Night Heat
by Mike Lewis (p. 103)
Teacher’s Page
Prereading: U.S.A. Culture
Many American teenagers feel some sense of boredom during summer vacation (July and August). The boy in this story
describes what is for many American teens a typical summer night. With no homework and little parental supervision,
many American teens, especially boys, have a fair amount of freedom to come and go as they please. On this particular
night, Mike, the narrator, encounters friends and other individuals in the area in which he lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Mike and his friends are aware of issues of alcohol abuse and other adult problems. Although little mention is made of the
fact, their discussions reveal their awareness of their parents’ problems. This may be a sensitive issue for your students as
well.
Reading and Conversation
“Night Heat” is a story in which relatively little action occurs. Nonetheless, the author manages to create a strong sense of
mood, tone, and place. Ask students to talk to a partner to describe any feelings or memories that the
story evokes in them. Ask students to make a note of areas in the story which they feel to be particularly well-written or
strong in terms of the author’s ability to create mood, tone, and place. Why do they think these passages are well-written?
What makes them strong?
Writing
Ask students to think about the discussion they’ve just had about mood, tone, and place and to create their own
short narrative, but not to state exactly when or where it is that they are describing. Invite them to share their writing
with a different partner. Can that partner guess the time and place?
Note: On the Student’s Page, students are asked to differentiate between and identify various forms of the past tense
which are used in the story. Also note (on p. 104) the way the present tense is used to describe an event occurring in the
past (“. . . my dad is wasted out of his mind, cruisin’ down the highway . . .”). The present tense is sometimes used in spoken English to describe events which occurred, or things that were said, in the past. Depending on the course you wish to
pursue, the numerous forms of the past tense in this story lend themselves well to study/review of past-tense forms.
Language Skills in Context: Past Tenses
Answer key to the exercise on the Student’s Page.
1. past perfect tense, simple past tense
2. simple past tense, simple past tense
3. past continuous, simple past tense (passive voice)
4. past continuous tense
5. past continuous tense, simple past tense, simple past tense
6. simple past tense, past perfect tense
Comprehension Check for “Night Heat”
Answer key to the exercise on the Student’s Page.
1. b
5. a
2. c
6. b
3. c
7. c
4. b
8. d
Guide to Sophomores
20
Night Heat
Night Heat
(p. 103)
Name _____________________________ Date _____________
Vocabulary: Words to Watch
page 103
cruise
a while
cool
get you going
hit the power
pad
humidity
brow
page 104
Stop ’n’ Go
wasted out
of his mind
slurrin’
rag on
dunno
blast of
arctic air
register
on duty
paranoia
page 105
carries much
weight
dime
penny
stogs
wouldja
pavement
page 106
ripped by out
of nowhere
blasting heavy
metal
meditating
exhilarating
Rocky Mountain
High
page 107
massive nap
attack
lair
out cold
go out; wander about
a short time
interesting; appealing
motivate you; get you interested in doing something
hit the power button to turn off the television set
home; place where someone lives
moisture in the air
forehead
name of a convenience store
incapacitated; drunk or high on drugs
(slurring); speaking unclearly because one is drunk or incapacitated
criticize; speak badly about
(slang) don’t know
a rush of frigid air
(cash register); machine used for holding money in a store
working
a form of mental illness causing a person to believe others are trying to hurt or harm him/her; used
to describe someone who is overly suspicious
has much importance
ten-cent coin
one-cent coin
(slang) cigarettes
(slang) would you?
sidewalk; concrete surface on the ground
moved by suddenly without notice or warning
playing heavy metal music very loudly, probably on a radio
thinking with great concentration or, conversely, emptying or stilling the mind
thrilling; exciting; elating
(slang) based on a popular song, a Rocky Mountain High describes a feeling of great happiness and
energy
sudden and strong sense of fatigue; need to sleep
den or hidden living space
fast asleep; sleeping very soundly
Guide to Sophomores
21
Night Heat
Night Heat
(p. 103)
Name _____________________________ Date _____________
Language Skills in Context: Past Tenses
The narrator of “Night Heat” uses past and present perfect tenses as well as past continuous and simple past
tenses to relate the events and mental states that occurred within the span of two hours. Read the sentences below and
label them either past, present perfect, past continuous, or simple past tense. Then, on a separate sheet of
paper, write your own sentences in those same tenses about something that you did last night. The first is
done for you.
1. I’d been at home all day and there wasn’t anything cool on TV. (p. 103)
past perfect and simple past tenses
I’d been studying all night and I didn’t feel like going to sleep.
2. It was a warm night, not really hot, but the humidity was enough to raise some sweat on my brow. (p. 103)
3. The air conditioner was running, and I was met with a refreshing blast of arctic air. (p. 104)
4. I was feeling energetic. (p. 106)
5. Just as I was skating across the Stop ’n’ Go parking lot, my Rocky Mountain High gave out and I got a massive
nap attack. (p. 106-107)
6. Nobody else was home and John had forgotten to lock the back door, so I let myself in. (p. 107)
Comprehension Check for “Night Heat”
Circle the letters of all the correct answers. Some questions may have more than one correct answer.
1. At 11 P.M. Mike decides to
a. go bowling
b. go out
c. do some homework
d. read a book
5. Mike skates around by himself and then goes to
a. Jim’s Diner
b. church
c. a supermarket
d. a bank machine
2. Before going out, Mike had been
a. studying French
b. cooking dinner
c. watching television
d. reading the newspaper
6. Sometime around midnight, Mike becomes suddenly
a. hungry
b. tired
c. thirsty
d. angry
3. Mike travels
a. by car
b. on a bicycle
c. on a skateboard
d. on rollerskates
7. Mike decides to sleep at
a. home
b. a motel
c. his friend John’s place
d. the back of a store
4. After chatting briefly with his friends, Mike goes
a. home
b. to a convenience store
c. to his girlfriend’s house
d. to a Boy Scout meeting
8. An alternative title for this story could be:
a. Skateboarding in America
b. Convenience Stores
c. Listening to Friends
d. Another Night in San Antonio
Guide to Sophomores
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Night Heat