Name:
Date:
Period:
The Fun They Had
By: Isaac Asimov
Previewing Texts
1. Preview the text by looking at the pictures and reading the captions. What do
you predict this story will be about?
2. Fill out the first two boxes of the K-W- L Chart below. Write down what you know
about the topic in Box #1. Write down what you want to find out in Box #2.
When you finish reading the story, write what you learned or discovered in
Box#3.
What I KNOW now
Box #1
What I WANT to find out
Box #2
What I LEARNED
Box #3
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Pre-reading Vocabulary
Directions: Write the definition next to each of the following words. Next, write a
sentence that properly uses each word in context.
1. Scornful:
2. Mechanical:
3. Sorrowful:
4. Sector:
5. Superior:
6. Loftily:
7. Dispute:
8. Nonchalant:
Questions For Thought
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Be sure to
proofread your answers and be prepared to share.
1. What is the setting of the story? How does Margie feel about Tommy finding a
“real” book? What can we infer from her reaction?
2. Tommy is surprised that the words on a book do not change. According to
Tommy, what is the “regular” way to read?
3. What does Margie hate the most about school?
4. Why does Margie do poorly in geography?
5. What is school like for Margie? How is this different from your idea of what
school is like?
6. How does Tommy treat Margie? How does he respond when she asks about
how school used to be like? What can we infer about Tommy’s character?
7. Margie mistakenly assumes that the teachers of the past stayed in each
student’s home. What can we infer about the way school is like for her?
8. What is Margie thinking of as she turns in her homework? What are some of the
things she wishes she could experience from the old schools?
Literary Focus
Directions: Answer the questions about the following literary terms.
1. What is setting? How is the setting important in the story?
2. What is characterization? How would you characterize Tommy and Margie in
the story?
Critical Thinking
Directions: At the end of the story, Margie is thinking about how much fun kids
must have had at school. Do you think she would like school as much as she thinks
she would? Why or why not?