Need inspiration? This post has all of my tips and tricks for teaching ELA concepts like characterization, setting, symbolism, and much more!
Over the past year, I’ve been working on a series of posts dedicated to teaching ELA concepts with short stories. Since the first post is from January 2021, I decided to assemble all nine of them in one convenient place, for easy reading and bookmarking ๐
If you’re looking for a standards-aligned resource that uses diverse short stories to teach some of the most essential figurative language elements, check out this resource bundle we released in 2024!
Teaching ELA Concepts with Short Stories
Teaching Symbolism with Short Stories
This post also contains a FREE resource for teaching symbolism that your students will love ๐
Teaching Setting with Short Stories
From a futuristic hospital to the inside of a ’67 Chevy Impala, to the planet Venus, this wide variety of settings will help keep students engaged.
Teaching Figurative Language with Short Stories
This post covers three ELA concepts; simile, personification, and hyperbole, and that’s not an exaggeration! ๐
Teaching Suspense and Pacing with Short Stories
This post features texts that you can use in HS and MS ELA (in other words, they aren’t *too* scary). If you teach upper grades, you might also like this post on classroom-appropriate horror stories.
Teaching Conflict with Short Stories
In addition to teaching conflict as a literary element, this post also offers some extension ideas for students to get into the realities that drive conflict in literature.
Teaching Irony with Short Stories
Teaching irony can be SO fun with the right texts! I have recommendations for middle and high school ELA.
Teaching Characterization with Short Stories
5 short texts, plus resources and ideas for extension and enrichment.
Other Short Media for Teaching ELA Concepts
Music has SO many applications in the classroom, but it’s an obvious choice for teaching poetic devices and ELA concepts. This post has song recommendations and teaching ideas.
Short Films for Teaching Literary Elements
Go beyond Pixar with these short films that will surprise, delight, and challenge your students.
Final thoughts:
I hope this post added to your teaching toolbox and gave you some fresh ideas for teaching ELA concepts! Make sure you are signed up for my Teaching Tips Newsletter so that you can receive ideas like these delivered right to your inbox ๐
Is there an ELA concept that you need help with and I haven’t covered yet? Comment below or reach out on IG @nouvelle_ela.
Happy teaching!
