Reading Literature Journal for Grades 6-8: Activities for Short Stories & Poems

Description

This resource includes activities for 33 short stories and poems. The goal of this reading literature journal is prepare students to recall, understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate a variety of texts while also using creative mini-projects to help encourage deeper thinking!

This resource has everything you’ll need to teach a short story or poem once a week for the ENTIRE school year. ZERO prep necessary!

NOTE: Answer keys for the short stories ARE INCLUDED in this resource.

This resource includes the following:
-Teacher directions and answer keys
-Generic rubric for all mini-projects
-Activities for 33 short stories and poems that are appropriate for grades 6-8.
-Questions for each story based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate).
-Mini-projects or extension activities for each short story and poem.
-Links to all 33 short stories and poems that can be found in full-text, for free.
-Editable version so that you can adjust any questions as necessary for your students.
-Cover pages for each of the months.

You can use this resource in several ways. Here are 5 options:
-OPTION ONE: Give students their journal at the beginning of the school year or semester and assign one short story or poem per week. They will work through all 33 works by the end of the semester.
-OPTION TWO: Assign the different short stories or poems at your leisure. Instead of giving your students the entire journal, only pass out the activities as you see fit.
-OPTION THREE: Three words– EMERGENCY SUB PLANS!!! These are great for a quick lesson if you have to miss a day.
-OPTION FOUR: Use these activities as extra practice or reinforcement for struggling or advanced students.
-OPTION FIVE: If you are a proponent of homework OR a flipped classroom atmosphere– assign the stories and poems for homework and complete the activities during the class period.

Activities for the following short stories and poems are included:
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl
After Twenty Years by O. Henry
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman
A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye
Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier
Aunt Misery by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
Seventh Grade by Gary Soto
The Treasure of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers
Hearts and Hands by O. Henry
How to Eat a Poem by Eve Merriam
Charles by Shirley Jackson
Miss Awful by Arthur Cavanaugh
This is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams
The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
The Moustache by Robert Cormier
The Landlady by Roald Dahl
Oranges by Gary Soto
The Fun They Had by Isaac Asimov
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty

Each text includes comprehension questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (recall, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate) and a mini-project that encourages students to think beyond the text.

Please download the preview for more information. The preview provides images of the Reading Literature Journal in action.

NOTE: All resources are digital downloads designed to be printed and distributed by the teacher. You will not receive a physical hard copy of the product. This saves in shipping costs and allows teachers the flexibility to assign the materials when convenient for them. Enjoy!