http://web1.nbed.nb.ca/sites/ASD-S/1820/J%20Johnston/Isaac%20Asimov%20-%20The%20fun%20they%20had.pdfII. While you read
You can read the whole short story to get a general idea or read it as you answer the activities.
http://web1.nbed.nb.ca/sites/ASD-S/1820/J%20Johnston/Isaac%20Asimov%20-%20The%20fun%20they%20had.pdf
Download file The Fun They Had.pdf
2.1 Reading
Read the epigraph and the first part of the story
2.2 Vocabulary
Along the story “The fun they had” you’ll find six vocabulary activities related to this story (2.2.1-2.2.6). In the Answer Document, choose the correct answer to each question
He
smiled at her and
gave her an apple, then
took the teacher apart.
by Isaac Asimov
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Margie even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed May 17, 2157, she wrote, “Today Tommy found a real book!” It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper. They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to--on a screen, you know. And then, when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time. “Gee,” said Tommy, “what a waste. When you’re through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess.
Click on the feedback image to get the right answer! Our television screen must have had a million books on it and it’s good for plenty more. I wouldn’t throw it away.” “Same with mine,” said Margie. She was eleven and hadn’t seen as many telebooks as Tommy had. He was thirteen. She said, “Where did you find it?” “In my house.” He pointed without looking because he was busy reading. “In the attic.” “What’s it about?” “School.” |
2.3 Predicting
How will Margie react to the fact that the book is about school? Write a short prediction in the Answer Document.
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Margie was scornful. “School? What’s there to write about school? I hate school.”
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Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector. He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn’t so bad. The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the mark in no time.
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2.4 Writing
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In literature you find literary elements or terms such as: setting, point of view, characters, and so on, that contribute to make up a story. |
You may click on the
titles below, in different color, to review a short definition of some literary elements you’ll find
in this story, which may help you answer the next four questions:
★ What kind of world (setting) is portrayed in the story?
★ Who is narrating the story? (Point of view)
★ Who are the characters in the story?
★ What’s the author’s intention with the story? Example: To warn about something, have fun, compare, etc. (Purpose).
From the statements below, choose the ones you consider appropriate. (You may answer this question after you have read the whole story).
a) To warn us about automatization and standardization of education, which causes lack of interaction among children. (In “The fun they had”, there is no interaction between Margie and the mechanical teacher, for example).
b) To consider the implications of technological advancements in education and isolation experienced by children. (Children learn alone, only with their mechanical teacher, they do not learn with other kids).
c) To make us reflect about the effectiveness and limitations of technology in education. (The intention of using technology in education may be to improve learning, but social aspects of traditional schooling contribute significantly to the learning experience).
Some short story elements:
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2.5 Writing
List two examples, from “The fun they had”, that you consider are characteristics of science fiction texts
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Analyzing and reflecting on what you read helps you understand the progress of the events in the story as well as develop your own world view. |
2.6 Understanding
What is the main conflict in the story?
Click on the title below to
read a short description of the literary element: ‘Conflict’.
Select the correct option in the Answer Document!
The main conflict in the story is definitely:
a) tthe relationship between the County Inspector and Margie
b) the relationship between Margie and her mother
c) technological progress which lacks human connection and is represented by the relationship between the mechanical teacher and Margie
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2.7 Writing
List two examples in the story, that you consider traits or characteristics of science fiction texts.
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The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie’s head. He said to her mother, “It’s not the little girl’s fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the overall pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory.” And he patted Margie’s head again. Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. They had once taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.
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So she said to Tommy, “Why would anyone write about school?” Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes. “Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago.” He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”
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Margie was hurt. “Well, I don’t know what kind of school they had all that time ago.” She read the book over his shoulder for a while, then said, “Anyway, they had a teacher.” “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
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2.8 Reflecting and writing
Relate some events in the story to your own experience and write them in the Answer Document
★ Write four ideas about online school during the pandemic and face to face school
★ What similarities (2) and differences (2) can you find between your situation and the situation described in the story?
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You can show it to your teacher to check it!
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“A man? How could a man be a teacher?” “Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions.” “A man isn’t smart enough.” “Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher.” “He can’t. A man can’t know as much as a teacher.” “He knows almost as much, I betcha.” Margie wasn’t prepared to dispute that. She said, “I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to teach me.” Tommy screamed with laughter. “You don’t know much, Margie. The teachers didn’t live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there.” “And all the kids learned the same thing?” “Sure, if they were the same age.” “But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently.” “Just the same, they didn’t do it that way then. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read the book.” “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly. She wanted to read about those funny schools. |
2.9 Writing
Do you prefer face to face school or online school?
Explain briefly in the Answer Document
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They weren’t even half-finished when Margie’s mother called, “Margie! School!” Margie looked up. “Not yet, Mamma.” “Now!” said Mrs. Jones. “And it’s probably time for Tommy, too.” Margie said to Tommy, “Can I read the book some more with you after school?” “Maybe,” he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.
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Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours. |
2.10 Reflecting
Do you think Margie was curious about old school, or she didn’t care about it?
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2.11 Making Predictions
Predict the end of the story in 3-4 ideas. Write them in the Answer Document
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Go
on reading the text
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The screen was lit up, and it said: “Today’s arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the proper slot.” Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. |
