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Can you guess the theme?

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Pass It On TV Commercials - Inspirational | The Foundation for a Better Life

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Find amazing inspirational stories broadcast on television about the value of good character. The Pass it On collection of inspiring motivational stories.

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Theme anchor poster

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Connection: I always start by connecting today's lesson to something kids have previously learned so that it triggers their schema and background knowledge. Since this is the first they are learning about Theme this year, I start by asking students to look at billboard ads from www.values.com (see resource). I let them know that these ideas have been in commercials they have likely seen before also. After reading them to the kids, I ask them what the purpose of these ads are. Why did someone take the time to make them and share them with others? I give them a couple minutes of thinking time then call on students to share their ideas. Hopefully, they will share ideas like to inspire people, give them encouragement, provide a positive message, or teach you a life lesson.

Teaching Point: This is when I tell kids explicitly what we will be working on. I say, "This week, we will be focusing on Theme, which is the message, moral, or lesson learned in a story. Show them the Theme anchor chart. I say that just as the ads are trying to teach them something, a book or story is meant to do the same thing, which is the Theme. I tell them that our minds should be looking for the Theme while we are reading because it will help us understand the story better.

Active Engagement: This is where students get to try out the strategy that I just taught them. I give them a few minutes of thinking time to decide what the primary Theme is in their favorite books. Then I ask them to turn and talk to their partners to share. Some books might have more than one theme but we have a discussion about primary and secondary themes after I call on students to share.

Link to Ongoing Work: During this portion of the mini-lesson, I give the students a task that they will focus on during Independent Reading time. Now that I've introduced Theme, I tell them that when they are reading today, their job is just to notice what the Theme might be while reading one of the books in their browsing boxes. I explain that Theme is not usually clearly stated in the text so they will have to infer and "read between the lines" to find the author's message. At the end of Reader's Workshop, they will meet with their assigned reading partner to discuss what they noticed. I remind them that I will randomly choose a few students to share so that they make sure to complete their task.

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Connection: I always start by connecting today's lesson to something kids have previously learned so that it triggers their schema and background knowledge. Since this is the first they are learning about Theme this year, I start by asking students to look at billboard ads from www.values.com (see resource).

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Fun Animation Showing How to Identify a Theme within a Story

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Slides 6-11

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Make a global connection to your theme via movie, art, and/or song. Provide details to support the connection between the text and global connection.

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You may only use kidtopia to search for global connections.

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Infotopia-A Safe Google Alternative Search Engine for Students