Story Devices Practice - The Hitchhiker

Cassie 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

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.

• 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 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.

• Foreshadowing

• Flashback

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

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

Joyce watched the clock. The minute

hand seemed frozen over the ten. The

slow tick tock seemed to promise that

time was moving forward, but Joyce had

no sense of it. All she knew was that she

had to wait until 8:00.

• Foreshadowing

• Flashback

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

• Suspense

• Flashback

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