MINI LESSON
TH
IDENTIFY A POEM’S THEME — 5
GRADE
CONNECTION
• WE HAVE READ AND ANNOTATED MULTIPLE POEMS IN ORDER TO
WRITE A SUMMARY.
• TODAY WE WILL EXPLORE THE THEMES WITHIN POETRY BY
ANALYZING FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE TO DETERMINE THE TONE AND
MOOD.
• AFTER SUMMARIZING THE STANZAS YOU ARE ABLE TO DETERMINE
THE THEME OF THE POEM.
TEACHING
• THE THEME IN A POEM IS THE BIG IDEA FROM THE TEXT.
• IT IS THE IDEA OR LESSON THE AUTHOR WANTS THE READER TO KNOW FROM READING THE
TEXT.
• IN A POEM, A STRATEGY THAT YOU CAN USE TO HELP YOU IDENTIFY THE THEME IS TO FOCUS
ON DETERMINING THE TONE AND MOOD OF THE POEM IN ORDER TO SUMMARIZE THE
STANZAS.
• ONCE A SUMMARY OF EACH STANZA IS WRITTEN YOU MUST USE YOUR EVIDENCE TO FIND
THE OVERALL BIG IDEA OF THE POEM.
• LISTEN AS I REREAD THE POEM “THE ECHOING GREEN” BY WILLIAM BLAKE TO DETERMINE THE
THEME OF THE POEM.
“The Echoing Green” by William Blake
The sun does arise,
And make happy the skies;
The merry bells ring
To welcome the Spring;
The skylark and thrush,
The birds of the bush,
Sing louder around
To the bells’ cheerful sound;
While our sports shall be seen
On the echoing green.
Summarizing Each Stanza
Old John, with white hair,
Does laugh away care,
Sitting under the oak,
Among the old folk.
They laugh at our play,
And soon they all say,
‘Such, such were the joys
When we all - girls and boysIn our youth-time were seen
On the echoing green.’
Stanza 2
The elderly people enjoy watching kids play and
remembering the joys of the time when they also
played on the green.
Stanza 1
Spring is a cheerful time of year. The sky is bright,
birds are cheerfully singing, and people can play
sports outside.
Till the little ones weary,
No more can be merry:
The sun does descend,
And our sports have an end.
Round the laps of their mothers
Many sisters and brothers,
Like birds in their nest,
Are ready for rest,
And sport no more seen
On the darkening green.
Stanza 3
The sun is setting; kids are tired from playing
outside all day. Everyone is ready for bed.
GUIDED PRACTICE
• YOU AND A PARTNER WILL READ AND ANNOTATE THE POEM “STOPPING” IN ORDER TO WRITE
A SUMMARY FOR EACH STANZA.
• THEN IN YOUR READING NOTEBOOK YOU WILL WRITE WHAT YOU THINK THE THEME OF THE
POEM IS BASED ON YOUR EVIDENCES FROM THE TEXT.
• ONCE EVERYONE HAS FINISHED WE WILL DISCUSS POSSIBLE THEMES AS A CLASS.
Stopping
Summarizing Each Stanza
Coasting down the sidewalk
On my skateboard,
Free as a bird,
Then I pass the new kid's house
And keep on coasting.
Stanza 1
Pedaling down the sidewalk
On my bike,
wild as the west wind,
Then I pass the new kid's house
And keep on pedaling.
Stanza 2
Dribbling down the sidewalk
With my basketball,
I am a blazing star,
Then I pass the new kid's house
And stop dribbling.
I am back in time
On my porch,
And my house is the new kid's house,
I am a crushed tin can in an empty lot
Because no one's stopping.
Stanza 3
Dribbling up the sidewalk
Of the new kid's house,
I am the first ripple in the pond.
Then I ring the doorbell
And start smiling.
Stanza 4
THE OVERALL THEME IS:
“TIME IS FLEETING SO YOU MUST ENJOY LIFE”
LINK
• TODAY WE LEARNED HOW TO IDENTIFY THE THEME IN A POEM BY
FOCUSING ON FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE TO DETERMINE THE TONE
AND MOOD OF THE POEM.
• AFTER WRITING A SUMMARY YOU ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE
THEME OF THE POEM USING YOUR EVIDENCES FROM THE TEXT.