A Sound Of Thunder

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

ACTIVITY: “Foreshadowing and Fulfillment”

“A Sound of Thunder” contains a few instances of foreshadowing, a literary device that hints at what is to come later in the story. However, foreshadowing is often easier to spot after having read the whole story.

Part A: Re-read the story, looking specifically for places where future outcomes were predicted or hinted at. Create a T-chart to document at least three findings of foreshadowing:

• On the left side, write the “hint” or instance of foreshadowing. You can write the exact quote, or paraphrase if it’s several sentences long.
• On the right side, write how the foreshadowing was fulfilled. How did the event that was hinted at come true later in the story?

Part B: Choose one instance of foreshadowing and its fulfillment and create an illustration of it to present to the class. Options for your illustration include:

• Create a small poster, dividing the paper into two sections, and draw the moment of foreshadowing on one side and the moment of fulfillment on the other.
• Create a comic strip to show various stages of foreshadowing and fulfillment.
• Make a slideshow or computer graphic on PowerPoint, Google Slides, or a graphic design website like Canva.
• Make a video or skit in which you are the actor, first acting out the scene of foreshadowing, followed by the scene in which the foreshadowing is fulfilled.
• Create a collage using clippings from magazines or printed pictures to illustrate the foreshadowing and its fulfillment.

Teaching Suggestion: You may choose to let students work with a partner or in small groups to create their illustrations. Encourage students to think about the specific instance of foreshadowing they plan to focus on, and consider what format of illustration will suit the situation best. Provide guidance for students who may not be as artistically inclined as others, perhaps giving the option for a short essay or other written work, such as a poem, to explain the instance of foreshadowing.

Paired Text Extension:

Read one of Bradbury’s other short stories, “The Veldt.” Now that students have recognized foreshadowing in hindsight in “A Sound of Thunder,” challenge them to look for possible instances of foreshadowing during their first reading of “The Veldt.”

• Similar to the above activity, create a T chart as you read, making predictions about elements of the story that contain foreshadowing.
• By the end of the story, see how many of your foreshadowing predictions have been fulfilled.
• Share your T chart with a partner and compare how many you were able to spot correctly on your first reading.

Teaching Suggestion: You may wish to discuss student findings as a class after they have shared with a partner, and bring up what Bradbury’s foreshadowing accomplishes in both “A Sound of Thunder” and “The Veldt.” Does it create suspense? Does it spark the reader’s interest? Does it contribute to characterization or themes? Invite students to discuss how the foreshadowing functions within each text.