All Summer In a Day Short Story Unit Reading Guide

Item description

All Summer in a Day is a great story for sparking discussions about bullying, difference, and empathy. Assignments in this unit ask students to think beyond the text and demonstrate their understanding of grade-level reading skills. This unit is perfect for whole class or small group instruction, and could easily be adapted for independent work by turning discussion questions into reader response questions.

All Summer in a Day, a short story by Ray Bradbury. In this tale, a group of kids on the planet Venus are excited for the one day every seven years when the sun comes out. But one girl, Margot, has been on Earth and remembers what it’s like to feel the sun on her skin. The other kids don’t believe her and bully her mercilessly. When the day finally comes and they step outside, they realize that Margot was right all along.

Author Study

At the beginning of the activity is a short paragraph that is intended to introduce the student to the author.

Pre-reading activity

A pre-reading quick write will help set the tone for students to engage in All Summer In A Day. The question is designed to help students think about the anticipation the children are experiencing as they wait for the one hour of sunshine.

Stop N Jot

This is a fabulous activity that helps keep students focused on the reading. There are two pages devoted to stop ‘n jot. At the end of each reading page, (All Summer In A Day is usually 4 pages long depending on the publisher and the number of pictures included in the text.) students are to stop, think about what they’ve read, and then jot down the main ideas, questions, thoughts and feeling they had as they read. Additionally, there is a space for students to sketch a picture to help them recall the story.

Vocabulary Words

Eight words from the story have been selected for further study. The words were based on the necessity of understanding the story and the likelihood of students seeing the word again in other readings. Students will find the words in the reading, research the definition, and use the word correctly within a sentence.

Setting

Setting plays an essential role in All Summer In A Day. To help build an understanding of the role of the sun in the story and encourage imagination, students are to draw pictures of the setting before the sun comes out and after it comes out.

Plot Diagram

To continue building on literacy skills, a plot diagram is included. This could be used as an extension activity, whole class activity, or independent work depending on the level of understanding your students have.

An answer key is included for some portions of the reading guide. Activities that encourage creative and critical thinking will not have an answer key as more than one answer is appropriate.

All Middle School Café Short Story units are designed to help educators get the most out of each story and encourage students to engage in critical thinking. Reading guides are appropriate for both upper elementary and middle school.

The story All Summer in a Day is not included in this product but can be found in many ELA Literature sets and online.