Lauren Davis

Lesson Cycle
Lesson Title/Topic: Theme Let It Go
Target Concept: Analyzing a text to uncover themes.
Standards/Rationale: Grade 4, TEK 3A The students are expected to summarize and explain
the lesson or message of a work of fiction as its theme.
Lesson Objectives: The student will
compose a short poem or song using a
chosen theme with 80% accuracy.

Assessment: The students will compose a

short poem or song utilizing a chosen
theme. After class, the student will turn in
their work. The student will be graded
based on understanding of the chosen
theme, as well as spelling, grammar and
creativity.

Materials:
Video of Let It Go, questions to consider slide, find your mate cards, song lyrics,
Theme crossword puzzle, Theme matching game
Lesson Cycle: (Direct instruction)
The teacher will:
Focus/Mental Set: Play the Frozen theme
song Let It Go. Dance and sing along
with all the students to get them excited to
start the lesson. Review with the students
that a theme is what the author wants you
to know, a broad idea about life, and
usually not stated but must be inferred.

The student will:

The students will be able to dance and sing
along to the song. They will be able to
build up their energy and get excited about
the lesson.

Teacher Input: Explain to the students that

a song is a poem or a story set to music
(written in stanzas, literary elements, white
space, and theme.) Ask the class if they can
think of any other songs that tell a story.
After you talk about songs, pass out the
lyrics handout and read the lyrics to the
song together with the class. Put the
questions to consider slide on the screen.
Have the students pair with their shoulder
partner. Give them four minutes to

The student will make the connection that a

song is a poem put to music. They will be
able to give examples of other songs that
tell a story or poem. The students will
receive a copy of the lyrics to the poem on
a handout. The students will read the lyrics
of the song together with the teacher. They
will then pair up with their shoulder
partner. They will be given four minutes to
work together to summarize and analyze
the poem using the questions on the slide.

summarize and analyze the song with their

partner. Discuss the answers with the class
and check for understanding. Tell the
students that a theme is what the author
wants you to know, a broad idea about life,
and usually not stated but must be inferred.
Show the students how the questions they
just answered about the song are a good
place to start when determining theme.
Discuss with the students that you must
first analyze a text to determine what the
theme is.
Guided Practice: Find your mate activity.
Give each student a card with a wellknown book, movie, or song on it or a card
with a theme on it. Students will walk
around the classroom to find the student
with the card that matches theirs. The goal
is for each student pair to have a card with
a book, movie, or song and have a card
with the corresponding theme. After all
students have found a match, the class will
discuss each pair and how the students
know they chose the correct theme. During
this activity, the teacher will be monitoring
the students productivity and checking for
understanding. If a student has trouble, the
teacher will assist as needed.
Independent Practice: Have the students
choose a theme and write a short poem or
song using the chosen theme. Give the
students 10-15 minutes to work on it.
Explain that they will be graded based on
the correct use and understanding of their
chosen theme. Also, spelling, grammar, and
creativity will be taken into account for the
grades. Walk around the class to monitor
students progress and answer any
questions. When the time is up, ask for
volunteers to share what they wrote.

After the four minutes are up, they will

discuss their answers with the class. They
will be able to check their answers and ask
questions. The students will go over that a
theme is what the author wants you to
know, a broad idea about life, and usually
not stated but must be inferred. They will
learn that you must analyze the text to
determine the theme of the text.

Closure: The teacher will gather up all the

poems from the students. Ask students to
share what they learned from the lesson
today. Ask the students if they have any
questions about what a theme is.

The students will turn in their work. They

will be able to share what they learned and
they will have an opportunity to ask
questions if anything is unclear.

Find your mate activity. Each student will

receive a card with a book, movie, or song
on it, or a corresponding theme on it. The
students will walk around the classroom
talking to each other to find the correct
corresponding card. Each pair of cards
should have one title of a book, movie, or
song and one theme. After all the students
have a pair, they will discuss why they
believe their cards match. The students will
be able to ask questions if they are unsure
about anything.

The students will go back to their desks to

work individually. They will choose any of
the themes discussed in class that day. They
will be given 10-15 minutes to compose a
short poem or song using the chosen
theme. When time is up, the students will
be able to volunteer to share what they
wrote.

Options:
Enrichment: Have the student analyze
their favorite book or movie to determine
the theme. The student will then compare
and contrast their choice with Let It Go.

Modifications/Correctives:
Follow individual student IEPs.
References:

Reteach: If a student did not learn the

material as planned, the teacher will
provide time to teach the student what a
theme is, how to find the theme, and what
are some common themes. The teacher will
help the student answer some of the
questions to consider about the text to
analyze it. From that analysis the teacher
will help the student uncover the theme of
the text. The student will then be able to
play a matching game to match books with
their themes. After the teacher checks for
understanding, the student will be given an
opportunity to rewrite their poem or song.