1. Tell your students the difference between a
short short story and a short story is length. A
short story can vary in length between 500 words
and 20,000 words. However, a short story is no more
than 500 words. Tell your students that elements of
a short story are the same as a short short story:
one fictional event involving conflict, covering a
very short period of time; very few characters,
perhaps only one; and generally, a setting that
doesn't change.
Short short story: A term which may be applied
to any particular brief short story but which is
usually used to designate a sketch of a character
or incident which is both short in length and
simple in form.
-A Reader's Guide to Literary
Terms
2. Tell your students that after the next few
days that they will be reading short short stories
to get ideas for their own writing. Show them the
web site for the Freezer contest and the page that
shows "This Week's Subject." Print copies of these
stories for them to read.
3. Introduce the elements
of fiction. Discuss how the elements apply to
the short stories from the internet. Place students
in groups to discuss other elements of the short
story.
4. Have students brainstorm ideas for their
short story. Students can fill out a prewriting
short story form to help them with their
brainstorming.
5. Allow students to begin writing their first
draft.
6. Place students in groups again and instruct
them to exchange stories. Students will read their
classmate's stories and give feedback to the author
about the story (make sure the author includes and
uses the elements of fiction).
7. Give students time to edit and revise their
work and prepare it for submission.
8. Decide on a method for the entire class to
judge the short stories. Some methods include:
