Name __________________________________________ Date/Per.

_________________

“The Fun They Had” Key Ideas and Details Questions

1.) What details of the exposition make the time of the story specific? Notice that the author has
made a point of creating a specific setting and has made the main characters children. How
does this help you predict the conflict?
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2.) Part of the story tells of an incident in a different time, which is called a flashback. Tell the
part of the story that occurs at another time in Margie’s life. What is the purpose of this
flashback?
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3.) Does Margie’s attitude towards school change by the end of the story? Explain.
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4.) Did the author intend the last sentence to be humorous or serious? Explain your answer.
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Name __________________________________________ Date/Per. _________________

Foul Shot
by Edwin A. Hoey

With two 60s stuck on the scoreboard

And two seconds hanging on the clock,
The solemn boy in the center of eyes,
Squeezed by silence,
Seeks out the line with his feet,
Soothes his hands along his uniform,
Gently drums the ball against the floor,
Then measures the waiting net,
Raises the ball on his right hand,
Balances it with his left,
Calms it with fingertips,
Breathes,
Crouches,
Waits,
And then through a stretching of stillness,
Nudges it upwards.

The ball
Slides up and out,
Lands,
Leans,
Wobbles,
Wavers,
Hesitates,
Plays it coy
Until every face begs with unsounding screams--
And then
And then
And then,

Right before ROAR-UP,

Drives down and through.
Name __________________________________________ Date/Per. _________________

R.L. 6.5: Analyze how a particular sentence fits into overall structure of a text and contributes to the
development of the theme, setting, plot or character.

Details that contribute to Details that lead to the Details that let us Details that allow us to
setting (time, location, tone or mood of the know what a infer how a character
story or poem character is feeling is feeling at the end of
during the story or a story or poem
poem
The Fun
They
Had
Issac
Asimov

Foul
Shot
Edwin A.
Hoey

Check your understanding/Writing Prompt:

Thinking about the details listed above, describe how an author can use information to tell the reader
something without coming out and saying it directly. Use an example from both the poem and the
short story.

You may consider using a topic sentence that uses information from the graphic organizer. This
could look like: “It is _______________ (descriptive word) how both authors were able to
communicate the (setting, mood, character, ending) by using indirect details in the text.

This can be a one or two chunk perfect-paragraph. Shape it out, write or type it up in the colors, and
staple it to the back of this packet.