Thank You M’am by Langston Hughes



Short Story Reading Assignment

Grade 7

To wrap up our short story unit, you will choose one story from the list below and then work with a group of other students to analyze the elements of fiction (plot, conflict, setting, character, theme) evident in the story.

Step 1: Read the following summaries and indicate your TOP 2 choices for which one you’d like to read.

□ Thank You M’am by Langston Hughes

This is a short story about the lesson learned by a young boy who makes a bad choice. Fortunately for him, the “victim” of his attempted crime turns out to be very different that you might first expect. This story teaches readers about the importance of giving, understanding and showing compassion towards others.

□ All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury

This story is set in the future. It is about a young girl named Margot who moved to the planet Venus from Earth five years before the story takes place. She has a clear memory of the sun, but other children on Venus do not because they have always lived there and Venus is a jungle world of constant flooding and rainstorms. On Venus the sun is only visible for one hour every seven years. In the story, the sun is finally about to come out and the children are waiting to experience it.

□ The Treasure of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers

In this story, a young boy is given lots to think about following an encounter with a homeless man who has a rather mysterious past.

□ Dreams by Budge Wilson

This story is told from the point of view of a young man, looking back on his impoverished childhood in rural Nova Scotia. He has both happy and sad memories, and a lot of questions about how his life might have turned out if he had made different choices.

Step 2: Read the story

Step 3: Meet with your group and assign one person to each of the response activities (see over)

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Step 4: Be prepared to present these response activities to the rest of the class sometime during the week of December 12.

Step 5: Evaluate yourself and the other members of your group for your contributions to this project. Ms. Rankin will provide an evaluation sheet for you at the end of the project.

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Response Activities

□ Author Study – Research the author and write a short biography of his life. If you prefer, you can create a biographical poster that shows important information from the author’s life.

□ Plot Analysis – Outline the main events of the story using either a plot diagram (graphic organizer) or Comic Creator (an online tool):

□ Character Study – Complete a character map (graphic organizer) and then prepare a body outline. Hands indicate things the character DOES; Mouth indicates things the character SAYS; Head indicates things the character THINKS; Heart indicates things the character FEELS.

□ Setting Analysis – Write a brief description of where and when the story takes place. Then, create a drawing or painting of a the story’s setting.

□ Word Wizard – Choose three interesting vocabulary words from the story, one from each of the following categories: A “delicious” word, a “grandiose” word, and a “monster” word. Prepare a colorful card for each word. Make sure your card includes a definition of the word and a sample sentence that uses the word correctly.

□ Theme Analysis – Write a short paragraph explaining the theme or lesson of the story. What does this story teach us? If you wish, you can also link the theme to a poem or song that teaches a similar lesson.

□ Reader Rating – Write a letter to the class explaining why students should read this story. If you wish, you can give it a rating out of 5 stars. Be sure to explain WHY you are recommending the story. Use the online Letter Generator to help you write your letter:

Over the next few weeks, I will also be meeting one-on-one with each of you to ask you questions about the story you have read and to make sure that you understand its various elements. Therefore, it is very important that you read the story carefully. I encourage you to make jot notes in your Reading Response notebook. Be prepared to answer questions when we meet for our student-teacher conference in class.

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