Q: What did the Triceratops sit on?
A: Its Tricera-bottom!
We didn’t exactly plan to do an issue of READ on dinosaurs—the concept just sort of evolved. (Ahem ...) For reasons that baffle even the most astute observers of popular culture, people are fascinated by dinosaurs. Small children, as described in the poem on the back page of the student edition, are intuitively drawn to the “terrible lizards” of the prehistoric world. Why is that? And though the miniature paleontologists may outgrow their dinosaur toys and model collections, do they—we—ever really outgrow that dino mania? Search for dinosaur jokes online and you’ll see that the great lizards enjoy a popularity that many other life forms, extinct or not, can’t claim. (Try protoplasm jokes, for example, and that truth becomes quite clear.)
Any subject that so strongly sparks the human imagination will surely find expression in literature. And so, we present a readers’ theater version of Arthur Conan Doyle’s adventure fantasy The Lost World. Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Fog Horn” is a haunting, heartbreaking meditation on what it might be like to be the last of your species. In the nonfiction piece, a scholar posits the theory that the fossils of extinct species inspired the implausible beasts of ancient myth and legend. Loch Ness Monster, anyone? Finally, look at the lovely poem, “The Age of Dinosaurs,” by James Scruton, on the back page for some wonderful imagery and wordplay.
READ Aligns to Common Core State Standards—READ aligns to most of the English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature for grades 6–10.
• Most of the content meets standards 1–3, Key Ideas and Details.
• Lit Scene Investigation (LSI) connects to standards 4–6, Craft and Structure.
• Extension activities, critical thinking exercises, and writing prompts connect to standards 7–9, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.
In addition:
• Vocabulary words and LSI reinforce the standards for Language: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use.
To help you determine which standards a READ story aligns to, we list the standards by code on page 2 of this Teacher’s Guide. You can find the corresponding standards on the Web at www.corestandards.org.
Past Teaching Centers
August - What's Old Is New Again
September - Ordinary People, Extraordinary Situations
October - Strange
November - American Tales
December - Peace
January - Dystopia
February - Love and Longing
The Lost World
RL.6, 7, 8, 9–10.3; 6.5; 7.4, 5
(page 4)
Eighty years ago, in April 1912, the first chapters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s new novel, The Lost World, appeared in the popular British periodical The Strand Magazine. The work was serialized, meaning that a portion of it would appear in the magazine each month throughout that spring and summer and into November. The author had already seen success with the Strand in previous years when it printed his stories of a certain genius sleuth named Sherlock Holmes.
Movie Time: Though Sherlock Holmes has recently seen new life on the big screen (the new franchise stars Robert Downey Jr.), the characters of The Lost World have not known film fame since 1960. (There have been a few loose television adaptations, however.) If you have class time, show the 1960 film version of The Lost World, and then ask students to list which of today’s actors they would cast in an updated movie. Then break students into groups, and have them each write a scene for their movie.
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The Fog Horn
RL.6–10.4
(page 14)
Master science fiction writer Ray Bradbury takes an idea that could seem hokey in less talented hands and turns out a haunting story of loss and loneliness. Originally titled “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms,” the story was first published in the magazine The Saturday Evening Post in 1951. It was the basis for the movie The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms in 1953. Bradbury has said that the inspiration for “The Fog Horn” was seeing the wreckage of a roller coaster, which reminded him of dinosaur bones.
Class Activity: If your students don’t live near the sea, make sure they know what a fog horn sounds like. There are many audio examples online, but take care not to choose a modern electronic sound. The type of fog horn that predated automation of lighthouses in the 1960s, which Bradbury was most likely referring to in this 1951 story, is the diaphone horn. It issues a characteristic low two-note blast. Listen to examples of diaphone fog horns.
Lit Scene Investigation: Mood: The sound of the fog horn is a perfect opening for a discussion of literary mood. Ask students to search the story for indicators of mood, and then go online to read the editors’ comments.
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Dragons and Monsters, Gods and Heroes
RL. 6–10.1–6
(page 20)
Imagine people from earlier cultures discovering the fossils of prehistoric creatures such as dinosaurs. What would they make of such bones? Humans have always made up stories to explain phenomena they do not understand. Ancient skeletons of extinct creatures surely led to such stories—stories we know today as myths and legends of giants, gods, and monsters. In this story, a scholar suggests that the legend of the Loch Ness Monster has its origins in just such a discovery. Before reading this story in class, find out your students’ prior knowledge of the Loch Ness Monster. We include some historical background as a sidebar.
Writing Activity: Have students each choose a mythological creature from the ancient world. Some possibilities include a unicorn, the Sphinx, a dragon, the Minotaur, and Pegasus. There are countless others. Have them develop theories and write about which kind of prehistoric fossils might have inspired people to imagine such creatures.
Link: To see an amusing example of how such legends may get started, see “The Loch Ness Monster versus the Lake Michigan Monster: A mythical battle”.
Explore Some More: To learn more about the work of Adrienne Mayor, see the History Channel documentary, “Ancient Monster Hunters” (2004).
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