Discover how picture books help teaching main idea and using books to teach theme, including specific examples for many books.
Here's a FREEBIE to help your students practice theme! This slideshow offers practice in determining theme and distinguishing between theme and main idea.
Teaching students how to identify the theme in literature can be down right difficult. This year I tried something new and it worked great!
This post contains the animated short film "Glued." Download the accompanying handout leveled for upper elementary students to teach theme.
Are your students struggling with theme? No worries - here are 3 games/centers specifically designed to give students the theme practice they need without boring them with long passages.
Some people teach theme and main idea separately, which is totally fine. However, I like to teach them together. I like my students to be able to see that the main idea can be very simple and tells what the story or passage was about on a surface level. A theme, on the other hand, […]
What is the best way to teach main idea and details in your 1st or 2nd grade classroom? Peruse our collection of engaging ideas!
Theme is such an important concept when teaching reading. Students are asked to determine the theme of a text over and over again. However, many students struggle with how to identify the theme. That's why I'm sharing some of my favorite ways to teach theme. You'll find theme lesson ideas, theme activities, and theme passage suggestions to help your students finally figure out how to find theme! Sometimes when thinking about theme it is easiest to think about what it is not. Theme is NOT the subject of the text. The subject would be a single word like "childhood" or "friendship." It is NOT a summary. A summary would be several sentences describing the text. Instead, it is the underlying idea of a text. It is what the writer wishes to convey about the subject. Therefore, it is usually written in a phrase or clause. When teaching theme, I find that it's best to introduce the critical components of theme through notes and a class discussion. My favorite kind of notes are theme doodle notes, of course. Since doodles are more engaging, they're a great way to get students focused as you begin teaching about theme. Once students have a general understanding of theme, you might want to have a discussion with students. During the discussion ask students to think of texts that have a theme like "Be careful what you wish for" or "Never give up on your dreams." Then, have students discuss the theme of fairytales or fables like "Beauty and Beast" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." The notes and discussion will drive home the idea that the theme is not a single word subject, nor is it a multi-sentence summary. Students will realize that the theme is a truth about life revealed in a phrase or clause. A work's theme can apply to multiple texts. When you teach about theme you'll want to help students realize that themes need to be general enough to apply to many different texts. Take the theme "Be careful what you wish for." That theme can apply to "The Little Mermaid," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and even "Macbeth." It's important for students to realize that themes are universal. You'll also want to expose students to different genres of writing so that students understand that themes are evident in all writing including fiction, nonfiction, prose, and poetry. I've compiled different genres in this theme unit. Since poems are short and compressed, I love using poems to help students develop an understanding of theme. Take a poem like, "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" by Maya Angelou. In Angelou's poem, the speaker is a child. Angelou's message and the poem's theme is to "be brave when faced with your fears." You might share poems like this or some of my other favorites to help students read several texts and practice determining universal themes. The theme is the message that the writer wishes to reveal about its subject. It's what the reader is supposed to learn about life after reading the text. Therefore, it is usually not directly stated in the work. Instead, students will need to think about the plot, conflict, characters, and setting and then make an inference or educated guess. When students consider all the elements of the text, they'll need to infer the theme. One way to help students understand that the story is built around the theme is to have them develop their own stories with a theme in mind. At first, you can have students do this by providing them with themes that they will need to portray in a comic strip or skit. For instance, you might have students doodle a comic for the theme "Two heads are better than one." Or, you could have students work in small groups to come up with a skit that has the theme "Friends always show up when you need them." By writing their own texts, students will begin to see how the theme is infused throughout the work. As students determine the theme of a passage, they'll need to consider a text's plot, characters, conflict, and tone. In other words, they need to think about the entire writing piece and reflect on its message about life. That can be challenging for students. That's why I like to give students many opportunities to practice finding the theme. Task cards and mini-passages work especially great for this. I've taken the idea of theme task cards even further with Learning Take Out activities. Students read fiction and nonfiction passages that they grab from take out containers. The passages are the perfect way for students to develop the ability to identify a text's theme. ------------------------------------------------- As you can tell, there are many ways to teach theme. I think the more chances we can give students to develop their reading skills, the better! If you're looking for some ready-to-teach resources, grab these THEME resources: ⭐--- FINDING THE THEME MINI-UNIT - Doodle Notes and Activities ⭐--- THEME UNIT - 3-Day Theme Unit ⭐--- LEARNING TAKE OUT - Theme Task Cards Thanks for stopping by! Mary Beth P.S. Here's my latest resource for teaching theme!
Discover how picture books help teaching main idea and using books to teach theme, including specific examples for many books.
Teaching theme in fourth grade is not easy, but it is very rewarding to see the students' little light bulbs come on! In my experience, students need many
Teaching theme is not an easy task! Not only do students need to have a strong comprehension of the story's elements (like plot, setting, and characters), but they also have to be able to make inferences to find the author's message, since most themes are not overtly stated by the author. So, what are some of my favorite activities for helping kids understand theme? I'll list a number of them here. 1. Make an Anchor Chart Anchor charts are a great way to make learning visual and to have a record that kids can refer to when they need a bit of extra support. Theme may be defined in a number of ways. To me, the theme is the author's message or what he/she wants the reader to take away/learn from the story. It is a BIG idea, with a real-world or universal concern and can be applied to anyone. Besides talking about what a theme is, you'll also want to go over what it isn't. For example, some kids confuse the main idea of the story with its theme. To help students understand the difference, it's helpful to use stories that everyone in the class knows, like previous read alouds or classic stories like The Three Little Pigs. You can take each story and discuss the main idea (what the story was mostly about - specific to the story) vs. the theme (the lesson the author wants the reader to know - not specific to the story), to contrast the two ideas. The second area of confusion for some kids is that the theme is not specific to the characters in the story. In the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, for example. The theme would not be that...A little mouse named Chrysanthemum learned to accept the uniqueness of her name. The theme would be larger than the book and would be something like...It's important to accept oneself. Also, you'll want to explain to your students that often times, a book has multiple themes and there are several answers which work equally well to describe a book's theme. Since theme is very subjective, I tell students that I will accept any answer, as long as they have the text evidence to prove it. For example, in the book, Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, one might argue that the theme is about friendship, another might say family, or even courage, or kindness. Any one of these themes would be right, and counted as such, since they each fit the story and could be supported by text evidence. 2. Use Pixar Shorts to Practice Theme Besides the sheer enjoyment which comes from watching these mini-films, your students can learn a lot about reading concepts from these. They're great for ELL students or for struggling readers, and for all readers really since the text complexity piece is removed. You can find these clips on YouTube, but you'll want to make sure to preview them first, so you're more familiar with the plot and are able to focus on theme questions. Here are some of my favorite Pixar Shorts for teaching theme: Piper Partly Cloudy Lava Boundin' 3. Use Mentor Texts Mentor texts are one of my go-to teaching tools as picture books are able to portray examples of just about any reading concept you need to teach. One thing I like to do when using mentor texts for theme, is to vary the types of questions I ask. Rather than always saying What is the theme?, I might ask... What is the deeper meaning of this story? After reading this book, what do you think matters to this author? Which idea from the story do you think might stay with you? What did the author want people to learn from this story?... Once kids answer, you might say, Ah...so that's the theme! Some of my current mentor text favorites for theme include the following: Ish by Peter H. Reynolds I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe Journey by Aaron Becker (a wordless book) Beautiful Oops by Barry Saltzberg The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Pete and Pickles by Berkeley Breathed If you're looking for more titles, I have a FREE Mentor Text List for Literature which includes a page on theme which you can download from my TpT store. 4. Use Posters with Themes to Chart Book Themes I like to choose 8 - 10 common themes and place posters of them in the classroom. These are included in my Theme unit but you could easily make them yourself if you'd like. After we finish a class novel, a read aloud, or a mentor text as part of a mini-lesson, I like to have the kids discuss the theme of the book. Once we decide on the theme, I place a miniaturized copy of the book's cover (about 3 x 3 inches or so) under the correct theme poster. You can also make the posters more interactive by allowing kids to write titles of books they have recently read on sticky notes, under the posters as well. 5. Use Songs to Practice Finding the Theme I love to add music to the classroom whenever possible. Not only does it add instant motivation for some kids, but it is also just good for them in so many ways. There are lots of songs you can use to teach theme, from current pop songs to oldies, rap songs, and country songs. While all of these work well, I especially enjoy using Disney songs. Disney songs are easily recognized for some kids, have catchy, fun tunes, and have lyrics that need no censoring (yay!). You can easily find the lyrics online to project on a smartboard or document projector, and the song clips may be found on YouTube, Here are some of my favorite Disney songs which work well for theme: Hakuna Matata from Lion King Just Keep Swimming from Finding Dory Reflection from Mulan Let it Go from Frozen Something There from Beauty and the Beast A Whole New World from Aladdin 6. Introduce Short Texts Using Task Cards Using task cards for theme gives your students a great deal of practice in a short period of time, which makes them a perfect way to begin to practice finding the theme using text. I love the fact that students can read multiple task card stories and practice finding the theme 20 - 30 times, in the time it might take to read a story and find the theme once. You can do task cards as a center activity, to play Scoot, or as a whole class scavenger hunt. One thing I like to do for the scavenger hunt is to make sure everyone has a partner and to pair stronger readers with struggling readers. 7. Add Some Writing After students have worked on theme for a week or two, I like to have students create their own short stories which show a strong theme, without directly stating it. This changes each student's role from a theme finder, to a theme creator and gives students insight into how authors create a situation that allows a theme to unfold. When I introduce this project, we refer back to the task cards we just completed, as an example of story length and rich content. In a matter of 2 - 3 paragraphs, students learn that they can include enough information to let our readers know our message. After students are finished creating these short stories, it's fun to share them in some way, to give more theme practice. Sometimes I have students meet in small groups to share out, with group members guessing the theme. Other years, I leave a stack on my desk and grab several if we have a few minutes. Either the students or I read the short story out loud, and the class discusses the theme. 8. Move to Passages, Short Stories, and Novels. Once we have scaffolded a great foundation for the understanding of theme, there comes a point where kids have to move on to text which is more challenging. I like to use page-long passages which I have created, before using short stories, and ultimately novels. If you're looking for some ready made materials to help you teach theme, here's a packet I love to use which works well for 4th and 5th Graders. Click here to read more about the Theme unit. Want some more teaching ideas and activities to teach theme? Click here to read Teaching Themes in Literature. If you like this post, make sure to share it with a teacher friend! Thanks so much for stopping by! For more ideas and strategies focused on upper elementary, be sure to sign up for The Teacher Next Door's free email newsletter! Bonus, you'll also gain access to my FREE Resource Library which contains exclusive upper elementary freebies that you won't find anywhere else! I'd love to connect with you! The Teacher Next Door's Website Pinterest Facebook Instagram TpT Store
If you’re a 5th-grade science teacher in Virginia, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, you’ll find everything you need to know about the 5th-grade science SOLs. From the theme to the main ideas of each unit to fun lessons and experiments… it’s all here! What do you need to know about the […]
This collection of mentor text recommendations as lesson plan ideas make teaching theme a breeze, and makes learning theme meaningful!
Since it is summertime and so many of us are already in planning mode for next year, I wanted to utilize my Mentor Text series post this month to share books to help you teach your students about THEME! If you like any of the books you see in this blog post, you can click […]
The freebies have moved! Instead of having the freebies in a separate resource library, we have put all of our freebies in our shop. You can find the freebies by clicking right here!
In this post, I share different strategies from Jennifer Serravallo's new book, called The Reading Strategies Book.
Discover how picture books help teaching main idea and using books to teach theme, including specific examples for many books.
Do your students struggle with theme? Teach them how to find a literary every time with a few simple steps. This post provides a step-by-step process for students to find the message of the text. Get them to ask the right questions to identify the theme every time.
Do you want to learn how to teach theme? Well, this blog post will do just that! A huge list of theme activities, with a freebie, included!
Ideas and activities for teaching main idea and supporting details that students find fun and actually work! Freebie included!
5 Fail-Proof Ways to help you teach students how to identify the main idea & the supporting details of a passage, short story...
The Present- For Teaching Plot Twist and Theme This story has the most amazing plot twist! Get your tissues ready! A young boy is behaving like an awful brat. He disrespects his mother when she brings him a new puppy. He even treats the puppy terribly when he discovers it is missing a leg. But […]
Learn for easy lesson ideas you can use for teaching theme to your students in upper elementary.
As teachers, we understand the benefit of scaffolding our instruction. By providing supports as students learn new skills, and then gradually releasing the responsibility from the teacher to the student, we know students will be more successful. However, scaffolding is much easier said than done. Curriculums usually don't do a very good job of providing scaffolding, and it can be ... Read More
Planning and teaching main idea doesn't have to be difficult! These activities are fun, engaging, and full of ways to teach main idea.
Remarkably You" is such a beautiful book to share with your students. Your students will feel loved, empowered, motivated, and confident.
This educational passage, "Tricoteuses: Knitting During the Reign of Terror," is great for practicing main idea, fact/opinion, and summarizing as students learn about important historical subjects.
Unlock Reading Magic: Dive into animated shorts and task cards for captivating main idea and details lessons! 📚🎬
Including mini-lessons on theme and ways to assess students' understanding.
When teaching literature in the middle school ELA or high school English classroom, one element students struggle with is the theme. Students struggle with
What is the best way to teach main idea and details in your 1st or 2nd grade classroom? Peruse our collection of engaging ideas!
Hey Chickaroos, I wanted to thank you so much for your kind words about my observation. The kids were a tad bit "off" but my principal didn't seem to notice. I have such a nice group this year that an off day for them would have been a good day for my group last year. The kids cheered {literally} when I pulled out the pink erasers {I knew they'd be a hit} and my principal giggled when I pulled out the kleenex when I noticed my writing was so hard to read because of my "lazy erasing". Happy ending - the kids helped me solve this problem and we all agreed to erase carefully with our brand spankin' new erasers because we want others to be able to read our writing. While this lesson went well {in spite of the fact that one of my kids tried eating his eraser - thankfully, I think Mr. Principal missed it} I really wished he had seen my readers workshop mini lesson instead. That one went REALLY well. A few months back my friend, we'll call her "Barb", and I had a TNO {Teacher's Night Out}. I think I blogged about it. She visited my classroom, I visited hers and then we ate dinner and did some planning. Our big professional goal is to edit, revise and tweak our reader's workshop mini lessons. We made some progress this summer and finished up our last unit at our TNO. We still have a ways to go...does it make me a dork that I can't wait for our next TNO so we can work on it some more?!? I didn't really want to start anything new before break because we just wrapped up our unit on retelling...but I just couldn't hold off teaching the first lesson on connections. It was just too good to wait. That friend, we call "Barb", introduced me to this awesome book. It's really a good one. The author, Tanny McGregor, believes strongly in using concrete objects to help tap into background knowledge {schema} as well as other areas of comprehension. For each comprehension lesson she provides ideas for what you could use as your concrete object - of course if you're like me, you're already thinking of other objects you can use from around the house or the classroom to not only make things more concrete for your kiddos...but more fun too!!! Today's lesson was to get them thinking about schema and what it is. I started off by placing small pieces of paper all over in the center of our circle. On each slip of paper I wrote a memory, a place I've been, something I've experienced or something from a book I've read: "Minnesota is really cold in the winter", "Running a race is hard work, but you feel really proud when you pass the finish line" "Fishing" etc. I took my lint {schema} roller and picked up one piece at a time and read it out loud and shared the thought or idea. After picking up each piece of paper with my schema roller I talked about how our brains are like that sticky roller. The things we see, hear, do, read all get stuck in our brains - just like the pieces of paper stuck to this sticky roller. After that I had the kids paste a picture of a schema roller to the center of a piece of paper and they wrote some of their schema around it. Honestly, I've been teaching schema for years and eventually they really seem to understand what it is, but they seemed to really get it just after this introductory lesson. I can't wait to delve deeper. Here's some of our thinking...{Sorry it's hard to see - darn cell phone} Here's a copy of the schema roller... Two more days...
Teaching theme and summarizing can be challenging, but with my tips, guides, and resources to help with your methodology, you can be successful!
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Are your students having trouble identifying theme within a story? This step-by-step process scaffolds through several reading comprehension skills to help students get a thorough understanding of theme. Students will be able to determine the theme of a story, poem, or drama from details in the text by first
With this resource, your students will read and compare two nonfiction texts on the same topic.
Need to teach theme but not sure where to start? I've gathered my favorite mentor texts you can use to teach theme in literature! Check these out!
Are your students having trouble identifying theme within a story? This step-by-step process scaffolds through several reading comprehension skills to help students get a thorough understanding of theme. Students will be able to determine the theme of a story, poem, or drama from details in the text by first
