Clocked Lives

This literary analysis worksheet is designed for students in Grades 8, 9, and 10 to deepen critical reading and analytical writing skills through a dystopian short story about technology and human freedom. After reading “Clocked Lives,” students analyze the author’s warning about overreliance on technology, examine theme and author’s purpose, and write a structured 6-8 sentence response that connects the text to real-world societal issues using clear reasoning and textual evidence.

Learning Goals

• Theme & Author’s Purpose (Grades 8-10)
  Students identify central themes related to technology, control, and freedom and explain the author’s message.
• Text-to-World Connections
  Learners connect ideas from the story to modern technological and social concerns.
• Textual Evidence & Analysis
  Students support interpretations with specific details and quotations from the text.
• Analytical Writing Skills
  The activity strengthens paragraph structure, coherence, and evidence-based reasoning.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with middle school and early high school ELA standards.
• High-Interest Dystopian Text
  The futuristic scenario engages students while encouraging deeper thinking.
• Structured Writing Expectations
  Clear response guidelines support confident analytical writing.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for dystopian literature units, theme studies, discussion prep, or assessment.

This printable worksheet gives students meaningful practice with interpreting theme, analyzing author’s purpose, and writing evidence-based literary responses. By examining how “Clocked Lives” reflects real-world concerns about technology and freedom, learners strengthen critical thinking, reading comprehension, and academic writing skills. Suitable for classroom instruction or homeschool use, this no-prep resource supports thoughtful engagement with literature that reflects modern societal questions.

This worksheet is part of our Grade 8 Reading Comprehension collection.