Author:
Rachel
Subject:
Elementary English Language Arts
Material Type:
Lesson
Level:
Upper Elementary
Tags:
  • Lesson Plan
  • License:
    Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
    Language:
    English
    Media Formats:
    Text/HTML

    Education Standards

    Theme

    Overview

    This lesson will help students to identify the theme of a story using the skill of summary. 

    Summary

    Students will work on identifying the theme of a story through summarizing. This lesson will take 30 minutes and is designed to be face-to-face, but can be adapted for other modes. 

     

    Background for Teachers

    To teach this lesson, you will need an understanding of how to find the theme of a story. It will be necessary to identify the main characters, problem, and solution of the story to determine the theme. 

     

    Step 1 - Goals and Outcomes

    Step 1 Goals and Outcomes

    Learning Intentions:

    • Students will be able to summarize a story
    • Students will be able to identify a theme of a story

    Success Criteria:

    • Students will determine the main character, problem, and the solution of Edwina:The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct 
    • Students will identify the theme of Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct and write the theme along with text evidence in complete sentences. 

     

     

    Step 2 - Planning Instruction

    Step 2 Planning Instruction

    Student Background Knowledge

    • Prior to this lesson, students will need to have an understanding of how to summarize a text. 
    • To activate student background knowledge, we will discuss themes of well-known stories (The Boy Who Cried Wolf, etc.) and stories we have read in class

    Strategies for Diverse Learners

    I will pair my ELL students with another student fluent in both languages so they can work together during this lesson. I have picked a book by an author that many of my students are familiar with to engage them. 

    Step 3 - Instruction

    Step 3 Instruction

    To begin the lesson, have a class discussion on what should be incuded in a summary. Discuss why people summarize, and tell the students that today you will use the skill of summarizing to find the theme. Discuss what the theme is-the moral or lesson the author wants you to learn, and themes from well-known stories, fairy tales, and books that have been read in class previously.

    Have students draw a graphic organizer heart. Divide the heart into three sections-one for problem, one for solution, and one for theme. Draw a space outside of the heart  to list the main characters. Discuss that theme is the heart of a story-it often hits home to our emotions. Let them know that we will be using the graphic organizer to summarize, which will help us find the theme. 

    Play the video of Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct for the class. Let them know beforehand anytime they hear important information they would include in their graphic organizer summary, to raise their hand. When a student raises their hand, pause the video, discuss as a class, and fill out the organizer. By the end of the video, the entire organizer should be full except for the theme. 

    In pairs, have students review the summary of the story, and based on that identify the theme of the story. In the theme section of the graphic organizer, have students complete the sentence frame: The theme of the story is _______ because _________. As a class, discuss what students wrote. 

    Step 4 - Assessments

    Step 4 Assessments

    The assessment in this lesson is when students work in pairs to fill in the sentence frame, identifying the theme and the text evidence of why that would be the theme. The teacher can collect the graphic organizers and use the rubric attached. Another way to assess student knowledge is through the class discussion once students have filled in the sentence frame. After the discussion, students can show on their fingers how well they feel like they have mastered the concept of theme so far as a self-reflection.