COMPARING THEMES
MODERN FANTASY
5TH GRADE
CONNECTION
• WE HAVE LEARNED HOW TO ANALYZE A SERIES OF CHAPTERS, STANZAS, OR SCENES TO
EXPLAIN HOW THEY FIT TOGETHER TO PROVIDE THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF THE STORY.
• UNDERSTANDING THIS STRUCTURE HELPS US TO INTERPRET A THEME IN THE TEXT.
THE UGLY DUCKLING
BAD CASE OF THE STRIPES
• TODAY WE WILL COMPARE AND CONTRAST STORIES ON THEIR APPROACHES TO SIMILAR
THEMES AND TOPICS.
• WE ARE GOING TO USE THE THEME, “BE TRUE TO YOURSELF” TO ANALYZE TWO TEXTS.
• WHO CAN RETELL THE STORY “BAD CASE OF THE STRIPES?”
• NOW LET’S LISTEN TO “THE UGLY DUCKLING.”
• HTTP://WWW.SPEAKABOOS.COM/FULL-TEXT/THE-UGLY-DUCKLING/
• THIS STORY HAS THE SAME THEME AS A BAD CASE OF STRIPES WHICH IS “BE TRUE TO
YOURSELF.”
• A STRATEGY WE CAN USE TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST HOW AUTHORS
APPROACH SIMILAR THEMES IS TO THINK ABOUT THE PIVOTAL MOMENTS THAT
ARE PRESENT THROUGHOUT THE BOOK.
• WHAT CHALLENGES DO THE CHARACTERS FACE?
• HOW DO CHARACTERS RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE?
• WE CAN RECORD OUR IDEAS ON A CHART SO THAT IT IS VISUALLY EASIER TO
COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES.
Comparing Approaches to Themes in Stories
Theme: Be true to yourself
Title of Text
A Bad Case of
Stripes
The Ugly Duckling
Summary of the Text
Similarities of how the theme is
developed through character
interactions.
Camilla loves to eat lima beans but is
afraid of what people might think about
her. She wakes up with a bad case of
the stripes which makes her even more
worried about what her classmates
think. She continues to hide herself
which makes the bad case of stripes
worse. An old lady gives her lima beans
to eat in order to cure the bad case of
In both stories the main characters are in
stripes. Admitting the truth about liking
search of acceptance. They want to fit in with
lima beans she is cured.
the other characters within the text.
The duckling starts off different and
considered ugly by the other animals.
He runs off in search of acceptance and
finds a gaggle of swans who accept him.
At the end of the story he turns into a
beautiful swan.
Differences in how the theme is
developed through character
interactions.
The differences within the stories is in A
Bad Case of Stripes Camilla realizes
she shouldn’t change anything about
herself no matter what other people
think. However, in The Ugly Duckling the
duckling finds happiness when he
changed from an ugly duckling into a
beautiful swan.
DISCUSS
• BY COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THESE APPROACHES WE CAN
GAIN NEW PERSPECTIVES OF A THEME.
• HOW HAVE THESE DIFFERENT APPROACHES ALTERED YOUR
PERCEPTIONS OF THIS THEME?
GUIDED PRACTICE
• YOU WILL REREAD SLEEPING BEAUTY AND THEN READ THE TEXT BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
• YOU AND A PARTNER WILL COMPLETE THE COMPARING APPROACHES TO THEMES IN STORIES
CHART FOR BOTH STORIES.
Comparing Approaches to Themes in Stories
Theme: True Love Conquers All
Title of Text
Sleeping Beauty
Beauty and the Beast
Summary of the Text
Similarities of how the theme is developed
through character interactions.
Differences in how the theme is developed
through character interactions.
LINK
• AS YOU READ STORIES ON YOUR OWN, TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW THEY COMPARE
TO OTHER STORIES YOU HAVE READ WITH SIMILAR THEMES.
• MAKING CONNECTIONS AMONG TEXTS, COMPARING AND CONTRASTING AUTHORS’
APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT OF THEMES WILL HELP YOU GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
OF A THEME’S MEANING.