Foreshadowing and Flashback Imagery Lesson
Key Questions:


How does the author’s use of rhetorical devices (foreshadowing and
flashback) and rhetorical structure (parallel plot) contribute to the
development of the author’s message?
How does the author use imagery that appeals to the five senses to create
a dynamic experience for readers?
TEKS:
1 Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it
when reading and writing.
3(A) analyze the effects of diction and imagery (e.g., controlling mages,
figurative language, understatement, overstatement, irony, paradox) in poetry.
5 Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about
the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support
their understanding.
5(A) analyze non-linear plot development (e.g., flashbacks, foreshadowing,
sub-plots, parallel plot structures) and compare it to linear plot
development;
7 Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw
conclusions about how an author’s sensory language creates imagery in
literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding.
(Figure 19B) make complex inferences about text and use textual evidence to
support understanding.
ELPS:
1(H) develop and expand repertoire of learning strategies such as reasoning
inductively or deductively, looking for patterns in language, and analyzing
sayings and expressions commensurate with grade-level learning
expectations
4(A) learn relationships between sounds and letters of the English language
and decode (sound out) words using a combination of skills such as
recognizing sound-letter relationships and identifying cognates, affixes, roots,
and base words
4(C) develop basic sight vocabulary, derive meaning of environmental print,
and comprehend English vocabulary and language structures used routinely
in written classroom materials
4(E) read linguistically accommodated content-area material with a decreasing
need for linguistic accommodations as more English is learned
4(J) demonstrate English comprehension and expand reading skills by
employing inferential skills such as predicting, making connections between
ideas, drawing inferences and conclusions from text and graphic sources, and
finding supporting text evidence commensurate with content-area needs.
4(K) demonstrate English comprehension and expand reading skills by
employing analytical skills such as evaluating written information and
performing critical analysis commensurate with content-area and grade level
needs.
Concepts / Skills
Reading

to be taught:

The students will be taught how to identify foreshadowing and
flashback through the reading of a short work of fiction
The students will learn to extract important information from a
selected reading
Writing


TEKS Vocabulary:
Complete and/or correct select portions of a work of fiction to identify
flashback and foreshadowing.
The students will learn to write concise responses to short answer
responses
Flashback
Foreshadow
Imagery
Inference
Literature / Resources:
1. “The Scarlet Ibis” – Holt DVD Video Trailer
2. Vocabulary Study: Words in Context – attached
3. James Hurst’s excerpt from short story “The Scarlet Ibis” p. 462-475 –
purple Holt textbook
4. “The Scarlet Ibis” Discussion Review PowerPoint
5. Flashback and Foreshadowing Timeline - attached
6. Flashback and Foreshadowing Practice Exercises (see below):
a. Practice 1 – “The Grasshopper and the Ant”
b. Practice 2 – “The Fall of the House of Usher”
c. Practice 3 – “Signs of the Times”
7. 3x5 index cards (10 lines like a SAR response box)
8. Teachers may substitute other relevant stories to provide a range of
reading and level of text complexity.
Considerations for
Struggling Students:









Lesson:
James Hurst’s excerpt from short story “The Scarlet Ibis” p. 190-204 in
Holt Interactive Reader, or p. 186-196 in the Holt ELL Adapted Interactive
Reader
Use audio version of text
Shelter instruction
Provide Bilingual and English Language Dictionaries
Model reading strategies
Use graphic organizers
Provide extensive scaffolding
Employ reciprocal teaching
Allow extra time for assignments
Duration: Approximately 3 days
SEE
1. Show students the video trailer to “The Scarlet Ibis” – Holt DVD.
2. Tell students that as they read, they should consider the nonlinear plot
development, imagery, and how these devices help contribute to author’s
purpose.
DO
3. Complete the prediction portion of the Vocabulary sheet (attached)
4. Introduce James Hurst’s story “The Scarlet Ibis” (textbook)
5. Students listen as story is read aloud by teacher or by listening to Holt
Audio CD. (Alternatively the story can be read as a whole class, pausing
as needed to check for understanding or to answer questions).
6. After reading story, complete the meaning portion of the Vocabulary sheet
(attached)
SEE/DO/TALK
7. Review story using “The Scarlet Ibis” Discussion Review PowerPoint
8. Have students complete the Flashback and Foreshadowing Timeline
activity (attached)
DO
9. Students will complete the following warm-up: Define imagery. Provide
examples of at least three death images in the story.
SEE/DO/TALK
10. Introduce Inference Class Activity - Explain: When you make an inference,
you make a logical guess based on observations or information in a text
combined with your own knowledge and experience. Making an inference
about a character is making a logical guess based on what the character
says and does as well as what others say and do about that character.
Making inferences about characters can help you better understand the
characters and the story.
11. Then as a class: Fill in the chart with quotes from the story that have to do
with the relationship between the narrator and Doodle. Record student
inferences about the relationship based on the quotes.
Quotes
“Doodle was a nice crazy, like
someone you meet in your dreams.”
Inferences about Relationship
Narrator basically liked his brother,
but thought he was odd.
(lines _____)
12. Give each student a 3x5 index card and have them respond to the
following: Identify two or more examples of imagery that combine
effectively to create a certain atmosphere or mood in the story. Support
your answer with evidence from the text.
TRANSFER
13. Have students complete the Flashback and Foreshadowing Practice
Exercises (attached).
Additional Resources:
STORY TIMELINE: SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
The narrator looks back at a period that spans close to seven years. Have
students construct a timeline, perhaps using multiple sheets of paper, to cover
this time span. Ask students to label the timeline with story events above the
line and political or world events mentioned in the story (for example, the
presidency of Woodrow Wilson) beneath it. Have students use their timeline to
present the chronology of events to the class.
Assessment/Evaluation
1. Student accurately explains foreshadowing, flashback and imagery.
2. Student accurately cites textual evidence to support the responses.
3. Student can explain why it is important to support their responses with
textual evidence.
4. Student accurately analyzes figurative language and can critique the
author’s motivation for its use.
5. Student accurately distinguishes between fact and inference.