• During the lesson, emphasize the importance of determining theme in a story to demonstrate comprehension. Confer with students to determine if they understand what theme is and can identify it.
• Through your anecdotal observation and notes, informally assess if students are able to identify theme in text effectively.
• At the end of the lesson, have partners read a selected Aesop fable and identify the theme. See the materials listed under Related Resources or find other versions of fables at students’ reading levels. Use the following criteria to evaluate students’ understanding:

• Student demonstrates the ability to determine theme in a piece of fiction.
• Student supports the theme with evidence from the text.

Focus question: How does a reader determine theme in fiction?

Read aloud the book Fox by Margaret Wild or another appropriate text. Display a story map and have students help you fill it in (character, setting, problem, solution, outcome). Ask, “What theme is the author trying to present?” (friendship and caring for others) Write it on the story map. Tell students the purpose of this lesson is to learn to determine theme and support it with details from the text.

Part 1

Title a sheet of chart paper “Themes That Children’s Authors Like to Write About.” Point out that a theme can include a concern, problem, or topic and that the theme is often referred to as the moral of the story; it is a view of life and how people behave. Have students give suggestions of possible themes to list on the chart paper. Examples include friendship, loss, courage, hope, violence, love, family, bullying, and self-esteem. Note: Keep this anchor chart for use in Lesson 3.

Say, “Write a definition of the word theme in your own words.” Give students a few minutes to complete this task.

Have students meet with a partner and share their definitions of theme. Encourage students to give each other feedback and have the opportunity to revise their definitions.

When the class is back together as a whole group, ask volunteers to share their definitions of theme. Possible answers include that theme is the lesson the author wants to teach us or that it is the important topic on which the story is based.

Clarify for students that stories can have more than one theme and that different people will interpret the theme differently.

Share with students that when we determine the theme of a text, we want to pick information from the text to support our decision. Say, “When you state the theme, you do not focus on the character as an individual or on specific plot information. You want to look at the character’s actions and events as a whole to determine what the author wants to teach the reader.”

Read aloud the book The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant or another appropriate text. Model how to identify theme and find supporting information in the text.

• Theme: loss, loneliness (record on the anchor chart if these are not already listed)
• Support: The woman only named things that wouldn’t outlive her because many friends had passed away. She won’t name the dog because she is afraid she will outlive it and be lonely again.

Model how to complete the Theme Review Graphic Organizer (L-4-2-2_Theme Review Graphic Organizer.docx).

• First, write the title of the book in the scroll.
• Next, write the theme in the speech bubble.
• Finally, write text support for the theme in the diamond.

Part 2

Display a selection of books. Arrange students into groups of three and assign three books to each group. Have each student in a group read each book and complete a Theme Review Graphic Organizer (L-4-2-2_Theme Review Graphic Organizer.docx).

Instruct the members of each group to discuss the books and generate a list of what they learned. During the discussions, encourage students to rethink and revise their work. Move around the room to discuss and confer with groups to make sure they are identifying themes correctly and supporting them with appropriate information from the texts.

After students have had the opportunity to discuss all three of their books, come together as a whole group and discuss what students learned about identifying theme and supporting their choice with evidence from the text. Ask, “Why does identifying the theme improve our understanding of the story.” (It gives us the big idea and tells us the greater issue in the story.) Record any unlisted themes on the anchor chart.

Extension:

• Have students who are ready to go beyond the standard create a Web quest in which students find books or materials that relate to a certain theme. Have students identify the name of the books or materials and the Web address where they were found. The following sites will help you design a Web quest: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~gale0025/webpage.htm OR http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/classrooms/a/web_page_design.htm
• Students who need additional practice might create a book-based theme for a party and choose three books that support that theme.