These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the story.

Pre-Reading Warm-Up

1. Think about books you’ve read or movies you’ve seen that deal with time travel. What are some risks and complications that time travel can cause?

Teaching Suggestion: Give a few examples of popular books or movies that include time travel that you think your students might be familiar with, such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and About Time. You might also invite students to brainstorm other examples of time travel stories. After students read “A Sound of Thunder,” invite them to revisit their answers to see if any of the risks/complications they identified were involved in the plot.

2. Think about the balance that exists in nature. For instance, if bees went extinct, how would the rest of nature be affected? How would humans be affected?

Teaching Suggestion: Encourage students to think deeply rather than give a simple answer. You may want to give students the option to make a bullet point list rather than writing in paragraph form, and/or issue a challenge to see who can think of the most effects the extinction of bees would have. The purpose behind this question is to encourage students to think about the balance that exists in nature, and the harmful consequences that could happen as a result of one small change in nature.