“There Will Come Soft Rains” Lesson Plans: Setting and Plot

In the classroom the teacher voice sang, “Tick-tock, seven o’clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o’clock!” as if it were afraid nobody would. The classroom lay sleeping, the result of boring lesson plans. The clock ticked on, repeating and repeating its sounds into the emptiness. “Seven-nine, answer question time, seven-nine!”

In the principal’s office, the administrator gave a hissing sigh and ejected from its warm face eight pieces of perfectly browned insults, eight sarcastic comments sunnyside up, sixteen slices of red slash, two smirks, and two out of five stars on a teacher evaluation.

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“There Will Come Soft Rains” Lesson Plans

The above could have been avoided with these “There Will Come Soft Rains” lesson plans.

Chances are, you’re here because you want a good “There Will Come Soft Rains” lesson plan. Here it is: There Will Come Soft Rains Lesson Plan on setting and conflict. This lesson plan is part of the “There Will Come Soft Rains” unit–look to the right for more information.

There Will Come Soft Rains Lesson Plans

These “There Will Come Soft Rains” lesson plans are ready to use. All you need is a printer and a copy machine. There’s no additional prep. The unit plan contains lesson plans, graphic organizer handouts with answer keys, essay rubrics, a summary and analysis of the story, discussion ideas, a quiz, and more.

Here is a brief summary of “There Will Come Soft Rains” lesson plans that have worked well for me.

  1. Setting – The futuristic setting plays the central role in the story. Check out the free pdf download above.
  2. Theme – The story’s primary theme involves the dangers of technology and man’s destructive nature.
  3. Elements of Science Fiction – The story’s setting, as well as the advanced technology, fits this story in the science fiction genre.
  4. Poetry Analysis There’s a poem that shares the story’s title and theme (ironically). Analyze it.
  5. Sensory DetailsBradbury uses figurative language to make the house seem alive. You can use a sensory details chart to bring the lesson to life.
  6. Personification – Bradbury uses figurative language to make the house seem alive.
  7. Irony – The main irony in the story is that it takes its name from a poem that heralds nature outlasting man; in reality, however, humankind has managed to destroy nature along with itself.

“There Will Come Soft Rains” Summary

The whole reason I created this website and the lesson plans on it is because teachers get overwhelmed (myself included). My motivation is to create resources that need very little or no preparation. So I’ll throw in a “There Will Come Soft Rains” summary as a refresher just in case you absolutely don’t have time to read it again.

Basic Summary

It’s 2026 and everyone is dead. All that’s left are four silhouettes on the outside wall. Oh, that and an automated house that carries on as if nothing has happened. The house performs its functions wonderfully until a tree crashes through a window, starts a fire, and destroys the house.

Not a ton of action, is there? This is one of those stories where the brilliance of it exists outside of what happens.

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