• During the lesson, emphasize the importance of identifying theme in a story to demonstrate comprehension. Confer with students to determine if they understand what theme is and the techniques authors use to reveal the theme (symbols and characters’ words, thoughts, actions, and feelings).
• Informally assess if students are able to identify theme in text effectively by evaluating their dialogue with other students and through your anecdotal observation and notes.
• At the end of the lesson, have students read a selected piece of fiction and identify the theme in the story. Have them explain the technique the author used to reveal the theme. Use the following checklist to evaluate students’ understanding:

• Student demonstrates the ability to identify theme in a piece of text.
• Student accurately indicates the technique the author used to reveal the theme in the text.

Focus questions: What is theme? How does the reader determine the theme of a text?

Most fourth graders unconsciously organize their lives by theme. If they like a particular sport or entertainment show, they may have posters, clothes, and accessories relating to that theme. Ask, “If I looked in your bedroom, could I tell what your favorite activity or thing is? How would I know?” (from the posters on the wall; maybe the bedding, clothes, or trinkets on the dresser) When students are engaged, begin the lesson.

Part 1

Hold up a wedding ring, a picture of the U.S. flag, and a pink ribbon. Ask, “What are these? What do they represent?”(wedding ring—commitment/marriage, U.S. flag—freedom or a new life, pink ribbon—hope) Point out that symbols go beyond the literal meaning of the object to a broader concept.

Explain that a theme is a major topic of a text. One way to identify theme in a story is to look at how the author has written the story, such as by using repetitive language or symbols. The author provides details in the text to help the reader identify the theme.

Read aloud “The Mousewife” by Rumer Godden. Ask, “What is the theme of this story? How do you know? What did the author do or use to guide you to that theme?” Help students identify the following:

• Theme: Keeping wild animals in captivity is not kind. Good friends take risks to help their friends.
• Technique: The author leads you to the feeling that it was unfair to keep the turtledove. There was a sense of sadness when the author explained that the dove could not spread his wings. The dove hung his head and did not eat. The mousewife was angry because the turtledove was in the cage. She could not sleep and expressed anger that the dove could not be free. Her heart pounded in her chest.

Label the poster “Literary Themes.” This will become an anchor chart in Lesson 2 to hang in the room. Create a bulleted list of literary themes that students discover. The definition of theme will be added in the next lessons as well as more literary themes. Begin the list with “taking risks” (to go with “The Mousewife”).

Part 2

Say, “I am going to read a story called Amelia’s Road by Linda Jacobs Altman. This story contains a symbol. As I read, see if you can figure out what the symbol is and what the author means by it.” Read the story aloud. Ask students if they can identify the symbol and its meaning. Help students identify the symbol as the tree Amelia visits. The author’s meaning is that because Amelia moves around a lot with her family, she just wants to “set down roots” and stay in one place. Have students identify and analyze Amelia’s actions. Then have them determine the theme. The theme related to the symbol of the tree could be “overcoming adversity” or “love of family.” Add the theme to the poster .

Part 3

Give each student a short story. Have students read the story and identify the theme and the author’s craft (character’s action, repeated words, special language), symbol, or feeling used to convey the theme.

After students have completed the above activity, have them meet with a partner. Ask them to tell their partner what the story is about, what the theme is, and what the author used or what character actions helped to determine the theme.

As a whole group, share themes and record any new themes on the poster board.

Hand out an index card to each student to use for the exit-card activity. Tell students to put their name on the top right corner of the card. Ask students to answer the following questions on the front of the card:

• What is the definition of theme? (the life lesson the author wants to teach us; the important topic on which the story is based)
• What things might the author use to help the reader identify the theme? (symbols and characters’ words, thoughts, actions, or feelings)

Collect the exit cards and use them as a means to assess if reteaching or further practice is needed.

Extension:

• Further practice can be given at a variety of  levels of text complexity by using texts that range from easy to difficult in terms of theme and symbolism.
• Students who are ready to go beyond the standard can develop a list of symbols and explain how they might allude to theme.