High School Literature: Survey of the American Short Story (Fall 2025)

The short story holds a special place in American literary history. It has been the site of some of the most famous pieces of writing.

In this class, we'll dive into short stories deemed "classics" and question how they got that status.

As we do a thematic exploration (reading 3-4 stories most weeks), we'll examine how stories do (and do not) situate themselves in the context of their own place and time.

Along the way, learners will gain practice in literary analysis skills and bring them forward in presentations and essays.

Read Short Stories Across Themes

As this is a survey class, we'll be reading stories that span across historical periods.

To help us situate them, we'll be reading thematically with focus on literary themes like setting, dialogue, irony, and more.

We'll be reading the following stories:

"The Veldt" (Ray Bradbury)
"Roast Beef, Medium" (Edna Ferber)
"Feet Live Their Own Life" (Langston Hughes)
"To Build a Fire" (Jack London)
"A White Heron" (Sarah Orne Jewett)
"Condemned House" (Lucille Boehm)
"The Tell-Tale Heart" (Edgar Allan Poe)
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (Ambrose Bierce)
"Why I Live at the P.O." (Eudora Welty)
"The Yellow Wallpaper" (Charlotte Perkins Gilman)
"Everyday Use" (Alice Walker)
"Paul's Case" (Willa Cather)
"Desiree's Baby" (Kate Chopin)
"The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" (Stephen Crane)
"Sentry" (Frederic Brown)
"Girl" (Jamaica Kincaid)
"Gaston" (William Saroyan)
"Spunk" (Zora Neale Hurston)

Dig Deep and Gain Analysis Skills

During class discussion, we will not only examine the stories told in these works but also talk about how the literary themes presented remain relevant (or don't).

In this way, students will both get familiarity with canonical works while questioning the assumptions used to create a canon in the first place. In addition, they’ll learn key literary analysis skills that will be translatable to a wide range of reading situations. This includes selected scholarly journal articles related to some of the stories in question.

Class Details

Age Range: 14-18

Class Size: 3-10 Learners

Schedule:

Class is weekly from August 25-December 14, 2025.

We’ll meet via Zoom for a live discussion session each Thursday at 12-12:45pm Eastern/11-11:45am Central/10-10:45am Mountain/9-9:45am Pacific

Fall Break is October 6-19 with no live meetings on October 9 or October 16. Thanksgiving Break is November 24-30 with no live meeting on November 27.

If a learner cannot attend a session due to illness or a schedule conflict, they will still have access to all class materials and can check in with the instructor with any questions.

Supplies

To participate successfully in class, learners will need access to the following stories:

Copies of the following books:
Great American Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (ISBN: 978-0-486-42119-3)
Great Short Stories by African-American Writers (Dover Thrift Editions) (ISBN: 978-0-486-47139-6)
Short Story Masterpieces by American Women Writers (Dover Thrift Editions) (ISBN: 978-0-486-49994-9)

(Note: If you'd like to get copies of the short stories elsewhere, you can, but these collections provide almost all of our stories, and I'll provide links to the rest.)

Microphone and camera for in-class participation
PDF Reader
Zoom (free account)
Learners will submit work through Google Drive (a Google (Gmail) account can be acquired for free)

Choose a Pricing Option

$435

Market Rate +25%

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

$385

Market Rate +10%

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

$350

Market Rate

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

$280

Market Rate -20%

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

$175

Market Rate -50%

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

Meet Dr. Michelle Parrinello-Cason

Dr. Michelle Parrinello-Cason is the founder of Dayla Learning. She has a PhD in rhetoric and composition, a passion for helping students find their writing voice, and two homeschooling children of her own.

Michelle has taught in a wide variety of settings including six years as a full-time college professor. She has been teaching virtual and in-person homeschool writing and humanities classes for more than five years.

Michelle believes in meeting students where they are and — as any of her previous students will tell you — believes deeply that there is no such thing as a bad rough draft!

Is this the right fit for your learner?

This is an advanced high school class. Learners will do best if they have the following skills:

Can write about 1500 words (6 pages) on a single topic confidently
Can integrate direct quotes and paraphrases smoothly into writing
Can locate and evaluate sources for credibility and relevance
Confidently reads texts at or above ~1100L on the Lexile rating

This class is a good fit for high schoolers who are confident in constructing essays over multiple drafts and have a solid writing process.

Finding the Right Challenge

Writers who have not had much experience writing academic essays would likely benefit from a High School Writing class before taking this one.

While students do get opportunities to get feedback on their drafts in progress from the instructor and peers, there is NOT a formal Rough Draft submission since the focus on this class is literature rather than composition.

Students who are already comfortable and familiar with the writing process will be the best prepared.

Skills Gained

We will practice in-depth research and critical thinking skills as well as constructing a range of written and multimodal projects.

Students will gain the following skills:

Analyzing pieces of canonical literature for meaning, theme, motif, symbolism, and other literary devices
Drawing comparisons across media, time periods, and perspectives
Crafting projects (written and multimodal) in response to readings
Discussing topics respectfully and meaningfully with peers

Content Note

In some of the short stories, there is discriminatory and racist language. There will be a content note for students ahead of time as well as clear guidelines that we do not use any racial slurs aloud in class (even if they are present in the text).

Some of the text include death and two include implied suicide ("Paul's Case" and "Desiree's Baby"). Our discussion of "Paul's Case" will also include interpretations about LGBTQ+ rights in historical context.

In the case of stories with heavy content, I will do my best to present it with compassion, empathy, and sensitivity.

Choose a Pricing Option

$435

Market Rate +25%

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

$385

Market Rate +10%

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

$350

Market Rate

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

$280

Market Rate -20%

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.

$175

Market Rate -50%

This class uses a sliding fee scale for pricing options in order to build more equitable access to these educational opportunities. You can read more about the plan and its goals here, but all options give access to the same classroom experience. This option allows us to build a more accessible and equitable community of learners by offering discounted pricing options.