If you’re teaching foreshadowing and suspense in your Middle School ELA classroom, you need some compelling short stories. Thankfully, there are TONS of incredible short stories you can use that your students will really enjoy.
The great thing about teaching foreshadowing and suspense is that the stories you can use as examples are usually incredibly interesting… and as a result, even kids who hate reading will get engaged.
That’s why I’m giving you a long list you can choose from! Since these are short stories, you might want to choose several to supplement your lessons.
Tips for Engaging Your Students With Reading
Before I give you the list, though, I want to share some tips with you for engaging your most stubborn readers (or should I say non-readers??). Trust me, I get how hard it can be to get middle schoolers to read when they really don’t want to…
Let’s say you have several kids in your class who absolutely HATE reading (and we’ve all had those, I’m sure)… thankfully, there are some things you can do to help.
First, make some of your reading assignments fun. And I mean completely fun. One of their assignments can be to find foreshadowing in their favorite comic books. Sprinkling in some lighthearted assignments like this at least gets them into the habit of reading.
Second, add a social element to the reading assignments. Maybe have student-led discussions after every short story and let them engage with each other. This is a win-win situation because students who are struggling can learn from the insights of more advanced students… and the more advanced students get to clarify what they’ve learned by sharing it aloud.
(Really, it’s a win-win-win situation because you win, too, by engaging the kids who hate reading!)
Lastly, supplement the reading assignments with simple worksheets that help them digest and analyze the short story. Sometimes students hate reading because they don’t understand the material. And let’s be honest—a lot of the best short stories were written centuries ago… so some of them are a little difficult to understand.
A clear and simplified worksheet can cut through the confusion and help them engage with the text better!!
Short Stories to Teach Foreshadowing and Suspense
Now, let’s dive into the best short stories and plays for teaching foreshadowing and suspense. These stories have some great examples that are plain enough for middle schoolers to point out and analyze:
Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Rain, Rain, Go Away by Isaac Asimov
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
Landlady by Roald Dahl
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl
The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty
The Hitchhiker by Roald Dahl
The Elevator by William Sleator
Click Clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman
A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
After Twenty Years by O. Henry
Sorry, Wrong Number by Lucille Fletcher
Death by Scrabble by Charlie Fish
The Sea Devil by Arthur Gordon
The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
Three Skeleton Key by George G. Toudouze
Teaching Foreshadowing and Suspense Can Be Fun
When you have the right short stories, teaching foreshadowing and suspense can be a blast—both for you and your students. Just don’t forget to use the three tips I mentioned earlier:
- Make some assignments fun and lighthearted.
- Let students interact with each other.
- Provide clear worksheets to make the story easier to understand and analyze.
Enjoy these fascinating short stories with your class!
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