August 2026 Activities
Activity One: First Reading
Read the story
Can you make any links to the poem we have already studied? What are some differences?
Complete a VENN diagram using TWO pages of your book:
Close read the short story together
Activity Two: Preliminary Activities
1. Re-tell the story in your own words (don’t look at the story)- what words or phrases can you remember?
2. Read the story again.
3. Summarise the short story in exactly 19 words.
4. Draw a SIX box cartoon to represent the story- it is up to you which factors you choose
Today’s Questions: Answer the following in your book:
1. How was the house smart enough to know when to make food etc, yet not smart enough to know that there was no one there? 2. What role does the dog play in the story? What does it show? 3. How did the house survive the blast? 4. Why does the dog die of starvation when the story could be about animal survival? 5. Why wasn’t the dog killed in the blast? 6. Why doesn’t the house let the dog in the kitchen? 7. What does “There will come soft rains mean”? Complete this table with information that you know from the story, and questions that you need to know in order to comprehend the story. My information is there to act as examples- you put what you know and need to know in your own one.
What I KNOW… QUESTIONS I have… There are no people in the Why are there no people? story
Share ideas together- on the board. Can you answer any using evidence from the text?
HOMEWORK:
12EN Homework Given WEDNESDAY 22 ND FEBRUARY DUE MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY
Your task is to find out:
Find FOUR facts about Bradbury- What was happening around the world from WW2 until 1977 to influence Ray Bradbury’s writing? Do the events occurring around the world at this time influence a sense of technological paranoia? Find FIVE events or important pieces of information from the time period above. Explain WHY the FIVE chosen events or important facts are RELEVANT to our story. Look at current ideas about the END OF THE WORLD occurring this year (2012). Find TWO theories that the world may end in 2012 o What are is the belief? Outline what it is. o Who believes it? Where in the world? Which group of people? o Why do they believe this? What ‘proof’ have they got? o Any other important information Activity Three: COMPREHENSION AND REVISITING IDEAS
Answer these questions in your book- use evidence from the text for each question.
1. What unusual appliances and qualities does the house have? Evidence. 2. What were the five spots of paint of? 3. What happened to the people? Evidence. 4. What are some things the house has been protecting itself from? Evidence. 5. What happens to the dog’s remains? Evidence. 6. What can you infer the family normally does at 2.35? 7. What did the children normally do at 4.30? Evidence. 8. What is the name of the family that lived in the house? 9. What are some things the house does to try and save itself? Evidence. 10.What was the last voice to die saying? What is the significance?
Discuss the answers and ideas together.
Can you add anything to the VENN diagram from earlier?
Revisit the statements: Technology will be the salvation of mankind
Technology will be the destruction of mankind
In light of reading this story, are your views still the same or have they now changed? Justify your current choice in RELATION to this story. Add in at least ONE QUOTE and link it to your chosen statement. Activity Four- LANGUAGE Today’s Questions: Answer in your book: 1. Why does the house survive a nuclear explosion but not the branch hitting the window? 2. Why was the area bombed? 3. Whose perspective is the story told from? 4. Why doesn’t the house know the people have gone? 5. Is the story based on the poem? 6. How can the house survive a big disaster but not a fire? 7. How does technology feel? (emotions?) 8. What happened to the other houses? 9. Why are there no people? 10.What is the purpose of the house in the story?
Find examples of the following in the story:
Simile Personification Suspense Effective adjectives A favourite line from the story- why do you like it?
Find these in pairs. We will then look at the story together as a class in relation to LANGUAGE
Activity Five- THEME Today’s Questions: Answer in your book 1. Why doesn’t the house know the people have gone? 2. Why was the house not destroyed in the nuclear explosion? 3. How did the dog survive? 4. Are there any other houses? 5. Significance of the title? 6. How did the fire start if the stove wasn’t on? 7. How come only one side of the house is burnt? 8. What happened to the people?
In your group discuss what you think the theme or themes are of the story.
What are the main ideas? What is the main message? What evidence from the story can you use to back up your claims?
Share together as a class- notes on board- copy down
Ideas from 2011 Class 1. Humans impair the survival of animals 2. Animal instinct- mankind has lost it through technology and time 3. Stay indoors 4. Be cautious of technological advancements- destruction – paranoia 5. Humans dependent on technology 6. Mortality will always exist 7. Questions purpose of religion Copy this down:
The routine of everyday life is made strange by the absence of the humans that the house was built to serve. If anything, Bradbury's decision to separate metaphorically the dancer from the dance helps to show how artificial and mechanical life can be, especially in an age where technology dictates so much of what we do and how we do it. If anything, the house stands as a testament to the hubris of technology outstripping the more humane concerns of a culture, and the destruction of the house is a kind of rough justice done to a world that values machines more than people.
Activity Six: CHARACTER 1
Today’s Questions: Answer in your book
1. Why are there no people? 2. Is it radiation that killed the people? 3. Does the house represent a human reliance on technology? 4. Why is personification used throughout the story? 5. Who is Mrs McClellen? 6. Why are there no people? 7. What is the purpose of the house in the story? 8. What happened to the world? 9. Whose view is the story from? 10.Why are we working towards a paranoid future?
1. Choose one of the themes from yesterday.
a. Write a paragraph (at least SIX sentences) explaining how our story shows this. Use AT LEAST ONE quote
First we need to make sure we understand these terms:
Who or what is a protagonist?
Who or what is an antagonist? What is a conflict in a story?
What is resolution in a story?
Choose a story that you know (novel, movie…) and identify the PROTAGONIST, ANTAGONIST, CONFLICT, and RESOLUTION.
For ‘August 2026’:
Who or what is the protagonist?
Who or what is the antagonist?
What is the conflict in the story?
What is the outcome from the conflict?
Is it possible to have a story without a ‘character’? Or is there a character? Define what you think.
Class discussion around character and whether or not there is a ‘character’
Copy down:
Protagonist - The McClellan house, preserving order and routine long after the death of its owners by atomic war. Antagonist - The forces of entropy (the process of decay) and decay. Climax - After years of following empty routine, a fire destroys the house. Outcome - A last remnant of the routine remains in the mechanical voice that recounts the date, and screams “Fire!” Activity Seven: Character 2 Today’s Questions: 1. Is it radiation that killed the people? 2. Why didn’t the house save the dog? 3. Why is the house the only house left standing? 4. How does the family get out of the house when there is a fire? 5. How can the house survive a big disaster but not a fire? 6. How does technology feel? (emotions?) 7. How did the animals survive? 8. How is the house the only one left?
Think back to yesterday: Can an inanimate object serve as a protagonist? Can it elicit the same emotional response as a living being? Why/why not? Can you ‘feel’ what the house is feeling?
1. Look through the story. Highlight ALL examples of personification. 2. How many are there? 3. Does the house speak? What does it say? 4. Does the house feel? How does it feel? 5. What makes the house a valid character? Is it a valid character?
Class discussion and sharing ideas.
Copy down:
At first, the house is in denial. It prepares meals, opens doors, cleans, preens, and waters gardens, just as any other day. But, it's been alone too long. The house has grown suspicious in its isolation: “ Until this day, how well the house had kept its peace. How carefully it had inquired, 'Who goes there? What's the password?' and, getting no answer from lonely foxes and whining cats, it had shut up its windows and drawn the shades in an old-maidenly preoccupation with self-protection which bordered on mechanical paranoia". Perhaps the house had understanding, as well. Maybe it knew that it was alone, that it was without purpose. Bradbury leaves it up to interpretation. Before its demise, during the nightly poetry reading, the house selected an eerily pertinent poem- There will come soft rains by Sara Teasdale.
The house is a representation of humanity. Where the house stands now, was once forests, streams, and all other wonders of the natural world. Mankind changed the landscape, bent it to his will, and built the house to attend to his needs. The house is an extension of man, now that the men have all died, the house has too. Bradbury paints a bleak picture: all of our ingenuity, all of our brilliant mechanical creations, all of our scheming, planning, and controlling comes to dust in the end. When we are gone the world will continue on, nature blooming and thriving, with mankind a distant memory of a momentary blight. The story of men is told in the dying of a mechanical house.
Activity Eight: Setting
Firstly: Revisit the VENN diagram from earlier: anything new to add?
What is setting?
Time? Place? Society? All three?
Points to Consider When Writing about Setting- answer these questions 1. Where and when does the story take place? Does the author state this directly or do you need to infer this by the author’s descriptions of the character’s clothing, houses, and items they use? 2. How important is the setting to what happens in the story? Could the story be set somewhere else, or is it a key element of the story? 3. How does the setting affect the characters? Characters may reflect the common values of the time and place in which they exist or may be in conflict with their environment. 4. What mood or atmosphere does the setting suggest? Does the mood of the story relate to its theme?
Discussion about answers
Activity Nine
1. Look at 2010 Year 11 exam papers- what did I do well? What could I have done better?
2. Discussion around the following questions:
GENERAL TOPICS You can use one of these topics to write about any type of short written text. The texts you write about could be the same text type (eg two poems) or different text types (eg a poem and a short story). 1. In short written texts, setting is often used to develop the themes. Analyse how settings are used to develop the themes in at least TWO short written texts that you have studied. Note: “Themes” are the main ideas in a text 2. In short written texts, writers often use symbols to represent complex or significant ideas. Analyse how symbols have been used to develop your understanding of people OR ideas in at least TWO short written texts you have studied. 3. Writers of short written texts often reveal a strong viewpoint on particular issues. Analyse how different viewpoints on the same issue or idea are developed in at least TWO short written texts you have studied. 4. Writers of short written texts often reveal character(s) gradually for readers. Analyse how your understanding of character(s) developed in at least TWO short written texts you have studied. SHORT STORY TOPICS The texts you write about must BOTH be short stories. 5. Successful short stories may lack a clear outcome. Analyse how the lack of a clear outcome in at least TWO short stories you have studied makes the stories successful for you. 6. In short stories, language is often used to enable readers to gain knowledge of the characters quickly. Analyse how language is used in at least TWO short stories you have studied to create characters that make an impact on the reader.
3. How does Year 12 differ from Year 11? What have you heard or what do you expect? 4. Choose one of the above questions to write a body paragraph about for August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains. a. Remember the P.E.E.L rule:
Copy down:
Point- Make a CLEAR statement at the start of your paragraph (this alone should be able to answer the question) Example- What is an example from the story that you can use to back your statement up? Explanation- Link your statement and your example together- explain them more. This can be one sentence, or more than one sentence (probably no more than three) Link - this is where you make a statement further exaggerating your view. In Year 12 it is required that you use this opportunity go ‘beyond the text’ and make perceptive and evaluative comments: Link the statement and example you have just made to a similar example/theme in another text (novel, short story, film, poem…) Link your ideas to real world situations Link your thoughts to the author’s intent- what was Bradbury trying to get society to consider? Or add in a link to a ‘2012 theory’?
Have a go at writing a body paragraph on one of the above questions. Once you have written the paragraph- ask someone in your group to read it. Can they identify the P.E.E.L structure of your answer? Try and improve your paragraph- or choose another question.