One year, many years ago, while teaching a grade 7-8 class, I wanted to address the power of narratives through short stories rather than novels.
Unfortunately, short stories for this age group were few and far between and, worse: the examples that I did find were boring. I couldn't find any material that I thought would appeal to this Netflix-loving group of 12-13 year olds.
So I asked my class: what would make a good short story? And I was told: ZOMBIES!
So I started a story on the spot, writing it on the class laptop, projecting my creation on the front board, showing my students that any idea can be a starting point for a story. You just need to hop to it and give it a try.
This draft became the start of the enclosed short story 'Date Night'.
I have used these stories in my classroom many times since then, as samples for narrative writing. They have been through a few edits, thanks to student suggestions and feedback. (And to those that have contributed feedback over the years, thank you so much for your invaluable insights!)
All of the stories have zombies. Some of the stories (Date Night, Posted on YouTube) have zombies who are the traditional adversary. Others are from the Zombie's point of view (Point of View and The Great Escape).
At the end of this collection, there are reflection questions that can be applied to the stories. There are also a few suggestions for creative works of your own, if you feel inspired.
(Cover art by J. Johnson using Canva 2020)