Topic-Theme Activity Lesson Plan
By. Maria Elena Muriel.- CIT-CIH-CIG-CIP registered coach.
murielme2@prodigy.net.mx
Objective:
1. At the end of activity at least 90% of attendees will
recognize the difference of Topic-Theme.
2. At the end of the lesson at least 90% of attendees will be able to write
Topics and Themes.
Time: 1hr. or depend upon the size of the group.
Audience: CIG students.
Materials: colorful foamy stripes 2 ½.inch X 6 inch two per participant.
Two paper bags.
Flipchart- markers
Student CIG English manual pages 52 to 55 (37 to 40 Spanish)
Procedure for material:
• In one set of foamy write themes and the others topics equal number of
topics and themes it will work better if you write themes based on the
topics you wrote so students can see a clear difference,
but do not make them in same color for example if in a yellow foamy you
wrote “sea turtles” don’t use same color for the theme “ the sea turtles
fight an eternal battle for survival”
Write some long topics , It’s powerful to write topics and themes from
Your former CIG’ students. ( during the activity tell them so)
• Print in one paper bag the word “Topic” in the other “ Theme”
Make a flip chart
Topic = a broad general category for example:
Sea Turtles
The Gulf of California
The Cathedral of Santo Domingo
Make a flipchart
Theme= is written in full sentence S+ active verb+ complement
Narrows the focus of a topic and is so relevant that answer the question “ So
what?”
For example:
The sea turtles fight an eternal battle for survival
The Gulf of California is the largest living aquarium of the world.
The pirate Francis Drake was guest in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo without
being invited.
Vocabulary:
I= Instructor
SS= Student
Topic: is a broad, general category
Theme= a full sentence about a topic.
Updated and used by NAI with permission, August 2013
Cultural differences:
In Spanish speaking Countries most people has the notion of the word “Topic”
but we don’t have a word that translate it, it is important to introduce the term
“Topic” as it is in English but as a new word for Spanish speaking audiences.
Lesson procedures: exposition technique
I mention to SS that this information is a contribution from the field of
psychologist and when they researched the human behavior they concluded
that people tend to forget the facts but remember the themes. Because
generally themes are meaningful.
Show the flip chart or write in the board.
Topic = a broad general category for example:
Sea Turtles
The Gulf of California
The Cathedral of Santo Domingo
I mention to SS “Topic is a broad general category provide examples, you can
say thousand things about those topics ”.
Show the flip chart or write in the board.
Theme= is written in full sentence S+ active verb+ complement
Narrows the focus of a topic and is so relevant that answer the question “ So
what?”
For example:
The sea turtles fight an eternal battle for survival
The Gulf of California is the largest living aquarium of the world.
The pirate Francis Drake was guest in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo without
being invited.
I mention to SS “Themes narrows the focus of a topic, what is it that you want to
say about the topic,
are written in full sentences with S+ active verb+ ( remind them which is an
active verb) + complement so relevant that answer the question so what?
Mention the examples.
Ask students to think about the last day presentations and ask some of them to
tell you the topic they will talk about.
Ask if they have questions about Topic or Theme.
Apply activity: with the foamy set of topics upside down as cards ask each
student to pick up one and don’t show it yet. Do same with foamy set of themes.
I : Place the paper bags open in front of the room ask students look at their
cards, memorize it and place them in the bag it correspond.
I: pick up the foamy from the bag one at a time and inter exchange the bag
from where you grabbed the foamy ,
Updated and used by NAI with permission, August 2013
I: read it aloud and ask whose foamy it was, if it was in the right bag say it’s
very good, how did you recognized it was a topic?
I: Then pick up one from the bag of themes and ask SS whose foamy it is,
I ask them if they can tell you the topic of the theme is written in the foamy.
When you pick up a topic eventually ask SS if they can tell a theme for that
topic and vise versa Etc. etc.
Note; once in a while they confuse a long topic with a theme if it happens ask to
all the audience what is it? And reinforce that even when a long line of words it
is just a long topic and ask why it is not a theme? They all will say because it
doesn’t have a verb.
Reflexion for Instructor: At the end you can measure by the exercise if all of
them understood Topic-Theme, who was confused at the beginning of the
activity but understood during the activity in addition you can notice who spent
more difficult time understanding the terms, and who got it easy right away.
I Ask SS to fill in the blanks exercise page 53-54 of the English manual.
(38 in the Spanish manual, don’t use page 39 it has an error that confuse
students, then use page 40 to write subthemes)
Updated and used by NAI with permission, August 2013