Ray Bradbury’s science fiction short story, “A Sound of Thunder,” was the universal text that all Earl L. Vandermeulen High School students read this summer. Once school began, students took several days of in-class discussion and interaction with the text before meeting in the library for a lively, multigrade exploration of the story’s plot, characters, the Butterfly Effect and a guided time travel expedition to the Cretaceous period.

According to English teacher Michael Augello, the reason the school year begins with an activity like this is to get students used to the expectations for their classes and to reflect and learn about what good readers do when reading, analyzing and writing about literature.

“When the students come together and meet with other classes (especially different grade levels), they are amazed at the different perspectives other students and teachers bring to the conversation,” Mr. Augello said.