Stanley is lying in a hospital bed. His wife Iris looking upon him.
Stanley wants to get up, but Iris is worried about him.
Eventually, Stanley gets to his feet. He asks Iris to turn the radio on.
Time for One Last Dance…
This is a love story that your students will love.
A short story that comes complete with a full lesson plan.
The lesson plan includes:
- introductory questions
- the short story for reading
- reading comprehension questions
- true or false quiz
- essential vocabulary table
- many vocabulary exercises
- discussion questions
- a role play activity
- and a writing exercise
Take a look below. You can download the full lesson by clicking the link!
I hope you like it!
The Last Dance
Stanley shifted his weight.
These hospital beds were the most uncomfortable thing he had ever slept on. And he had slept in some pretty terrible places.
During the war, he had slept on the ground of a trench.
He woke up in three inches of water.
But he was young then. He was scared witless at times, just like all the other lads.
But they seemed to laugh it off. A grim sense of humour managed to get them through it all.
He wanted to be in his own bed. With his Iris.
Stanley turned his head and there she was, staring back at him.
‘Do you need to go?’ she asked him.
‘No, I went this morning,’ he said.
She rolled her eyes at him. She had been rolling her eyes at Stanley Marsh for the last seventy years.
‘That was this morning,’ she said. ‘Don’t you need to go again?’
‘No, I’m fine,’ said Stanley.
He moved his body to the right.
‘Why d’you keep moving around then?’ she asked him. ‘Every time you move like that, I know you need to go.’
Stanley stared back at her, giving her one of his big winning smiles.
She rolled her eyes again.
‘You silly dope,’ she said. Then her face broke into a broad smile. All the lines on her face creased up.
More lines on your face than an old road map, Stanley always said to her.
‘I wouldn’t mind getting up for a bit,’ he said. ‘Just to sit up straight for a change. All this lying down is making me feel like I can’t do anything.’
‘The doctor said you got to lie down,’ said Iris. She nodded at him like this was final.
Stanley took a breath, then pulled the bed sheet away from his body.
He was wearing hospital pyjamas.
They were itchy.
He wanted to yank them off his body and feel the cool air across his skin.
‘What are you doing?’ said Iris. She got to her feet and waddled around the bed to his side.
He tried to pull one foot off the bed and managed to get it halfway down to the floor. The other one remained under the sheet.
‘Give us a hand, love,’ said Stan.
‘Doctor said —‘
‘I know what the doctor said,’ Stanley spoke in a firm voice. The one he used when something was final. ‘Now give me a hand.’
Iris rolled her eyes again and helped him get his left foot out from under the sheets. She arranged his legs so that his knees were together and his feet closer to the ground.
Then Stanley edged to the side of the bed. Iris helped him, holding onto his shoulders.
Eventually, Stanley managed to get to his feet, and he stood up straight.
He felt a slight blurry rush to his head and giddiness washing over him. He held onto Iris for support.
Stanley blinked a few times and waited for the moment to pass.
It was just the feeling of going from horizontal to vertical.
He took one final breath and opened his eyes.
He gave Iris a big smile.
‘Good morning, breakfast!’ he purred at her. His imitation of the cat in that old cartoon they used to watch years ago.
Iris couldn’t help but laugh. He always made her laugh.
Stanley Marsh. Her Stanley.
Soon to be only her. But for now, he was still here.
Stanley nodded to the transistor radio on the side of a small set of drawers.
‘How about a bit of music?’ he said.
‘Music?’ said Iris. ‘What are you on about now, music… ‘
‘You know, music. Tunes, melodies, lyrics. That kind of thing.’
Iris held onto Stanley for a second and made sure he was not wobbling around too much.
Once she was sure that he could stand on his own for a second or two, she went to the radio and turned it on.
She had brought the radio from their home two weeks ago. Stanley loved to listen to the radio.
He sang along to all their old songs.
At home, she always did the cooking, and he always did the washing up afterwards.
Iris sat on the sofa, listening to her Stanley singing away to his heart’s content.
The radio buzzed into life, some static, and Iris turned the dial until a familiar tune spilt out of the speaker and filled the sterile room with life.
‘Oh, I love this one,’ said Stanley.
He immediately began humming along to it, swaying his hips to and fro and doing jazz hands in front of himself.
‘Be careful, Stanley,’ said Iris, rushing back to him. ‘No prancing about.’
She went close to him, to protect him, look after him.
Stanley wrapped one arm around her waist. The other clasping her left hand up high.
‘Fancy a dance, my love?’ he said.
‘You’re so silly,’ said Iris, but she buried her head against his shoulder. A place she loved.
A place of safety. Of belonging.
Stanley hummed along to the song on the radio.
A tune the two of them had heard a thousand times.
‘Remember this one, love?’ said Stanley. ‘I think we danced to this one on holiday one time.’
And Iris remembered. She remembered every moment with Stanley.
Her Stanley.
Stanley hummed along to the tune. Iris closed her eyes and tried not to think of the future.
What would she do?
Stanley shifted his shoulder so that Iris opened her eyes again and looked up at him.
‘This might be our last dance together, my love,’ he said. ‘Our last one.’
‘Oh Stanley,’ she said. ‘You’re such a silly old dope.’
And the music played on.
Stanley and Iris Marsh dancing together in a hospital room in the suburbs of the town where they had lived for so many years.
Children fully grown.
Grandchildren in university or finishing high school.
But this evening was theirs.
The last dance for the two of them.
Reading Comprehension Questions
Who are the two main characters in the story?
Where does the story take place?
What is Stanley lying on at the beginning of the story?
Does he like this bed?
What does he compare the hospital bed to?
What was Stanley’s experience during the war?
Where would Stanley prefer to be?
Where is Iris sitting? What is she doing?
What does Iris think Stanley needs to do?
When did Stanley last go to the toilet?
What action does Iris often make in response to things Stanley says?
What action does Stanley towards Iris that wins her affection?
What does Stanley compare Iris’ face to? Why does he say this?
What does Stanley want to do later in the story? Why does he want to do this?
What does Iris say about the doctor’s orders?
What is Stanley wearing?
Does he like these clothes? Why/why not?
Why does Stanley need help from Iris to get out of bed?
How does Stanley feel when he stands up?
What causes this feeling?
What does Stanley say to Iris when he opens his eyes?
Where does this line come from?
How does Iris react when Stanley says this to her?
What does Stanley want to listen to?
Does Iris turn the radio on or off?
Who does the radio belong to?
Who makes dinner when they are both at home?
Who does the washing up?
When Iris turns the radio on, how does Stanley react?
When Iris runs to hold Stanley, what does he do?
Where does Iris place her head?
Does Stanley remember the song on the radio? What does he say about it?
What does Stanley say to Iris while they are dancing?
Where are their children and grandchildren?
Essential Vocabulary
comfortable | love | vertical |
scared | shifted | imitate |
laugh | uncomfortable | melodies |
hospital | trench | lyrics |
smile | woke | sterile |
doctor | grim | familiar |
breath | sense of humour | humming |
radio | edged | belonging |
dance | horizontal | suburbs |
Exercise
Write down all the words and phrases in your vocabulary notebook. Look in your dictionary and find the meaning of each word. Write the definition next to each word.
Then make up your own sentences using each word or phrase.
For example:
Comfortable — something that provides physical ease, free from stress.
Scared — a feeling of fear or being frightened.
Then write a sentence of your own that uses the new word or phrase correctly.
The hotel room was so comfortable that they decided to book it for an extra night.
He was feeling scared, so he stepped away from the edge of the cliff.
Do this with all the vocabulary and, over time, this will help improve all your English skills — reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Discussion Questions
How does Stanley feel about being in the hospital bed? Why does he want to get up?
Describe Stanley and Iris’s relationship. How do they interact with each other?
Do they love each other do you think?
Why does Iris roll her eyes at Stanley? What does this show about their relationship?
What memories does Stanley recall from his past? How do these memories contrast with his current situation?
Why does Stanley want to listen to music? How does it affect him?
What does the radio symbolize in the story? What connection does it have with Stanley and Iris’ life at home?
How does Iris react when Stanley wants to dance? Why does she react this way do you think?
Is Iris angry at Stanley for moving around? Or is she just worried about him?
Why does she have this feeling do you think?
What do you think the phrase “The Last Dance” means in the story?
How does Stanley’s humour help him cope with his situation?
Does his humour have more benefit for him or for Iris? Why do you think this?
Discuss the significance of the setting of the hospital room in the story.
Why are Stanley and Iris there?
How does the story describe the characters’ emotions without directly stating them?
Why does Stanley mention that this might be their last dance together? How does Iris respond?
What do you think will happen to Stanley and Iris after the story ends?
How does the story explore themes of love and ageing?
Compare Stanley and Iris’s relationship now to what it might have been like in their younger years.
How does the story portray resilience in the face of challenges?
Discuss the role of memories in the story. How do they influence Stanley and Iris’s actions?
What do you think Stanley means when he calls Iris “my love”?
How does the story’s ending make you feel? What emotions does it evoke?
There is a line that says: Soon to be only her.
And another line: ‘This might be our last dance together, my love.’
What do these lines mean do you think?
What is happening to Stanley?
How do you think Iris is feeling at this moment?
Do you think love can last forever?
Do you know any couple like Stanley and Iris?
Do you know a couple who have been married for a long time?
How does their love stay so strong do you think?
You can download the full lesson plan by clicking the link below!
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