Literary Flashbacks

Multiple Choice

1. This is an example of a Flashback...

3. “You’ve got this!” Sara cheered, standing on the sidewalk. She watched as her dad followed closely behind her little brother’s bike. As he let go, she couldn’t help but think of when she first learned to ride a bike. She could still feel her heart racing and remember how scared she was, waiting for her dad to let go. She knew exactly how her brother was feeling.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

1. What is the best definition of a flashback?

• reordering of the sequence of events in a plot that puts them in time order.

• 1. a break in the chronological order of time in a plot that shows a scene from the past.

• a reordering of the sequence of events in a plot that puts them in order of importance.

• a break in the chronological order of time in a plot that predicts a scene in the future

Multiple Choice

Which of the following words BEST explains a flashback is occurring?

• Then

• Thought

• Was

• Reminded

Multiple Choice

As the old man watched the boys playing baseball in the vacant lot, he thought back to his own boyhood and the friends he’d had in his home town. They’d cleared debris and stray bushes from a lot and built their own baseball diamond, complete with an elevated pitcher’s mound. The old man remembered the feeling of standing on that mound, exchanging signals with the catcher, and winding up to throw a pitch.

How do you know a flashback is taking place in the text?

• 1. The old man is watching baseball

• 1. He likes baseball.

• 1. He knows how to play baseball.

• 1. The old man was thinking about his boyhood.

Multiple Choice

1. This is not an example of a flashback….

3. Don’t miss, don’t miss, DON’T miss,” is all I could hear in my head. Well, that, and the 10,000 fans around me. Standing at the foul line I couldn’t help but think back to the championship game last year. The feeling of missing the game winning foul shots will stay with me forever. That was motivation though for me to get better in the off- season.

• False

• True

Multiple Choice

1. This is an example of a Flashback....

3. “This is SO not a good idea,” Marla whispered to Ashley as they snuck down the hall. “If my brother finds out, we are going to get into so much trouble.” The floor boards creaked underneath of them and the two girls froze, too nervous to move.

• True

• False

Open Ended

As their car rumbled down the dirt road toward the lake cabin, Kim was transported back to last summer. She remembered the hard work it took to get the cabin in shape for another summer at the lake. “We have to work before we can play,” her mother had reminded her.

What sentence or phrase indicates a flashback is taking place?

Multiple Choice

What is the purpose of a Flashback?

• 1. To confuse the reader

• 1. To give background information

• 1. To make reading more fun

• 1. To tell future information

Fill in the Blanks

Name one way a Flashback may occur in a story

Multiple Choice

True or False, a flashback never disrupts the flow of the story.

• True

• False