Universal Theme Collage

After students come up with a theme (see video of strategy here), I like to hit home the universality
of what a theme should be. What better way to have students realize that theme is true across time and space than to apply the theme to the past and across the world. I have my students use online research  (DE Streaming) to find a historical example of the theme being true and then a current event example (using Gale) to find it true in another place. Using those and text evidence along with a pic collage app, students make a visually stunning study of the theme and learn a little bit more about the world they live in. The instructions for this is in my shop.

Lit Analysis Gamifiction with Make Dice Lite

What is Make Dice Lite?

Make Dice Lite in an iPad that allows the user to customize dice and use up to 6 at a time. To roll the dice, students can tap the screen or shake the iPad.

Lit Analysis Set Up

In groups of three to 4, students use 1 iPad to create two dice. The first die is whatever literary elements you want your students to analyze. I use character, conflict, symbol, theme, connect two topics, setting.

The second die is one about thematic topics. Examples from The Outsiders: violence, family, loyalty, redemption, social pressure, equality, etc. (Students can choose their own).

Roll the Die

Students roll the dice and create a question with those two things. Provide question stems or example for the different literary elements. EX:

Theme: What is the lesson we are supposed to learn about ______?

Symbol: What object in the text represents _____?

Setting: How does the setting contribute to the lesson we can learn about ______?

Two topics: How are _____ and _____ related?

For character and conflict, it so much depends on the topic I encourage my students to come up with their own way of asking. 

Gamification

Students number off A, B, and C. Students then complete to answer questions. Students take turn answering the question and give text support. For each question, 1 participant answers it and gives support. The other two people then rate the answer with evidence and explanation on a scale of 1-3. The person who answered the question get the combined score. The other group members can each get 1 bonus point for providing approved additional evidence. 

EX: How is setting related equality?

Student A: Tulsa is divided east and west in the novel. The rich Socs are on one side and the poor Greasers on the other, which keeps them separated and continues the idea that by being separated, they aren't able to take down the walls that divide them. If they got to know each other more, the inequality may not create hate. 

Student B: that was really good, I give a 3 out of 3.

Student C: I'm not clear on the theme you think Hinton has about equality so I say 2.

**Student A gets 5 points**

Student B: another thing that supports what you said as an answer is the setting of the dive-in. At the drive in the Socs get to sit in their cars while the greasers have to be out in the elements of the bleachers. 

*** student B gets a point ***

Student C: The school setting also supports that. Remember when Ponyboy talked about how he was in the more advanced classes? He pulled out a knife to dissect a frog and a Soc girl who was his lab partner was horrified. The way there is that divide in the classes at school also makes there be a divide int he social classes. 

*** Student C gets a point. It is now student B's turn to answer a question and try to get the three points ***

Creative Writing with Substance

Giving students an opportunity to write fiction is an important and empowering experience. Too often personal narrative, persuasive, and expository trump all other forms of writing in our classrooms. Meanwhile, we read multiple short stories and novels – all examples of creative narratives that we analyze and exalt. Having student analyze fiction, but not create it runs the risk of sending students a terrible message: the fiction they could write is inferior and not worth creating.

In order for students to really understand why authors do what they do, students must take on the role of the author. Good readers read as writers. When deciding the parameters of a creative writing assignment, I look to my reading standards, not just writing.

Pre-writing plays a key role:

Theme: Get short stories with substance by asking students to find an inspirational quotation on http://www.quotationspage.com/  and then create a plot that proves the theme to be true. Model an example, create plot charts, and let students conference just on the plot charts and ideas so they can refine and get feedback.

Character: By creating innovative and realistic characters, student practice characterization. Character profiles, like the one over at National Novel Writing Month’s teacher resources packet, gives students the scaffolding they need to flesh out their ideas. Use my lesson on the coronation scene from Frozen to help show students the versatility of dialogue.

Symbol: My students were really struggling with analyzing symbols. I wanted them to see symbols from the other point of view, as the author. I modeled with my own story – a stunning narrative that involved Brad Pitt buying me flowers.

Stage directions: This year, our district moved drama unit into the same grading period as our narrative reading and writing units, so I took this as an opportunity to change the short story to a script. Capitalizing on the standards for our grade level that asks students to analyze stage directions, we looked at models and students used them to establish characterization and symbols.

What’s more, the kids have fun! The creative process is engaging. Students are energized. The testing genres are killing our kids. They have voices and characters and worlds ready to be unleashed! Creative writing opens the doors to those worlds and lets kids speak through their characters.

Setting's Impact on Theme Foldable for A Midsummer Night's Dream:

This foldable is being used for A Midsummer Night's Dream, but can be adapted for any text that has two locations that contribute to the plot. For example: In Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, it could be adapted for Strawberry vs. the town where the Logan's live. Or for The Outsiders, West Side vs. East Side. In the case of Midsummer's, each setting treats a topic differently, but in the case of a text like The Outsiders, the schism that divides the Greasers and the Socs proves not to be all that wide as Ponyboy and Cherry discover that things are rough all over. This could be good for The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Invisible Man, etc.

Mini-essay: In the blank space inside the house, explain how the setting influenced the theme of the work. Make sure to include information regarding how the topic was treated and why, but don't forget to add supporting evidence and explain. 

Teaching Theme the Metacognitive Way

Broken down into the cognitive steps, students can determine theme with the support of modelling and collaboration. This video shows the strategy for introducing the concept (quick soapbox moment: even though kids in 8th grade were exposed WHAT theme is in prior years, I never assume they were taught HOW to figure it out. There are definitely kids in high school who were never taught how to figure it out. In fact, there are a lot of students who have been given the themes by teachers. If we are to prepare our students for STAAR or whatever standardized test is looming over you, they need to be able to determine theme on their own. If we want to foster analytic skills and inferencing skills, we need to ask them to use those skills by forcing them to do the thinking.). After doing this strategy with passing the paper and creating multiple themes, it is simply a matter of reminding students throughout the school year that in order to determine theme you just need to follow these basic steps. 

See what else you can do with the theme created by using research and technology by clicking here!