“A Sound of Thunder”

Name: Lauren Buchanan Date(s) of Lesson: April 19th, 2018

Student Learning Objective(s) and Related Assessment(s):

Students will read and understand the use of symbolism in Ray Bradbury’s short story “A Sound of Thunder.”
This means that the students will be able to complete the exit ticket: “What might the butterfly be a symbol of?
What else might be a symbol in the story?”

Standard(s):
9.1.a. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of
the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text. (CCSS: RL.9-10.2)

Materials/Resources:
 “A Sound of Thunder” packet
 Pencil
 Notebook Paper
Learning Activities:

Initiation: Describe briefly how you will initiate the lesson. (6 minutes)

 Students will be asked to answer on notebook paper the question: If you could time travel, what would
you do and where would you go? (3 minutes)
 Students will then share with a partner their answers. (3 minutes)

Lesson Development: Describe how you will develop the lesson. (70 minutes)

 I will read aloud “A Sound of Thunder,” pausing and asking questions along the way. Students will take
notes in the packet along the way. (60 minutes)
 As a class, we will complete the questions at the end of the packet. (10 minutes)

Closure: Describe briefly how you will close the lesson and help students understand the purpose of the
lesson. (14 minutes)

 Students will complete the exit ticket (14 minutes):

What might the butterfly symbolize?
What else might be a symbol in the story?
Name:______________________

“A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury

1. What might the butterfly symbolize?

2. What else might be a symbol in the story?

Name:______________________

“A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury

3. What might the butterfly symbolize?

4. What else might be a symbol in the story?

Name:______________________

“A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury

5. What might the butterfly symbolize?

6. What else might be a symbol in the story?

 Post Lesson Reflection

1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to justify your level of
achievement)
The objectives were mostly achieved by the students. The majority of the students answered the exit
ticket correctly and participated well in the group discussion. Students seemed to be interested in the
story as a whole, so they were able to grasp onto details that may be looked over. I would say that
overall the lesson was a success.

2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to teach again?

So, I under-planned for the lesson a bit. I expected the reading aloud would take a lot longer than it did.
However, I believe that I improvised pretty well by integrating the four walls with multiple choice
questions, making the time more kinesthetic. I think that in a perfect world, I would have the students
read, but because the story was longer I feel that the students would have had a difficult time
comprehending everything when their classmates read.

3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach content, etc.)
I know that the next lesson that Mr. Hoffman has planned is to have the students work on their genre
projects and analysis paragraphs. The story will be the basis for the whole next lesson. If the students
do not know the story, then the students will be unsuccessful.