In this middle school reading comprehension class, we will read engaging short stories to help students improve their reading skills while exploring different genres and themes. The class hour is broken into two parts--

⏰ 1st half of class: Virtual story time--teacher reads the story out loud to the students, pausing occasionally to point on significant plot details or to ask the students to make predictions or inferences. Students are encouraged (but not required) to print the story prior to class and annotate as we read. 

⏰ 2nd half of class: Discussion time! Students are encouraged to share their feedback and respond (verbally or using the Zoom chat feature) to open-ended discussion prompts. 


Week of  July 22: "The Landlady" by Roald Dahl 
Week of July 29: "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson 
Week of August 5: “A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
Week of August 12: "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut 
Week of August 19: "Unusual Normality” by Ishmael Beah
Week of August 26: "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry 
Week of September 2: "The Scholarship Jacket” by Marta Salinas 
Week of September 9: “The Friday Everything Changed” by Anne Hart
Week of September 15: "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant 

**Subsequent weeks TBA**


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Why short stories? There is a lot of research that supports the value of short stories for young readers! Here are some of the reasons studies have found short stories enhance reading comprehension:

📚 Increases Enthusiasm: Short stories can be read quickly while still providing all the exciting elements of a full story. This helps kids experience the thrill of reading without feeling overwhelmed.

📚 Encourages Interaction with Texts: Kids engage more with short stories, which helps them understand and remember what they read better.

📚 Builds Vocabulary: Reading a variety of short stories introduces children to new words and phrases, helping them expand their vocabulary.

📚 Promotes Critical Thinking: Short stories encourage kids to think deeply about the content, themes, and lessons, enhancing their critical thinking skills.

📚 Provides Motivation through Moral Lessons: Many short stories have moral lessons that inspire and engage children, making reading more meaningful for them.

My hope is that this class will not only enhance students' reading comprehension but will ignite a spark for the love of reading. I always love to give recommendations for age/grade appropriate novels when students tell me that they really a loved a particular story and want to read more by that author or about that topic. 




Students who will benefit from a 1:1 session with me can take my private tutoring class where we read and work at the individual learner's pace: https://outschool.com/classes/middle-and-high-school-tutoring-11-english-writing-and-reading-t1AAf3Us?usid=q1Hm2y12&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link