Using Short Stories to Teach Literary Elements and Reading ComprehensionTheme, symbolism, foreshadowing … there are so many literary elements for readers to understand in order to comprehend and appreciate what they read! Novels are great for reinforcing this knowledge, but may be too lengthy to introduce and teach specific elements properly. Students need multiple examples of literary elements being used in writing in order to understand them and identify them on their own, so the short story is perfect for this! Below are some resources to help you use short stories to teach literary elements.
Additionally, you will find ideas for using short stories to develop students' reading comprehension, including active reading and vocabulary skills. The brevity of short stories can keep struggling readers from feel overwhelmed with the comprehension process, and teachers will find them easy to modify and organize for different audiences. For these reasons, teachers using stories to raise reading comprehension may also find these links helpful. Teaching About Theme Teaching About Foreshadowing Teaching About Symbolism Teaching Multiple Literary Elements Teaching Vocabulary with "The Lottery" Teaching Vocabulary with Stories of Your Choice Graphic Organizers to Help Understanding Listening Activities for ESL Students
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