Please allow me introduce you to Andy Weir’s tasty morsel of a short story called, “The Egg.” The story, part sci fi/part philosophy, is a quick 1,000-word read that might be a good match for your classes this fall.
Although not particularly religious, the story centers around a God figure talking to his supernatural child. Really, though, it’s about how people ought to treat each other – a message everyone should hear.
Weir, who you might also know as the author of The Martian, offers his story for free on his website. Click here to access a printer-friendly version of the story that you can use in class: http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg.html
The story, published in 2009, has inspired several other artists, including the animation team Kurzgesagt who created this gorgeous adaptation:
Video courtesy of kurzgesagt.org.
We can use the story not only to reinforce literary analysis skills, but also to get kids thinking about how their actions impact the whole of humanity. Throw in a viewing of Kurzgesagt’s video and you can easily hit a few extra Common Core State Standards, including: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7 – Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.
Want the question set I built for this story? Just click here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Egg-by-Andy-Weir-Modern-Short-Story-Literary-Analysis-Multimedia-CCSS-5882761
Teach on, everyone!
Credit for all images: Pixabay, Public domain
What a great story and video, especially for these times! Thank you for sharing this.
🙂
Yeah, Hope, I couldn’t get this one out of my head. I agree, it feels really appropriate for our current trials. Thanks for being here on the blog with me!
This was amazing!
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Thanks, Michele! 😀
nice!
Thanks, Derick. 🙂