Applied Questions

Identifying Themes

What are we trying to learn?

Learning Intention: to develop an understanding of the concept of a ‘theme’ in a text

How will you know if you have been successful?

Success Criteria: I will be successful if I can:

Identify the theme of a text in 1-3 words

Create applied questions based on the theme

Suggest two possible answers to each applied question.

What is a theme?

A life lesson, moral, or message about life or human nature that is communicated by a text

In other words…

 

A theme is what the story teaches the reader

What is a theme?

A theme is usually expressed in 1 – 3 words. For example:

Bullying

Feeling different

Taking risks

Friendship

Identifying Themes

Themes are not explicit (clearly stated)

Themes are implied

Themes are bigger than the story

‘SmallWorld’of theStory

‘Big World’ of the theme

Identifying Themes

Themes are about the big picture.

Not: John should have studied harder

Not: Lisa and Michelle are bad friends

Think BIGGER.

Find “Real World” advice.

Identifying themes

Often there is more than one theme

You might express the theme in a slightly different way than those around you. For example ‘families’ versus ‘relationships’.

Think to yourself:

What is the author trying to teach us?

The Enormous TurnipAN OLD MAN planted a turnip. The turnip grew to be enormous. The old man started to pull the turnip out of the ground. He pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So he called over the old woman.

The old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So the old woman called over the granddaughter.

The granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So the granddaughter called over the dog.

The dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So the dog called over the cat.

The Enormous Turnip cont.

The cat took hold of the dog, the dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So the cat called over the mouse .

The mouse took hold of the cat, the cat took hold of the dog, the dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled--and finally--out came the turnip!

Themes in ‘The Enormous Turnip’

ThemesWorking togetherSupportPersistenceRelationships

Turning Themes into Applied Questions

Themes Possible Applied Questions

Working together Is working together with others always the best way?

Have you ever been in a situation where someone who you didn’t think would be able to help you actually did?

Have you ever contributed to a group and helped them achieve something?

Persistence Have you ever been in a situation where you had to persist in order to achieve something? What were you trying to achieve? How did it feel?

Do you think persistence is something that most people find difficult? Why or why not?

Why is persisting so difficult?