Lesson Title:
Breaking Down the Theme
Grade Level:
7th Grade
Subject:
Language Arts
Description of Learning Goals, Standards, Objectives
CC/GPSs:
ELACC7RL2:
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over
the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
National
Technology
Standards:
3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use
information from a variety of sources and media
Long-Term
Learning
Goal or
Outcome:
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to critically analyze theme
development by exploring aspects of theme, characters, dialogue, and other
elements of a text.
ABCD
Objectives
or
Outcomes:
Using a digital storytelling tool of their choice (such as Toondoo or Voki),
students will summarize a text and explain the theme of the text using plot
development, character development, dialogue and other elements.
Description of Assessment
Assessment
Plan:
Class discussions and activities serve as minor assessments
Students’ completion and submission of digital storytelling tool & write-up
according to rubric
Description of Activities with Technology and Materials
Activity
Design:
Class starter
and lesson
connection:
(Day 1)
Opener: We will begin the lesson with a class discussion looking at and
skimming through several popular children’s stories, such as Little Red
Riding Hood, Pinocchio and The Three Little Pigs and discussing the
central themes of those stories. This will be presented via Smartboard.
-Theme: main idea or underlying meaning
-Themes can be explicit or implicit
-Major themes are the most important ideas and are reiterated throughout
the story
-Minor themes appear once or occasionally
-How do authors develop them? (main character’s feelings, dialogue,
events, etc)
Teacher and
student
activities:
Students will then be divided into groups and given a story to work on. In
groups, each student will be asked to change one event/detail in the story
and group rethink the theme as well as explore the “major” and “minor”
themes in the text. Students will submit one piece of paper for group
indicating the “change” each student made.
 Students will work in groups initially while teacher walks around and
engages/questions students; teacher then facilitates larger class discussion,
asking each group to share one example.
 Through this activity, students will explore the subjectivity of theme
and learn there may be multiple themes as well as analyze how plot
affects theme development.
Technology
Connection:
(Day 2)
While working in same groups, students will be asked to build on
previous day’s activities by applying same technique to books read in
class (Higher Power of Lucky, The Watsons Go To Birmingham, The Boy
in the Striped Pajamas, The Giver) and analyze the theme. Students will
compose write-up with group containing summary, supporting details, and
example of changed detail as specified in rubric. Then class will go to
computer lab to begin digital storytelling that will be due next day for
group presentations.
Students will need typed summary from group activity and digital
storytelling tool (worked on during class); students may also use books.
Materials and
Resources:
Teacher will provide example to class when explaining assignment and
expectations.
Exemplar 1-Voki:
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=8364527&height=267&width=200
Exemplar 2: ComicLife
Reflection on Lesson Design
Future
Actions:
One of my main concerns/challenges was attempting to incorporate
Bloom’s Taxonomy and trying to think outside of the box in order to
encourage the students to do the same.
If I had more time, I would probably allow the students to explore other
digital storytelling tools to use for assignment and have them briefly
present/explain those to the class.
The technology artifact, because it requires one’s own text, demonstrates
how much a person has read/understands the text. It also gives students
some creative license to edit voices and characters.
The activities and technology center around lesson objective of theme and
summarization; this makes sure students are constantly thinking about
what is going on in the text and the elements that add to theme
development.