A story containing between 20,000 and 50,000 words falls into the novella
category.
A work of fiction containing more than 50,000 words falls squarely into the realm
of the novel.
In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic
structure. Exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main characters); inciting
incident (the event of the story that introduces the conflict); rising action, crisis (the
decisive moment for the protagonist and their commitment to a course of action); climax
(the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point of the story with the
most action); resolution (the point of the story when the conflict is resolved); and moral.
Because of their short length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. Some
do not follow patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have
an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting
in the middle of the action. As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a
climax, crisis, or turning-point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt
and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson.
________________________________________________________________________
2: Introduce vocabulary words found in story: The Lottery
Lottery, boisterous, reprimands, jovial, paraphernalia, perfunctory, ritual, interminably,
disengaged, chickweed
Give list of ten words from story with definitions provided already. They will look for
these words as we proceed through the story.
Pre-examine Literary Conventions that we may encounter in story.
3: Pass out worksheet on following: Discuss these “literary conventions and
techniques” found in many short stories: (print this out as worksheet to let students
work from while discussing story- let them find examples)



Anthropomorphism, a form of personification, giving human-like characteristics
to both living and non-living objects.
Back-story, the story "behind" or "before" the events being portrayed in the story
being told; past events or background for a character that can serve to color or add
additional meaning to current circumstances. Provides extra depth to the story by
anchoring it to external events, real or imagined.
Flashback, general term for altering time sequences, taking characters back to the
beginning of the tale, for instance.
2













Framing device (used under another name), the usage of a single action, scene,
event, setting, or any element of significance at the beginning and end of a work.
Foreshadowing, hinting at events to occur later.
Irony is the discrepancy between expectation and reality. The three forms of
irony are:
situational irony, where a situation features a discrepancy between what is
expected and what is actualized;
dramatic irony, where a character is unaware of pivotal knowledge which has
already been revealed to the audience (the discrepancy here lies in the two levels
of awareness between the character and the audience); and
verbal irony, where one states one thing while meaning another. Verbal irony is
the lowest form of irony. The difference between verbal irony and sarcasm is
exquisitely subtle and oft contested, but exists nonetheless. The concept of irony
is too often misunderstood in popular usage. Unfortunate circumstances and
coincidences do not constitute irony (nor do they qualify as being tragic
Overstatement, exaggeration of something, often for the purpose of emphasis
(also known as a hyperbole.
Personification, the use of comparative metaphors and similes to give living
characteristics to non-living objects.
Plot twist is a change ("twist") in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of
a film or novel.
Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice
punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to
the character's own conduct.
Sensory detail or Imagery, sight, sound, taste, touch, smell.
Symbolism, the applied use of symbols: iconic representations that carry
particular conventional meanings.
Tone, or the overall attitude that an author appears to hold toward the work—
Coordinate with Mr. Harker: which major literary devices have they been exposed to?
Which should we add this round?
______________________________________________________________________
3: Read “The Lottery” in a round-robin fashion in a group. After every other
reader stop, and ask some of these questions





What is happening? What type of genre is this story? Can we tell?
What is the setting? Where? When? Who are the characters?
Is there a main character? Are there protagonists and antagonists?
What is taking place? How do we know? What clues are we given? What can
we infer from those clues? (What does it mean to infer?)
Where is this story going? Can we predict? What do we think will happen?
When the story discussion is done, show the short film of “The Lottery” 18
minutes in length How does the film compare with the written story?
3




Which do you prefer? Why?
Which requires more attention? More imagination?
How is watching a film different than reading a story?
Which requires more imagination on the part of the receiver?
_______________________________________________________
What examples from this list of literary techniques can we find in this story?












Foreshadowing?
Framing Device?
Symbolism?
Irony?
Plot twist?
Sensory Details or imagery?
Juxtaposition?
Overstatement?
Flashback?
Anthropomorphism?
Back Story?
Poetic Justice?
Name which above items can be found in this story? Be ready to explain-defend your
answers.
POST STORY ASSESSMENT: give 5 question short quiz





What point of view was the story written from?
Describe two examples of “foreshadowing” in the story that occur?
What type of “resolution” do we have in this story? Is it expected? Why or
why not?
Is there a message or a moral to this story?
Was the final “resolution” ironical? Explain your opinion, why or why not?
Final assessment will take place after second story, Nine Billion Names of God, when
both stories are discussed (focus on literary terms identifiable in both stories) in a 20
question multiple choice quiz.
4
Story 2: Class Reading of Arthur C Clarke’s “Nine Billion Names of God”
Strand: Reading and Literature
Grade Span: 9-10
Standard: Fiction - Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure and elements of
fiction and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.
12.5 Locate and analyze such elements in fiction as point of view, foreshadowing, and irony.
Example: For example, after reading a short story such as Saki’s “The Open Window,” students work in
small groups to analyze the story for these elements and present evidence supporting their ideas to the
class.
____________________________________________________________________________________
MONDAY : VOCABULARY FROM STORY: Give 20 terms from story and have
students match them to a list of definitions: they may use the computers in the room or
the dictionaries, ASSIGN IN CLASS MONDAY - THAN TAKE REMAINDER WORK
HOME- DUE THURSDAY IN CLASS AFTER STORY
Introduction Background Knowledge: Start unit introduction by setting place, characters
and background on the Tibetan monks. Started with first half of movie, The Cup,
showing life in an actual monastery in Tibet.
Continue to address earlier standards as needed and as they apply to more difficult text.)
4.26: Identify and use correctly new words acquired through study of their different relationships to other
words.
4.27: Use general dictionaries, specialized dictionaries, thesauruses, histories of language, books of
quotations, and other related references as needed.
Commendable
Monastery
Lamasery
Compiling
Imperturbably
Annoyance
Ritual
Fundamental
Philosophical
Systematic
Succession
Permute
Kilowatts
Vertiginous
Parapet
Gibberish
Permutation
Contingency
Blasphemy
Incessant
TUESDAY
________________________________________________________________________
Interrupted by Denise C- class period used for departmental business in choosing next
years courses. Start of story postponed until Wednesday, second half of movie The Cup
dropped till after story. Will finish at end if time permits.
5
WEDNESDAY: READING:
Class Reading: Nine Billion Names of God
Setup clear expectations: What are we doing this class
 Today we are reading another story; The Nine Billion Names of God
 We will be looking for similarities and differences between this new story and the
Lottery which we read last week (Draw two circles on the board- VENN
Diagram- label two story names)
 We are looking for examples of in this story of literary elements we saw in The
Lottery (such as foreshadowing, surprise ending)
 You will be asked to identify and compare such story concepts as point of view,
exposition, rise in action, climax, and resolution between the two stories
Refresh The Lottery- 5 min recap
What happened? Was ending expected or unexpected? We call this a “twist
ending” (write on board)
What events happened that predicted the ending? What was this called
(foreshadowing)
(write on board)
Goals of today’s lesson:
Refresh prior knowledge on
 Point of view (first person, third person)
 Exposition- (setting, characters, situation)
 Inciting incident (first incident that sets up the action-conflict in the story)
 conflict
 Rise in action
 Climax
 Resolution
 Foreshadowing
 Irony
 Protagonist
 Antagonist
 Twist ending
Introduce new terms-concepts
“symbolism”
Write symbolism on board: give example of it:
In the story “Lord of the Rings” the dark lord symbolizes “evil” while “Gandolf the
White” symbolizes good. (same in Harry Potter)
6
Often a Rose symbolizes love or the color white symbolizes purity.
Symbolism: The use of specific objects or images to represent abstract ideas.
This term is commonly misused, describing any and all representational
relationships, which in fact are more often metaphorical than symbolic. A
symbol must be something tangible or visible, while the idea it
symbolizes must be something abstract or universal. (In other words, a
symbol must be something you can hold in your hand or draw a picture of,
while the idea it symbolizes must be something you can’t hold in your
hand or draw a picture of.)
________________________________________________________________________
Introduce Story- Nine Billion names of God, author is Arthur C. Clarke
Review prior knowledge we received from Monday’s film clip “The Cup” (we will
finish movie later) Setting- Tibet/ Characters- Tibetan monks? What do the monks do in
their daily lives- devoted to religious rituals.
Optional: cut if it interferes with time too much, prior knowledge has already largely
been established by the movie.)
Introduce background: Show short Video of Tibetan Monks Performance: 10 minutes
max Pass around Tibetan textiles, cymbal bells, and card from Monks with handwriting
sample and signatures
2nd half class period
Commence story: alternate reading between students- stop at key points- hit vocabulary
spots as we proceed (this is same vocab we gave as worksheet on Monday)
1-46 Exposition of work: setting (location-time), introduces characters
Vocabulary terms: In order in stories appearance
Key points:
Commendable: praiseworthy
Monastery: a house of persons under religious vows
Lamasery: a monastery of lamas
Compiling: to collect and edit in to a volume
Imperturbably: marked by extreme calm, passivity, and steadiness
Annoyance: a source of irritation
Ritual: of or relating to rites, according to religious laws, done in accordance to social
custom or normal protocol
Fundamental: serving as a basis support existence or determining essential structure or
function
Philosophical: characterized by the attitude of a philosopher (Philosophy is the
discipline concerned with questions of how one should live; what sorts of things exist and
what are their essential natures)
7
Systematic: methodical in procedure
Permutation: an ordered arrangement of a set of objects
Succession: a number of things that follow each other in sequence
Paragraph starting line#46: What did Dr. Wagner mean when he thought, “Was there no
limit to the follies of mankind? Still he must give no hint of inner thoughts. The customer
was always right.” He thought that the monks spending 15K years listing the names of
God was a waste of time and fruitless. Here is where we see theme emerge- monks belief
is based on faith and Dr Wagner’s on belief in science-disparity between two belief
systems. This is start of conflict between belief systems: “inciting incident”
Kilowatts: 1000 watts
Scene 2: what is setting? New character development occurring! Rise in action with
introduction of new characters
Parapet: a low wall or railing to protect the edge of a platform
Vertiginous: suffering from vertigo or dizziness
Gibberish: unintelligible or meaningless language
Contingency: an event that may occur but is not certain to, such as an emergency
Line 102 plot development- rise in action
Blasphemy: an act of insulting or showing lack of reverence for God
Predict: 118 and 120: what do we think about this? Predict.! Are the monks crazy? Will
they “react adversely” when the world fails to come to an end?
137- Rise in action: characters George and Chuck fear monk’s reaction when “end of
world” fails to materialize
142- Solution they develop is to slow down job so it ends when their transport plane
arrives- further rise in plot development
152- rise in action-start Resolving scene-climax approaching
Incessant: unceasing
193-195 - climax-resolution “twist ending”
_________________________________________________________________
Brief Oral discussion after story: discuss the following as a group. We will start
this oral discussion up again in tomorrow’s class and reiterate concepts.








What happened? Who was right? Who was wrong?
What-where was the “exposition” in the story?
What-where was the “inciting incident” in the story? What was this conflict?
What-where was start of “rising action”? Where their multiple spots?
Where was the stories “climax and resolution”?
Was their an example of “foreshadowing” in this story?
Was there a theme to the story? Was their symbolism? Think- what was the
conflict about? The monks had their belief in their faith and the scientists had
their belief in their scientific knowledge, which one turned out to be correct?
Can we see this conflict as symbolic of faith versus science?
Was there anything ironical in the ending of the story? (the scientists doubted
the monks but supplied the computers that allowed the end of the world to
come about more swiftly)
8
 End Wednesday here
_________________________________________________________________
THURSDAY: IN CLASS ORAL DISCUSSION
Oral discussion-dialogue on the story. How does this story compare-contrast to the
previous story The Lottery?
Again, Hand out VENN Diagram blank sheets for students to enter information in to with
one circle labeled “The Lottery” and the other “Nine Billion Names of God”. Lead
brainstorming session with group. Go through story elements and ask students to
categorize as the same or different in their diagrams the following.
Point of view
Clear Exposition
Clear Inciting event
Clear rise in action
Foreshadowing
Story’s climax
Ending expected or Ending unexpected
Twist ending
Irony
Symbolism
VOCABULARY SHEETS FROM MONDAY DUE- THURSDAY
12.5: Locate and analyze such elements in fiction as point of view, foreshadowing,
and irony.
Friday : ASSESSMENT TEST ON STORY
Measurable Evaluation Component:
In class assessment 20 questions multiple choice: 20 (5 points each) specific
examples from both stories, referred to by line# in the second story, and ask them to
match to one of four possible terms for each question.. (line 53 is an example of
A,B,C, or D) Recreate test before Friday to incorporate both stories
For imaginative/literary texts:
12.5: Locate and analyze such elements in fiction as point of view, foreshadowing,
and irony.
9