1.

The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty

I’m always looking for texts that will draw in my reluctant male readers.
Anything with war, guns, or a little violence ups the appealing factor
immediately. “The Sniper” is set in the 1920s during the Irish revolution. A
sniper is stationed on a rooftop contemplating how he will get down before the
light of dawn exposes him. I often use this text when teaching irony because of
its unexpected ending. It is also a great piece to use for reviewing plot as the
climax appears at the very end of the story; students sometimes struggle to
correctly identify the climax when it happens so late in a story. The story’s
theme emphasizes the senselessness of war, making it perfect for pairing with
other short stories or novels with a similar theme such as The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, or The Things They
Carried by Tim O’Brien.
2. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
This short story is one that I like to read just before the holidays because of its
message about giving and thinking of others. Like “The Sniper,” it’s a great
piece for teaching irony and reviewing plot. I also like to focus on how the
setting dictates many of the details in the plot. After reading, I challenge
students to write a modern retelling of the story, paying careful attention to
how an updated setting affects the plot. The story’s connection to the holidays
and it’s message about what we should value most make it perfect for pairing
with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
3. The Interlopers by Saki
“The Interlopers” is a short story that is sure to hook reluctant readers. It is set
at night and focuses on a long-standing turf war. The two main characters are
out in the forest, the disputed territory, hunting each other, but as the two
men meet, a tree falls and traps both of them beneath it. The twist at the end
of the story makes it another great text to use for teaching irony and reviewing
plot. The text’s focus on a long lasting conflict between two families connect it
with works like William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Mark
Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (the Grangerfords versus the
Shepherdsons), and the real life conflict between the Hatfields and the
McCoys.
4. The Lady, or The Tiger? by Frank Stockton
This is one of my absolute favorite short stories to dig into. “The Lady, or The
Tiger?” centers around a justice system in which the accused determine their
own fate by choosing between two doors in an arena, behind one is a lady
(marriage is the reward for innocence) and behind the other is a tiger (death is
the punishment for guilt). The plot intensifies when the king of the arena
discovers that his daughter is in love with a commoner and puts that man on
trial. To help my students understand the king’s system of justice, I created a
simulation in which each student is assigned a crime and gets to choose a door
to determine their innocence or guilt. Later students reveal whether they
actually committed the crime of which they were accused. This leads to
 discussion about the fairness of this justice system and comparison to the
fairness of our own. This short story would be a great lead in to any text
centered around a court case like To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
or Inherit The Windby Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. There is
often something current in the media related to the justice system that can be
connected to the story as well.
5. American History by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Literary criticism can be a complex idea to introduce to students. I always
start with the most basic two approaches: historical and biographical, using
this short story, which is focused on the day of President John F. Kennedy’s
assassination. The united feelings of Americans and even the global
community, are contrasted by the racial and socio-economic discrimination
faced by the main character. The short story could be paired with news articles
and other nonfiction readings about this event. To bring things into the 21st
century, you could use a novel like Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan,
which centers around the events of September 11th.

6. Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing

This short story is full of imagery and symbolism, and also great for teaching
the different types of conflict. The main character struggles against himself,
his mother, other boys, and forces of nature. Like most young people, the
main character wrestles with being viewed as a child when he wants to be
treated like a young adult. Another short story that pits child against parent
and incorporates many of the different types of conflict is “The White
Umbrella” by Gish Jen.

7. Geraldo No Name by Sandra Cisneros

“Geraldo No Name” is one vignette from The House on Mango Street by
Sandra Cisneros. It does not include the novel’s main character Esperanza, but
instead focuses on Marin, an older girl Esperanza idolizes, and Geraldo, a
young man Marin meets at a dance. Like “American History,” the short story
centers around issues of race and class. Geraldo is hit by a car and Marin
believes that if he were treated differently at the hospital, his life might have
been saved. This short story could be paired with the film Fruitvale Station or
any current news articles about the Black/Brown Lives Matter movement.

8. A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury

The idea behind this short story has always fascinated me. If we could travel
back in time, how would it affect the future? In Ray Bradbury’s text, time
travel takes the characters to the prehistoric age of dinosaurs and one misstep
has innumerable effects on the future. It’s a perfect illustration of the butterfly
effect. You probably can’t show your students the Ashton Kutcher film of the
same title, A Butterfly Effect, but the movie Groundhog’s Day is a much
lighter treatment of the same idea as are the films Frequency and Big.
9. The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst
“The Scarlet Ibis is probably my all time favorite short story. I remember
reading it as a ninth grade student and was delighted to find it in the literature
anthology I used as a ninth grade teacher. The story is full of beautiful imagery
that contrasts the heartbreaking end to the relationship between the two
brothers. It’s a great text for examining foreshadowing, the author’s use of
symbolism is clear, yet multi-layered, and the story can also be used to
introduce allegory by discussing the author’s attitude toward war. The power
dynamics between the older and younger brother could be compared to
George and Lennie's relationship in Of Mice and Men.

10. The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is known for his creepy tales and “The Black Cat" does not
disappoint. The narrator, a crazy drunk, takes drastic measures to get back at
his cat, which he believes is ignoring him. This is an excellent short story to
use for analyzing first person point of view and unreliable narrator. After
reading, challenge students to rewrite the story, still using first person point of
view, but from another character’s perspective.
11. The Stolen Party by Liliana Heker
“The Stolen Party” is another great short story for teaching point of view,
specifically third person limited point of view. Because the character that the
narrator focuses in on is a young girl, her thoughts and feelings are unreliable
and may skew students’ understanding of the story until the final event. Like
with “The Black Cat,” after reading, you can challenge students to rewrite the
story still using third person limited point of view, but focusing in on another
character’s thoughts and feelings.
12. Thank You M’am by Langston Hughes
While reader’s theater is traditionally used in primary classrooms, “Thank You
M’am” is the perfect short story to act out or at least read aloud. Mrs. Jones is
a tough elderly woman who is full of sass, while Roger is a shaken young man
who quickly regrets his attempt to steal Mrs. Jones’s purse. It is also a great
text for teaching conflict and characterization.

13. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

“The Most Dangerous Game" is another excellent short story if your students
like suspense. The tension in the story begins as the main character sails past
an island with a terrible reputation and builds when he lands on the island by
mistake and meets the man living there. At the start of the story, you can focus
on how the details of the setting help to create mood. It’s also an excellent text
for introducing and having student complete a plot diagram.