THEME
Chapter 4
OBJECTIVE: WE WILL BE ABLE TO
DEFINE THEME AND GENRE
Objectives for later in the unit…
• We will be able to determine the theme of a story
• We will be able to compare works of different
genres that have a universal theme
• We will be able to cite evidence in the text that
contributes to the development of a theme
• We will be able to explain how the selection of
genre shapes theme
APK=ACTIVATING PRIOR
KNOWLEDGE
Q=What do you already know about
THEME and/or the GENRE?
A=Genre is a category
C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N TGENRES
Fiction
(fake)
Science
Fiction
Manga
Outer Space
underwater
Future
Time travel
Fantasy
Mystery
Western
Romance
How would you categorize ___________?
How do you know?
Action
Thriller
Realistic Fiction
Spy Novel
Survival
Horror
C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N TGENRES
“Taste, the Final Frontier” would be categorized as ____________.
How do you know?
NonFiction
(true)
Autobiography
Newspaper
Autobiographical
Narrative
Biography
How-To
Biographical
Narrative
Informational
text
Textbooks
C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N TTHEME
Themes are the fundamental (
universal (
) and often
) ideas explored in a
literary work.
Theme is THE MEssage the text is trying to
send the reader about a specific idea or topic
C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N TTHEME
WHAT IT IS
What
all the elements of a
good story add up to
An insight about life or
human nature
Is unseen and unstated
A revelation about the
author’s personal attitude
toward the world or how
people should behave
WHAT IT ISN’T
Not
a summary
Not the moral (lesson)
Not the topic or subject
Not a one-word answer or
phrase
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Checking for understanding
• What is GENRE?
• What are the two major GENRES of writing?
• Can you name a sub-genre?
• What is a THEME?
• What is THEME NOT?
IMPORTANCE
Why are Genre and Theme important?
 Every book, movie, song belongs to a
particular genre…
 Most stories (including movies) have a
THEME that the writer/director/producer is
trying to convey to the audience…
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A N D G U I D E D P R AC T I C E
Steps to figuring out THEME
1.
Determine some general TOPICS the story is about
2.
Figure out what the story’s MESSAGE about those
topics is
3.
Write the message the story/author is sending to the
reader in a complete sentence
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A N D G U I D E D P R AC T I C E
Practice with “Everyday Use”
1.
Determine some general TOPICS the story was about
•
2.
Family, Heritage, Heirlooms
Figure out what the story’s MESSAGE was about those
topics
• Pair share…what was the author’s message about Family,
Heritage, Heirlooms?
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A N D G U I D E D P R AC T I C E
3.
Write the message the story/author is sending to the
reader in a complete sentence
•
•
•
Family is more important than social status and
material possessions.
To really understand one’s heritage, one must
understand and appreciate his/her ancestors.
Often times an heirloom’s sentimental value is more
important than its monetary value.
CLOSURE
What are the steps to figuring out theme?
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
 Time to APPLY
 Independently or with a partner, determine a possible theme for one
of the other stories we have read in class…
• “The Love Letter”; “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”;
“Typhoid Fever”; “Cold Equations”
• Follow the steps to determine a possible THEME
THEME
 Cold Equations
• Share out topics:
• Consider how the main character changes
• Consider the conflict of the story, and how it is resolved
• Which of the topics does the story have the MOST to say about?
THEME
 Make a specific statement from the story that reveals what the
story has to say about the topic.
 Now make the statement general so it can apply to a broad range
of stories.