Fun Short Story Reading Comprehension Units! - 5 Full Units - ELA English Bundle

A bundle of 5 SHORT STORY UNITS for middle school students! Each short story unit is designed to ignite students' interest in reading and foster critical thinking skills.

Benefit of getting the bundle:

These units follow the same format, but each are unique in their storyline, vocabulary, comprehension questions, etc. Teachers therefore have the flexibility to use multiple different units in a variety of ways:

• One at a time: Use different stories throughout the year, one at a time, with the entire class (combination of independent and full-class work).
• Literature Circles / Student Choice: Allow students to individually choose which story they want to read. All students can be reading different stories while still doing the same types of activities each day. You can then have students each select another story the next time.

Why use short stories?

Short stories can be more manageable for students, while retaining their interest and still allowing them to hone essential reading comprehension skills. Students will work on vocabulary acquisition, identifying main ideas, summarizing, making inferences, making connections, making predictions, analyzing characters and plot, and more, in a much shorter, more focused context.

See previews for details of what you get + the plot/summary of each short story.

INCLUDED IN THIS EACH OF THE 5 UNITS:

Short Story Reading Pages

• Each story is 5 pages long (split into 5 separate parts - each 1 page in length), so that you can seamlessly work on pre- and post-reading exercises throughout the story.

Modified versions of each part of the reading for differentiation (5 pages)

• Covers the same content but as simpler texts, so students can still fully participate in all discussions/questions about the readings.

Pre-reading exercises to do BEFORE each reading (7 pages + 5 answer pages):

• Activation of prior knowledge (before reading part 1)
• Vocabulary practice exercises (for each of parts 1-5). Answer keys also included.

Post-Reading Response Pages to do AFTER each reading (15 pages):

• Comprehension questions (mix of multiple-choice and open response)
• Making predictions (+ reflecting on predictions, after reading further)
• Making connections (to self or other texts)
• Summarizing the readings
• Describing settings
• Reflection/critical thinking questions
• Respond to the quote prompt
• Making inferences
• Comparing/Contrasting
• Critiquing
• Themes/Lessons
• Illustrating a Scene

The comprehension questions have been designed to directly align with strand C2 of the new 2023 Ontario Language curriculum.