3 Study Guide, “All Summer in a Day”
Before you read: Answer each with a short discussion. Use complete sentences.
- Will people ever live on other planets? Why do you think we will or will not?
- Does the weather influence your mood? Explain: what specific weather makes you feel good or bad?
- Do you remember being nine years old? What is special about this age?
- Is it fair for children when their parents move to a different culture? What can be hard or easy for children when they are forced to move to an unfamiliar place?
- Remember a time in your life when you felt different from those around you. What was that like? Describe the time and place.
- Have you ever been jealous of one of your peers? How did those feelings make you act towards what person?
Vocabulary for “All Summer in a Day” List 1:
You might know the meanings of these words. They are non-academic, ordinary English. For each word, try to:
- Identify the part of speech
- Translate into your first language or give a synonym
| intermixed
peering gush concussion stunned blush protested slacken spokes (of a wheel) drench pattern
|
dim, dimly vital savage blink plead muffled apparatus repercussion tropical tremor bronze
|
spell
tumultuously wavering octopi squeak resilient savor glance wail stake glance solemn |
List 2: These are academic words. You should learn these words and their word families.
| compound
civilization consequence predict |
insert
brief seek suspend |
Cultural Background
“All Summer in a Day” was written in 1950. Ray Bradbury, the writer, was one of the original creators of the science fiction genre.
The US in 1950
World War II ended in 1945. This war affected the US deeply. First, science and technology in the US was suddenly much more advanced, because the country had developed new weapons, including rockets and the atomic bomb, for the war. Second, the world political situation was different after this war. Most countries at this time could be divided into two groups: the capitalist and democratic group, which included the US and Western Europe, and the Communist group, which included Russia. At this time Russia was called the USSR.
The Cold War
The US and the USSR were not friendly with each other. They did not openly fight, but they competed in many ways, including by building weapons and by spying on each other. This competition was called the “Cold War.” It affected the US by creating a feeling of distrust and fear. Americans were suspicious and sometimes accused each other of being “Communists”. The Cold War went on until the 1980s, and it affected many countries. (Was your home country also affected by the Cold War?)
Science Fiction
The U.S.’s new technology included rocket ships and the government goal of going to the moon. This affected the imagination of artists and writers deeply, and a new writing style, science fiction, was created. These stories described situations where humans traveled to other planets, or where aliens visited our planet. Many of the stories included the feelings of fear and mistrust that the Cold War had created.
Reading in Chunks
Read this part of the story aloud or listen to your instructor read. Add glosses (short explanations of the meaning).
| Story | Glosses |
| The children pressed to each other
like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun. It rained. It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus, and this was the schoolroom of the children of the rocket men and women who had come to a raining world to set up civilization and live out their lives. “It’s stopping, it’s stopping!” “Yes, yes!” Margot stood apart from them, from these children who could never remember a time when there wasn’t rain and rain and rain. They were all nine years old, and if there had been a day, seven years ago, when the sun came out for an hour and showed its face to the stunned world, they could not recall. |
The kids are crowded together
Some are nice, some not nice
The plants grow, then get killed by heavy rain, and this repeats over and over
They aren’t on Earth
Some people live on this planet
They will stay until they die
Margot (/margow/) is different
Maybe they saw the sun when they were two years old
They don’t remember it
|
Setting
Where and when does this story take place? Guess! What clues make you think so? Write a quotation (a few words is OK) from the story to support your guess.
Read the Story
Read several times. Look up words you don’t know. Try to read in “chunks.”
Plot
What happens in this story? Complete the time-order list.
Expanding Your Vocabulary: Personality Words
English has hundreds of adjectives for appearance, mood and personality. Some are more general, while others are very exact. Which of these personality words do you know? Do you know antonyms of any of these words?
1. There are people who make good friends. They make you feel comfortable; they make you feel happy; they always seem to hang out in groups. Some of these words can describe these friends.
positive likable cheerful helpful enthusiastic energetic lively easy-going playful silly open-minded
2. Other friends may not be part of big social groups, but when you’re having a hard time, these are the best friends to have. You might describe these friends with these words.
non-judgemental trustworthy generous reliable kind gentle observant intuitive loyal sympathetic considerate caring
3. Some people may or may not be your friends, but you can recognize that they will probably succeed in life. If you’re looking for an employee, you might look for these qualities, even if you might not value these qualities in a friend.
persistent decisive pushy courageous creative ambitious resourceful disciplined controlling practical demanding
4. On the other hand, there are flaws that every friend or co-worker has. We can probably recognize our own personality weaknesses in this list. After all, nobody’s perfect.
gullible grumpy self-centered annoying
pessimistic unreliable careless
weak-willed sloppy
stubborn irresponsible over-emotional finicky moody irreverent naive neurotic
unobservant odd
5. Nobody is perfect, but some personality problems are more serious than others. If a person has even one of these bad qualities, you might want to avoid them.
sneaky ignorant untrustworthy intolerant resentful tactless unimaginative unpredictable jealous boastful
6. Finally, there are qualities that can actually be dangerous. If you realize someone you know has these personality traits, stay away from them!
arrogant inconsiderate aggressive hostile cruel abusive scary
Characters
Main characters are the people who speak and affect the story the most. This story has ONE main character, but also a group of children who are like a main character. Compare their physical appearance and actions with the deeper personality qualities you can guess they have. Use some “personality words” in the following exercise. Avoid copying words directly from the story.
Characterization
“Characterization” means the way the author shows the personality of each character. Look for actions (verbs), not just adjectives!
Look back at the “Characters” exercise. Choose one “personality” quality that you wrote there, and copy it here. You can explain why you chose this adjective if you want. Then, write a quote from the story that supports your choice. Include quotation marks. One is done as an example.
Personality Trait: Children |
Supporting Quote: |
| The children are ignorant about the sun
|
“these children who could never remember a time when there wasn’t rain and rain and rain. … if there had been a day … when the sun came out for an hour … they could not recall.” |
