5 Wonderfully Offbeat Short Stories for Middle School Students

Ms. Lauren
Dec 27, 2024
3 min read

I love reading short stories with my middle school students. While all short stories can be valuable classroom resources, I have a mental checklist that I use while searching for new short stories to read with my students. It looks a little something like this:

Is the story offbeat, a little "out there", or even a little twisted?

Is there a jaw-dropping plot twist?

Does the story make your brow furrow while you read?

Does the story make you abruptly laugh out loud?

Does the story leave you a little stunned when you finish reading it?

Will you be thinking about the story long after you've stopped reading?

Does the story have a somewhat abrupt and unexpected conclusion that is thought-provoking, frustrating, and wonderful all at the same time?

I don't expect to find a short story that includes everything on the list above while searching, but the more yeses I get, the better.

Why So Quirky?

You may be wondering why I would deliberately search for something a little offbeat, "out there", or even a little twisted for my classroom. The answer is simple.

Middle school students love the unusual, slightly twisted, quirky stuff - and, honestly, so do I!

When I read short stories that I found using my mental short story search list, I have engaged students in my classroom who are sitting on the edge of their seats, anxious to find out what comes next. Using quirky and unusual stories also leads to excellent classroom discussions. Middle school students love to share their opinions. Give them a story that meets the criteria above and they'll be bursting at the seams to share their opinions during your post-short story class discussion!

If you want to find a wonderfully unusual and intriguing short story for your classroom but don't know where to look, I've included my top five favorite short stories that are a little "out there" below.

My Top 5 Offbeat Short Stories for Middle School Students

Button, Button by Richard Matheson

A couple is offered a large sum of money for pressing a button on a mysterious device. The catch? If they press the button, someone will die.

Hey, You Down There by Harold Rolseth

A farmer and his wife accidentally discover an intelligent, underground race while digging a well. They have very different responses to the discovery, which results in a magnificently twisted ending!

The Landlady by Roald Dahl

A man searching for overnight accommodations while on a work trip is offered a room by a landlady at an excellent price. However, the price is a little too good, and something's not quite right about the landlady. Will he find out before it's too late?

The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

Two hunters meet when one is stranded on the other's island. The hunter who calls the island home is bored with hunting animals and searching for a new, more challenging and intelligent animal to hunt - man.

Zero Hour by Ray Bradbury

The children in a suburban neighborhood have become obsessed with a new game called invasion. What their parents don't realize is that the "game" is, in fact, very real and not a game at all.

Review Activities

After reading a short story, I like to wrap up our discussion/assignment with fun activities that also serve as a review tool - crossword puzzles and word searches. I always include both a crossword puzzle and a word search when making puzzles for short stories for two reasons.

Reason #1 - Options are a great thing to have.

Reason #2 - I want to help all teachers address the needs of all of their students and make sure everyone is included. For students who have, dyslexia, for example, a crossword puzzle review may feel like punishment rather than fun. However, a word search may be totally doable!

(You can also make crossword puzzles more accessible for students who face reading challenges by using the included answer key to make a word bank on your whiteboard.)

You can get the crossword puzzles and word searches for the five short stories above by clicking the photos below!