Ray Bradbury: Asking “What If?”
What if people built cities on Mars? What if a society banned books? Ray Bradbury turned questions like these into stories that made readers imagine both exciting possibilities and troubling futures. His path to becoming a writer began not on another planet, but in a library.
Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois. As a boy, he loved stories, movies, and adventures. He read widely at the public library, where books opened doors to places and times far beyond his hometown. The stories he discovered there helped feed an imagination that would stay active throughout his life.
In 1934, during the Great Depression, Bradbury moved with his family to Los Angeles, California. The Great Depression was a time when many people struggled to find jobs and earn enough money. Bradbury attended high school in Los Angeles and continued to write. After graduating in 1938, he could not afford college. Instead, he spent time reading and studying in libraries. He also sold newspapers to earn money while working on his stories.
- imagination:
- The ability to form ideas or pictures in your mind.
- persistence:
- The quality of continuing to try despite difficulties.
- rejections:
- Decisions not to accept something offered or submitted.
- submitting:
- Sending something to be considered.
- collection:
- A group of things gathered together, such as stories in a book.
- screenplays:
- Written scripts for movies.
- fiction:
- Stories created from imagination rather than presented as fact.
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Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
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Structure
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Vocabulary
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Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1How did the public library help Bradbury develop as a young writer?
- 2How did Bradbury continue learning after high school, and why did he take that path?
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About this biography passage for Upper Elementary
“Ray Bradbury: Asking “What If?”” is a biography reading passage about Imagination and writing, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (475 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.