Pregame

1. Pregame Knowing what you do about Science Fiction genre, what type of setting would you normally expect and why? What do you think the word: foreshadowing means? (If you have no idea, try breaking the word apart and see what you can come up with. We will look at the official definition in just a few minutes)

2. Vocabulary to know: • Expand – to develop (something) in greater detail; to make larger or core complete. http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=rExpand • Conspiracy - The act of secretly planning together, especially for an illegal purpose. • http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=rConspiracy

3. Vocabulary to know: • Twinge – a sudden sharp feeling of pain, grief or shame. http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=twinge • Vivid – forming clear or lifelike pictures in the mind, lively. http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=vivid

4. Vocabulary to know: • Impulse – an internal force that causes one to act without thinking. • http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=impulse • Manipulative – able to influence or control in a clever, often Unfair way. http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=manipulative

5. Vocabulary to know: • Quaver –a trembling or shaking. http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=quaver • Foreshadowing -a literary device in which an author suggests certain plot developments that might come later in the story. http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=Foreshadowing

6. Pre-Reading • Setting - the setting of a story is the place where the story happens and the time when it happens. The setting answers the questions of where and when. The setting doesn’t have to be a real time and place. It can be imaginary, like the island, Never land, in the story of Peter Pan. •  Can you think of some stories . . . • . . . that are set in the future.  • . . . that happen in the past?  • . . . that are set in the present? • Point of View • First person point of view • Third person – limited point of view • Third person omniscient point of view • Please turn to page 771 - Take a picture walk Make a prediction as to why you think the author, Robert Lipsyte Titled this story, Future Tense.

7. During Reading • Active Reading – fill out the setting chart and active reading questions as you go. Pay close attention to setting, point of view and any possible foreshadowing as you read.

8. After Reading • Go back and revisit the prediction that you made during your pre-reading. After having read the story, what is significant about the title Future Tense and why do you suppose the author chose to name it that? • Based on the character names and some of the events in the story what so you think was the author’s purpose for writing this? • What have we learned about RibertLipsyte the person based on his selection of character names and some of the events in this crazy story? • What was significant or helpful about having the story written in the point of view that it was? • Robert Lipsyte incorporates a lot of elements of surprise and humor in this story – the twist at the end, the unusual setting for a science fiction, the crazy events and unusual character names. If we were to reverse engineer this story, you might be surprised at how much thought and time it took the author to write this entertaining and highly surprising short story. Don’t let the length of a story fool you – big things can come in very small packages!