Story Devices Practice

Carlos laughed when he thought about how scared he was in the haunted house at the carnival. He had no

way of knowing he was about to face a fright that wasn’t meant to be fun.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

Cassie was poised at the end of the diving board, ready to plunge into the water. Suddenly, she was five years old

again, standing on the edge of a dock and falling backward, unable to control her fall, and unable to swim.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

Suddenly, Timothy noticed that all the birds had stopped singing. The air was very still, and not a single branch

moved on a single tree. He looked up at the sky. In the distance, he saw a funnel cloud forming. He thought he might have about ten minutes to get home before

getting caught in the tornado. He began to run, his feet pounding on the pavement. He could hear the wind begin

to howl behind him. Finally, he dove through the front door of his house and tumbled down the stairs.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

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 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.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

Shelly felt relieved. She had finally finished her homework, completed her chores, and written a long-overdue thank

you note to her grandmother. Her relief wouldn’t last for long, though. Her mother knocked on the bedroom door

and walked in.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

Cathy skipped down the stairs. Her mother sat in the kitchen, wringing her hands. “I don’t know about this,” said her mother.

“Mom,” said Cathy, “It’s just a party. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

Her mother sighed. “Just be home before midnight.”

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

When the alarm clock sounded, Amy leaned over to turn it off and got up to start her day. She had no idea it would

be one of the most memorable days of her life.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

Linda heard a scratching at the door. As she walked through the kitchen to the living room, the scratching seemed to get louder. She assumed it was the cat, who

might have snuck out, but she saw Snowball, fast asleep on the corner of the couch. The scratching became more

insistent and urgent. Linda rushed to the door and swung it open, expecting to see something horrible or frightening. It was a branch, blown by the wind and scratching against the door.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

As their car rumbled down the dirt road toward the lake cabin, Kim was transported back to last summer. She remember 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.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense

Finally the day had arrived. Mary was turning 13. She had helped her mother plan the most exciting party ever, complete with entertainment, dancing, and exciting gifts for all of her guests. While her thirteenth birthday would be

one Mary would never forget, it wasn’t for the reasons she thought that morning.

• foreshadowing

• flashback

• suspense