By Isaac Asimov

1. "The Fun They Had" By Isaac Asimov Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

2. Summary Slide • Draw Conclusions • Summarize • Background • Purpose • Draw Conclusions/Summary • Inferences • About the Author • Websites Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

3. Draw Conclusions When reading, we get information from different sources, such as the words and actions of the characters and what the author tells us directly. We combine this information with our personal knowledge and experiences to draw conclusions. To understand a story, you must apply your own knowledge and experience while taking in all of the information that the author gives. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

4. Draw Conclusions A conclusions is a judgment or a decision based on information. Readers sometimes draw a conclusion too quickly. As they read on, they discover information that makes them revise their conclusion one or more times. See if you can draw conclusions from the following journal written by a boy named Juan. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

5. Monday, July 10 This morning, I was shocked to find the clearing around the cabin littered with garbage. I knew that I had secured the lid on the garbage can. There had been a storm last night. That had to be the answer. • What conclusion did Juan make? • Juan concluded that the storm had overturned the garbage can and scattered its contents. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

6. Tuesday, July 11 I was amazed again this morning to see that the packages and cans from yesterday’s supper were scattered about. There had been no storm this time. And where were the food scraps? It seemed that everything that could be eaten was gone. It must be an animal. • What conclusion did Juan make? • Juan concluded that an animal had ransacked his garbage can. • What information supports this conclusion? • Everything that could be eaten was gone. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

7. I looked at the soft ground around the garbage can. Animal tracks! I knew exactly what had made them. I followed them to a stream. There was part of the apple I had thrown away. I knew the culprit now! • Who or what do you think Juan decided was responsible for rummaging in the garbage can? • I think Juan decided it was a raccoon. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

8. Summarize Good readers use strategies, such as summarizing, to keep track of the story as they read. Summarizing allows the reader to briefly restate the main ideas of the story thus far, making clear what elements are important and need to be remembered. Summarize the action in the story in order to get an overall picture of the main events. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

9. Background • What do you think the future will be like? • What will cities look like? • What transportation will be used? • What kind of food will people eat? • What will schools be like? • Background: Visions of the Future Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

10. Purpose • Read “The Fun They Had” – pages 584 – 593. • As you read, draw conclusions based on the full-page illustrations. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

11. Draw Conclusions/Summary Summarize the story using the pictures on the following pages: • Pages 586 – 587: • Tommy and Margie live in the future. They are reading a book about what schools used to be like. • Pages 588 – 589: • Margie’s teacher is a computer. It broke down, but a man came and fixed it. Margie reads the lesson on a screen. She puts her homework in a slot in the computer. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

12. Page 591: • This is a picture from the book that Tommy and Margie are reading. It shows a human teacher and kids learning together in a classroom. There are books and papers (maybe homework) on the desk. Margie things this school must have been more fun than hers. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

13. Inferences Readers make inferences in order to understand relationships among ideas or to figure out the meaning of unclear text. They do so by using prior knowledge, past experience, and information in the text. Find information that the author provides in the text. Use your prior knowledge and past experience. Make an inference about something that is not stated. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

14. Inferences Make two inferences for each statement. • Cynthia, who is my neighbor, flies home on weekends. • Mark took the last train to the city. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

15. Inferences Authors don’t always tell their readers directly what a character is feeling or why a character does something. Instead, authors help readers understand characters by telling what the characters say or do. Sometimes a narrator provides information about the character. Readers can use the information to make inferences. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

16. Read the paragraphs, and then answer the questions that follow. Nobody bothered much with Ben, the old man who lived in a mountain cabin thirty miles from the nearest town of Plainview. Some of the town’s older residents remembered Ben as a young man, coming from the city to stay in the cabin on weekends with his wife and young son. Ben moved to the mountain cabin permanently after his wife and child had died in a plane crash. Early one morning, Ben spied a teenage boy, obviously lost, trudging toward his cabin. Ben hated having visitors and did everything he could to Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

17. discourage them. As he watched the boy, something about him reminded Ben of the son he once had. Reluctantly, Ben opened the cabin door. • What information about Ben does the author provide? • As a young man, Ben had come to a mountain cabin with his wife and son. After their death in a plane crash, Ben moved into the cabin permanently. • What might Ben’s motive be for moving to the cabin? • Perhaps Ben did not want to go on as he had before because he was so sad about the loss of his family. Perhaps he wanted to be in a place of happy memories. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

18. How do you think Ben felt when he saw the teenage boy? Why? • Ben may have felt sad because the boy reminded him of his son. • What do you think Ben’s motive was for opening the door? • Ben may have realized that he was the only one who could help the boy. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

19. About the Author: Isaac Asimov • Born in Russia 1920 • Pronounce last name – “Has Him Off” – Leave out H’s • Came to states with family in January 1923 • Father of Science Fiction genre • Fear of heights – discovered on rollercoaster at World Fair in 1940 • Fear of flying…flew only twice • “Fun They Had” most reprinted story • Died on April 6, 1992 • Harcourt: Asimov • Asimovonline Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

20. Websites • Reading Skills Rocket: Text Structure: Draw Conclusions • Test Tutor: Draw Conclusions • Grammar Practice Park: Batter Up with Verbs Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”

21. Credits • Harcourt Trophies – Distant Voyages, Chicago: Harcourt, 2003. • MacMillan Connections – Landscapes, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987. Theme 5: School Rules “The Fun They Had”