Vocabulary in Action
After waiting an hour for her computer to restart, Maya's _____ was obvious from her frustrated sighs.
Vexation
Which vocabulary word means to shake or tremble slightly?
Quiver
Dickie is excited and curious about his upcoming examination, while his parents are nervous and uncomfortable. What character trait BEST describes Dickie?
Innocent / naïve
Bradbury describes the house as if it can wake up, speak, prepare food, clean, and care for a family.
What literary device is Bradbury using?
Personification (extended)
A government controls what citizens are allowed to read.
Name the dystopian element.
Control (suppression by government)
Before using the scientific equipment, the technician needed to _____ it to ensure the measurements were accurate.
Calibrate
freeze : cold :: _____ : hot liquid
Scald
Dickie’s parents know the possible consequences of the examination, but Dickie does not.
How does this contrast affect the story?
It creates tension because the parents understand a danger that Dickie is completely unaware of.
The family is gone, yet the house continues announcing schedules, preparing meals, and completing its daily routines.
What does this behavior reveal about the house?
It is highly capable/efficient but completely unaware that its actions no longer have a purpose.
Give the definition of a utopia.
An imagined society designed to be ideal.
The frightened child began to _____ behind his mother when the enormous dog approached.
Cower
Which vocabulary word best describes something considered replaceable or unnecessary enough to sacrifice?
Expendable
Dickie willingly goes to the examination and trusts the adults and government officials around him.
Why is Dickie’s trust important to the story’s message?
His trust emphasizes his innocence and makes the government’s treatment of him more disturbing/unjust.
The house can cook, clean, entertain, protect, and organize nearly every aspect of human life—but it cannot understand that the humans are gone.
What important difference between technology and humanity does Bradbury emphasize?
Technology can perform sophisticated tasks without possessing human understanding, awareness, or wisdom.
A society claims: “EVERYONE IS EQUAL. EVERYONE IS HAPPY.” Citizens who disagree mysteriously disappear.
What dystopian characteristic is MOST clearly demonstrated?
Equality or conformity.
Without any additional evidence, detectives could only _____ about what had happened.
Speculate
A pond has stopped flowing, and algae and bacteria have begun growing in it.
What vocabulary word describes what has happened to the water?
Stagnate
Dickie’s parents know the examination could have terrible consequences, yet they still send him to take it.
What does this choice reveal about Dickie’s parents AND their society?
Accept: Answers involving fear, conformity, powerlessness, obedience, or government control with a strong explanation.
During the fire, Bradbury makes the house seem almost desperate as its systems attempt to save it.
Why is this characterization ironic?
The house was designed with incredibly advanced technology to protect and serve humans, yet all of that technology ultimately cannot even save itself.
Which text gives us the clearer example of an oppressive government: “Examination Day” or “There Will Come Soft Rains”?
“Examination Day”
The advertisement never actually said that owning the shoes would make you popular, but that was its _____ message.
Subliminal
Give a sentence using luminate that makes its meaning clear without using the words light, shine, glow, or illuminate.
Accept answers that demonstrate: to brighten/light up.
Consider these details:
Create a thematic statement connecting these three ideas.
Multiple answers accepted if they are universal, defensible, and supported by the story.
Ex. Fear and unquestioned obedience can allow unjust systems to maintain power over individuals.
Consider:
What larger warning does Bradbury communicate through these contrasts?
Human beings may have tremendous power to create, but that power cannot protect them from the consequences of using it unwisely.
Again, accept any defensible thematic statement supported by the story.
Both “Examination Day” and “There Will Come Soft Rains” present societies with impressive technological advancement.
Yet neither story presents that advancement as true progress. What warning do BOTH stories communicate about technology or human progress?
Technological advancement does not necessarily make society wiser or better. Without wisdom, morality, or respect for human life, technology can become a tool of control or destruction.
Accept other defensible thematic answers.