Short stories are a vital part of English literature. These short story studies can be used to build a short story unit, to supplement other texts, or as a standby lesson.
 
Use this with our FREE Introduction to Short Stories two-page handout.
 
These activities support Ted Chiang's recent short story 'The Great Silence', which can be found free online by searching for the title.
 
Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks.
A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding
Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique
Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies.
Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively.
 
Chiang's story about the terrible cost of our search for intelligence has been successfully used with a Stage 4 / Year 9 class (15 years).