Our next unit is going to be focusing on short stories. Specifically, we are going to thinking about one question: what makes a good short story? We will spend the next few weeks reading different short stories and focusing on specific aspects to see if we can figure out what makes them work. We will be looking at plot, character development and setting. As we read each story, we will try to break down each component into the parts that create a good final product.

As we read these in class, you will be reading The Outsiders at home. There will be questions posted on this website to accompany each chapter and in-class dirt quizzes.

We are also going to spend some time during the next few weeks to work on our writing skills. We will be focusing specifically on how we can make our own writing more lively and engaging. We are going to be writing in class every single day, so be prepared. This will all culminate into two final projects: you will have to take a scene from The Outsiders and rewrite it as a short story from the perspective of a different character and, in pairs, you will work together to create a story from a set of pictures through storybird.com.