Happy Monday!

Do Now
Your Do Now is located in the black
trays today

Directions:
1. Read the poem critically and
independently.
2. Draw a picture of what you saw in
your mind’s eye while reading this
poem in the space provided.
3. Answer the four follow-up questions at
the bottom.
4. Be prepared to share!
5. Read independently if you finish early.
 Announcements

1. Second notebook check is this Friday.

2. Completed second draft of your non-
fiction narrative is due on Thursday.
3. Grades are updated
4. Quiz on Friday: Vocabulary and Theme
5. Comic books
6. Book share!
Theme
 What is Theme?

 Central idea or underlying message of the

text
 Rarely stated in the text
 Must make an inference
 Use the plot, character, and/or setting
 Do not confuse Theme
with topic, main idea, or plot!

 Theme is the message we take away from the

written piece about people, life, and the
world around us.

 Topic is the main idea of the story.

 Plot includes the events in the story.

 Universal Theme

 About life and/or human nature

 Common to people throughout the world

 Provides guidance through life

 How do I find the theme?

 Often the title gives us hint about theme.

Remember , theme addresses
the entire piece of writing

 We can state theme in many ways

 Each of us has prior experiences
 We are each unique
 Identifying Theme

 Theme is not the topic, but a lesson you can

apply to your life
 For example: family
 You should always put your family before your
friends
 Theme vs. Topic

They are both IMPORTANT messages, but the difference is

that a theme is a message the author thinks could be true for
ANYONE; a theme is considered a UNIVERSAL truth
uncovered in the story. An example of a theme could be
“Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Sometimes you hear people say “Loyalty is the theme of the
book.” They are WRONG!! “Loyalty” is a topic or what the
book is about. Is “loyalty” a message? NO! The theme of that
story could be, “Loyalty to family is more important than
money .”
 Identifying Theme

 You can determine the theme by examining

how the character has changed
 A dynamic character develops throughout the
story
 What did this character learn through his
experiences
 Identifying Theme

 Conflict can help determine the theme

Conflict Resolution Theme

Helping to feed the poor

is
beneficial to all involved.
 Identifying Theme

To determine the theme we can ask ourselves 4

important questions:
 What challenges does the author write for the
protagonist?
 How does the protagonist respond to them?
 What lessons does he learn?
 What is the author trying to teach us through
the protagonist?
 Is a theme always valid?

 Evaluate the writer’s ideas

 Is the theme realistic? Then it is valid.

▪ If you put your best foot forward,
you will usually succeed.

 Is the theme idealistic? Then it is not valid

▪ Good people never have any problems.
 Scenario #1: I Do
Barry liked playing board games, but he hated losing. He hated losing so
much that he would do whatever it took to win, even bending or breaking
the rules. He'd steal money from the bank and hide it under the couch
cushions. He'd skip spaces while he was moving around the board. He'd
shortchange others money that they were owed and argue with them about
it. Barry's techniques were effective. He did win most of the games that he
played, but the people whom he played with were his friends and family, and
it didn't take too long until they caught on to Barry's tricks. They tried to tell
Barry to stop cheating. They said that the game wasn't any fun when he
cheated, but he didn't listen. He continued with his treacherous style of
gameplay, until nobody would play with him anymore. Barry may have won
a lot of games, but at what cost?

What is the theme of the story?

What happens in the story that leads you to believe this?

 Scenario #2: We Do
Genevieve was obsessed with details. She felt that everything that she submitted to
her teacher had to be perfect. For the final project in reading class, students were
given one week to use their art skills to bring a scene from a novel to life. Genevieve
decided that she would build a shoebox diorama. She spent the first two nights
creating an intricately detailed scene far superior to anything that her classmates
would produce, but she ended up throwing it away because she didn't like how tape
was visible at the bottom of the diorama. The next two nights she worked on a similar
diorama, but this time she used glue. Again, Genevieve produced a beautiful product,
but she was troubled by how the glue looked when it dried, so she discarded her work
again. Over the weekend and into the next week, Genevieve recreated the project a
third time. This time she used a special adhesive putty to construct the diorama and
was completely satisfied with the appearance. Unfortunately, her project was now
several days late and her grade on the assignment was lowered to a C.

What is the theme of the story?

What happens in the story that leads you to believe this?

 Scenario #3: You Do
Jimmy and Eric were huddled by the tire swing. "Why did Scott have to take the kickball? He
knows we play kickball at recess." Jimmy whined. "Maybe we could just do something else."
Eric suggested. "No, I'm going to get back our kickball," countered Jimmy. Scott was
bouncing the kickball against the wall by himself when Jimmy approached him. "Give us
back our kickball, Scott!" Jimmy shouted. Scott looked up and down at Jimmy and then
continued bouncing the ball against the wall. Jimmy ran up to Scott and tried to snatch the
ball as it passed from the wall back to Scott, but he was too slow. He missed and fell onto the
gravel and cried out, "Ow! See what you did, Scott!" By now Eric had joined the other two
boys and he made a suggestion: "Hey, Scott, maybe we could all play together." Scott
looked at him skeptically, but Eric's warm expression convinced him of his sincerity. "Ok,"
Scott muttered as he helped Jimmy back to his feet and asked, "What do you want to play?"
The boys agreed on kickball and used the remaining recess time to play. Jimmy and Eric
agreed that it was a lot more fun to play with three people and Scott became a regular
addition to their recess activities.

What is the theme of the story?

What happens in the story that leads you to believe this?

 Exit Ticket: What is the THEME?
QUESTION 1

When Nathan first joined the band, he

wasn't very good. The first time he tried
a. all teachers are always very nice
to play his new tuba, he couldn't even
make the large instrument squeak. His
b. practice helps you become better
teacher told him to keep trying. Nathan
practiced his tuba everyday after c. if you're not good you should quit
school. Soon he could play all of the
notes in the scales without any d. playing a solo is the most important
mistakes. It wasn't long before he could
play songs. His teacher noticed the
progress he was making and asked him
to play a solo in the winter recital.
 Exit Ticket: What is the THEME?
What is probably the major theme of this
QUESTION 2
unit?

One of the sections in your

A. Good things come to those who
literature book contains the
believe and wait patiently, even when
following works: a play about a girl things seem bleak.
with multiple handicaps; a short
B. A positive outlook can sometimes
story about a middle-school athlete help people survive unexpected
injured in practice; several poems challenges.
written by young teens with serious
C. Nobody knows about the troubles
illnesses; an essay called "The Body- some people have until you read
Mind Connection"; and an excerpt about them.
from a book about the importance
D. You don't really have any control
of maintaining a good attitude. over your life, so just deal with it.
Until I pass out your HW…

LIBRARY
 THREE scholars at a time
 You have 2-3 minutes to
find a book to read.
 Does the book look
interesting to you? Give
it a try!
 100% SILENT reading
focus at your desk.
Homework Assignment
 Happy Tuesday!
Do Now
Respond to the Do Now in your
Reader’s Notebooks:

1. Growing up, my parents always

told me, “Above all, be kind.” Do
your parents/guardians tell you any
messages or big ideas to live by?
What is that message? Why do you
think they say it. (If you can’t
think of one, think of something
your teachers have said to you).

2. When you have children, what

message will you tell them? Why?