It can be a challenge to get middle schoolers interested in reading. The thought of tackling a thick novel can be overwhelming, especially during distance learning. Short stories are always a great choice.
In addition to requiring less of a time commitment, they are an easy way to expose your students to new authors and genres. Also, the best short stories are every bit as engaging and meaningful as the best novels. We asked our audience on Facebook and Instagram to share some of their favorite short stories for middle schoolers. Heres the big list!
- Seventh Grade by Gary Soto
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Everyday Use by Alice Walker
- Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl
- One Friday Morning by Langston Hughes
- A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel García Márquez
- Charles by Shirley Jackson
- Click Clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman
- Names/Nombres by Julia Alvarez
- To Build a Fire by Jack London
- The Fly by Katherine Mansfield
- Rules of the Game by Amy Tan
- Liars Dont Qualify by Junius Edwards
- The Sniper by Liam OFlaherty
- Civil Peace by Chinua Achebe
- The Friday Everything Changed by Anne Hart
- The Scholarship Jacket by Marta Salinas
- Amigo Brothers by Piri Thomas
- Wildflower by Amrita Pritam
- The Years of My Birth by Louise Erdrich
- The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
- The Fun They Had by Issac Asimov
- Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut
- A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor
- Eleven by Sandra Cisneros
- Thank You, Maam by Langston Hughes
- Believing in Brooklyn by Matt de la Pena [link is to collection where story can be found]
- Valediction by Sherman Alexie
- Girl by Jamaica Kincaid
- When I Lay My Burden Down by Maya Angelou
- All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
- The Medicine Bag by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
- Stop the Sun by Gary Paulsen
- Mother and Daughter by Gary Soto
- The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
- The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher
- The Landlady by Roald Dahl
- The Smallest Dragonboy by Anne McCaffrey
- The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst
- My First Free Summer by Julia Alvarez
- The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
- The Four Million by O. Henry
- Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan
- The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
- Sol Painting, Inc. by Meg Medina
- Main Street by Jacqueline Woodson [link is to collection where story can be found]
- Raymonds Run by Toni Cade Bambara
- The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin
- Whats the Worst That Could Happen by Bruce Colville
- The Monkeys Paw by William Wymark Jacobs
- The Boo Hag by Veronica Byrd
If youre searching for more short stories, check out these recommendations compiled by theSeattle Public Library, theShortStoryGuide, andBarnes and Noble.
Plus, we love these anthologies: A Thousand Beginnings and Endingscompiled by We Need Diverse Bookss Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, and Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet bySona Charaipotra, Dhonielle Clayton, Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi and others.
Dont missour list of favorite middle school poems, too.