Classic Short Story Discussion Group- College Prep

This class is designed with college literature courses in mind. Between each class, students will read a classic short story. They will be given a prompt which will be the focus of their discussion when they return to class. Students are expected to come to class prepared with things to say about the given prompt. 

Each class will begin with a summary of the story that students read for the week. Then the teacher will read the discussion prompt, and the discussion will be turned over to the students. The teacher will moderate and jump in when necessary, but the bulk of the discussion will be from the students. 

The short stories that we will be discussing are fascinating to me, and my enthusiasm for them will certainly shine through in each class session. I am very excited to hear what students have to say. I have used the same stories and prompts in my classroom, and students always have insightful things to share.

This class does not require any pre-requisites. However, there is not a lot of guidance in the reading and analyzing process because students are expected to do those parts on their own. If you would like to schedule time with me in which your learner and I can read and analyze the piece together before the whole-group class, please reach out to me! I have my individual tutoring sessions listed in the "Next Class" space below.

Week of April 2- Topic: A Good Man is Hard to Find - Flannery O’Connor 
                                 - Which character in this story has a stronger moral code?

Week of April 9- Topic: The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe
                                 - Could the narrator receive the insanity defense based on the M’Naughten rule?

Week of April 16- Topic: The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
                                  - What purpose do the events of this story serve? What is Shirley Jackson’s message about society through this 
                                     story?

Week of April 23- Topic: Harrison Bergeron - Kurt Vonnegut
                                   - Are there advantages to uniform equality? Must excellence be pursued at the expense of equality and vice 
                                      versa? Are there areas of life in which we value one over the other?

Week of April 30- Topic: The Story of an Hour - Kate Chopin
                                   - What are the conflicts in "The Story of an Hour"? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or 
                                      emotional) do you see in this story?

New topics will be added as class progresses, and the class schedule will be updated.