How do themes connect stories to the larger world?
Objective: Students will be able to explain themes that are shown through character development in stories.
1. Word of the Day #8: impute
2. Language Lab #5
3. We learned the meaning of two terms that have to do with the "big ideas" of a story: topic and theme. Topics refer to the one-word subjects covered by a story. Themes are expressed in full sentences and deal with universal messages that have resonance beyond the specific story. (Examples: Topics in Harry Potter include magic, evil, and friendship. Topics in Finding Nemo include journeys, family, and oceans. A theme in Harry Potter is that our friends can help us withstand challenges that we can not overcome alone. A theme in Finding Nemo is that good parents allow their children a certain amount of freedom to explore so that they can grow.)
4. We discussed examples from Seedfolks that deal with the theme of people's ability to make a difference in their communities.
5. Writer's Notebook #9: Making a Difference. We began brainstorming a list of how people can make a difference by using our examples from Seedfolks. We then added to our lists as we watched two videos about community gardens in New York and Los Angeles.
6. We discussed how themes connect individual stories together by showing universal principles. The problems in our lives may not be fixed by a garden, but they can be influenced by some of the principles we noticed about how people make a difference.
7. Working independently or in small groups, we filled out a theme chart for Seedfolks and continued reading in Seedfolks and filling out our character analysis charts and sociograms.
For next time: No homework.
Objective: Students will be able to explain themes that are shown through character development in stories.
1. Word of the Day #8: impute
2. Language Lab #5
3. We learned the meaning of two terms that have to do with the "big ideas" of a story: topic and theme. Topics refer to the one-word subjects covered by a story. Themes are expressed in full sentences and deal with universal messages that have resonance beyond the specific story. (Examples: Topics in Harry Potter include magic, evil, and friendship. Topics in Finding Nemo include journeys, family, and oceans. A theme in Harry Potter is that our friends can help us withstand challenges that we can not overcome alone. A theme in Finding Nemo is that good parents allow their children a certain amount of freedom to explore so that they can grow.)
4. We discussed examples from Seedfolks that deal with the theme of people's ability to make a difference in their communities.
5. Writer's Notebook #9: Making a Difference. We began brainstorming a list of how people can make a difference by using our examples from Seedfolks. We then added to our lists as we watched two videos about community gardens in New York and Los Angeles.
6. We discussed how themes connect individual stories together by showing universal principles. The problems in our lives may not be fixed by a garden, but they can be influenced by some of the principles we noticed about how people make a difference.
7. Working independently or in small groups, we filled out a theme chart for Seedfolks and continued reading in Seedfolks and filling out our character analysis charts and sociograms.
For next time: No homework.