Theme

For the last couple of weeks we have been studying THEME. The THEME of a story is the author's unspoken message, such as honesty, the importance of family, compassion, courage, etc. We had a powerful discussion on what themes are and the kids did an amazing job identifying books or movies they are familiar with that would match the themes we listed (ie: the movie Pinocchio shows honesty and trust). My favorite part of the conversation? When my students made the connection to other examples of theme..."Hey! Mrs. Clarey! I had a theme for my birthday party!" "Oh, and Mrs. Clarey, my room is a zebra theme!" LOVED THAT!!! We had a great conversation about how in all three of those situations you need to look for evidence because there isn't ever a sign that says, "The theme of this book is_______." or "The theme of my birthday party is_______." or "The theme of my room is_______." In a book you'd read quotes or find key details and events to show evidence, at a Hawaiian party you'd serve pineapple or coconut, and in a zebra themed bedroom would have black and white stripes.

Here's the explanation I used to explain theme to my students:

• A broad idea, message, or moral of the story.
• It is usually unsaid by the author, but we can use the text and our schema to infer theme.
• Common themes in literature:
• Overcoming challenges
• Believe in yourself
• Team work
• Courage
• Accepting others differences
• Etc...

To practice identifying theme, we read the book Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon. CLICK HERE or go to my "Read Alouds" board on Pinterest to watch the story being read on YouTube!!!

To extend this and practice in a variety of texts the students are currently working in groups to identify the theme, place post-it notes on specific examples of evidence in the text, and then sort and record the evidence they've noted on a chart (like the one pictured below).

Credit for the lesson idea found here! The format for the evidence chart is from Steve Dunn, the author of our Writers Workshop!