"There Will Come Soft Rains" is a short story from the Ray Bradbury collection The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury's most famous work after Fahrenheit 451). "There Will Come Soft Rains" is about the failure of technology and machines, and mankind's destructive nature. The key to the story is the poem by Sara Teasdale. If you like this story you should read the entire book. Part of the book is about colonizing Mars.
Things to look for or think about?: Allusions (and how allusions add to central meaning of the story); symbols (again how symbols add meaning to the central theme); protagonist and antagonist; use of time in the story (what is the purpose here?).
Assignments: Short Story Outlines; Blog writing assignments on the use of time in "There Will Come Soft Rains".
Resources:
The Martian Chronicles on Shmoop
There Will Come Soft Rains (side by side analysis - lit charts)
Audio book of "There Will Come Soft Rains"
Another audiobook of "There Will Come Soft Rains"