The whole story is dialogue. No narration, no description — just two unnamed characters whose conversation slowly reveals they're non-human intelligences who've discovered that the beings broadcasting radio signals from the third planet of a small yellow sun are made entirely of meat. It runs about 1,000 words. It's funny, formally inventive, and almost impossible to misread. Hard to go wrong with it as a first read.
See it on Teachers Pay Teachers — $3.50
The craft focus is dialogue-only narration and defamiliarization — the technique of making the familiar strange by showing it from the outside. Students who work through this guide come away understanding that you can carry an entire story in conversation, and that perspective is a structural choice, not just a voice preference. What's Included: Author context — Bisson's Hugo and Nebula Awards for this story, and why it still surprises readers Key vocabulary — 5 terms with definitions, including defamiliarization Craft analysis — dialogue-only narration and defamiliarization, with a direct writing connection 5 discussion questions with teaching prompts — tiered from comprehension through a synthesis question on consciousness and intelligence Writing extension — students write a dialogue between two non-human characters discovering humans Teacher notes, including a readers theater cold-read approach that works extremely well on day one How to Use It: Best placed in the first week of a unit.
Two students reading the dialogue aloud cold — no preview — is one of the most reliable "wait, this is science fiction?" moments you can engineer in a classroom. The story text is freely available on the author's own website (terrybisson.com), so there's nothing to source. Difficulty: accessible. Grades 9–12.
Story Text: Not included in this guide, but freely available at terrybisson.com — no anthology required. This guide is one of six mentor text resources in the Science Fiction Short Story Writing Workshop — Complete Unit Bundle, which includes the student writing packet and teacher slide deck. Buying the bundle saves you significantly over purchasing the guides separately. If this resource saved you prep time, please leave a rating under My Purchases Provide Feedback.
Every review earns you TpT Credits toward future purchases — roughly $1 in credits for every $10 reviewed. Follow Starmaker English & Journalism Tools to be notified when new resources launch or go on sale. Keywords: They're Made Out of Meat, Terry Bisson, Hugo Award, Nebula Award, science fiction short story, SF writing workshop, high school ELA, reading discussion guide, dialogue-only narration, defamiliarization, perspective, craft analysis, close reading, grades 9-12, science fiction literature
Designed for grades 9–12.
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