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Below we’ve selected our favorite 16 short stories for middle school. These 16 stories can be found in our free PDF download (click thumbnail to preview). Accompanying lesson plans can also be found at TpT with over 182 pages of thought-provoking and engaging material.
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- “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison
- “Stone Animals” by Kelly Link
- “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury
- “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” by Rod Serling
- “Hearts and Hands” by O. Henry
- “The Fir Tree” by Hans Christian Andersen
- “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant
- “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin
- “The Library of Babel” Jorge Luis Borges
- “The Circuit” by Francisco Jiménez
“The minute I walked in and the Big Bozo introduced us, I got sick to my stomach. It was one thing to be taken out of your own bed early in the morning—it was something else to be stuck in a strang...
Why I love this: Morrison’s stated goal in this short story, which begins in an orphanage, was to remove “all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial.” Also, it’s perfect for studying style and spurring conversation.
“Carleton was serious about how he played. Tilly sat on the landing, reading a book, legs poking out through the railings. Whenever Carleton ran past, he thumped her on the head, but Tilly never sa...
Why I love this: It’s another one of those longer short stories that is so rich with stylistic and narrative elements that it can serve as a short novel unit.
“‘We guarantee nothing,’” said the official, ‘except the dinosaurs.’”
Why I love this: It’s rich with descriptive language and fast-paced, dialogue-heavy action. This story unfolds its terrible tension to reveal a perfect ending.
“Maple Street. 6:44 p.m., on a late September evening. Maple Street in the last calm and reflective moments … before the monsters came!”
Why I love this: Reading a play can be a wonderful classroom management trick. For example, let the talkative kids ham it up, let the quiet kids just follow along, and let the sound-effects kids do their thing.
“Among the newcomers were two young men, one of handsome presence with a bold, frank countenance and manner; the other a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. The two were...
Why I love this: Even though O. Henry’s language can be tough for kids today, “Hearts and Hands” is quick and clear and hits exactly as you want his stories to hit.
“And the Wind kissed the Tree, and the Dew wept tears over him; but the Fir understood it not.”
Why I love this: It’s a poetic fairy tale, and it’s great for teaching theme. Expect that short stories like this one will make middle schoolers get mad at you, though.
“The sight of the little Breton girl who came to do the work in her little house aroused heart-broken regrets and hopeless dreams in her mind.”
Why I love this: It’s great for honors students and for teaching how to write compelling characterization.
“Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.”
Why I love this: It’s a perfect anchor text for a discussion assignment.
“Like all men of the Library, I have traveled in my youth; I have wandered in search of a book, perhaps the catalogue of catalogues; now that my eyes can hardly decipher what I write, I am preparin...
Why I love this: Read it with the students, and then dive into magical realism or fantasy.
“It was that time of year again. Ito, the strawberry sharecropper, did not smile. It was natural. The peak of the strawberry season was over and the last few days the workers, most of them braceros...
Why I love this: We enjoy doing this as a read-aloud, to lead into reflective writing or discussion.
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- The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. This tender story is a "must read" and one of the most famous in the short story genre. The story is a discussion-starter for the role of irony.
- The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant. Madame Mathilde Loisel is blessed with great beauty but little wealth. Though she dreams of attending extravagant parties and balls bedecked with sparkling jewels, she is married to a low-paid clerk of modest means.
- A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce. A soldier in the American Civil War disappoints his Virginian father to join the Union army and fight for the North in this emotionally jarring masterpiece by Ambrose Bierce.
- The Open Window by H.H. Munro. A mischievous young woman with a very big imagination and a gift for drama "entertains" a house caller waiting on her aunt by spinning a theatrical tale.
Roald Dahl, Ray Bradbury, Luzie Fletcher, Neil Gaiman & more. Loose PDF, links to all stories, instruction plans for teachers.
- The Necklace – Guy De Maupassant. In “The Necklace”, a woman borrows an expensive piece of jewelry from a wealthy friend, only to lose it. She then spends the rest of the story trying to repay her debt.
- Lamb to the Slaughter – Roald Dahl. “Lamb to the Slaughter” focuses on a scorn woman, who has murdered her husband with a frozen leg of lamb. The rest of the story revolves around her trying to hide her guilt and conceal the evidence.
- To Build a Fire – Jack London. “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a gripping tale of a man’s struggle for survival in the harsh and unforgiving Yukon wilderness.
- The Tell Tale Heart – Edgar Allan Poe. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is a classic tale of suspense and psychological horror. The story unfolds through the eyes of an unnamed narrator, who insists on his sanity while describing the meticulous planning and execution of the murder of an old man.
Jul 22, 2023 · Great Short Stories for Middle Schoolers. It can be a challenge to get young people interested in reading. At the sight of a thick novel, most students feel overwhelmed and are scared away by the time commitment it requires. For this reason alone, the short story is a great starting point for those who don’t take to reading easily.
Roald Dahl, Ray Bradbury, Lucille Fisherman, Neil Gaiman & more. Free PDF, links to all stories, lesson plans for teachers.
