Tag Archives: theme

E9 AGENDA 9/29: The Lady or the Tiger

  1. Read Stockton’s – The lady or the tiger
  2. Fill out a plot worksheet

HOMEWORK:  Answer the following questions.  Type them in a word document with a proper heading.

Type a one paragraph reaction to the story, answering the following questions within the paragraph:

  1. What do you think the princess chose, the lady, or the tiger?  Why?
  2. What would you choose and why?
  3. How do you feel about this story and its cliff-hanger ending?  Why do you think the author did not tell you what happened at the end of the story?

 

E9 AGENDA 9/25: All Summer in a Day Movie

  1. Watch the movie: “All Summer in a Day”
  2. After watching, answer the following questions
    1. In what ways are the movie and the story different?
    2. Why was the plot of changed in some places in the movie?
    3. If you could make a movie for this story, what are some things you might do different?
    4. In the movie, Margot sees a spot of sunlight through the door.  Why was this changed in the movie, and what meaning does it have?
    5. At the end of the movie, all the children hold flowers then they give them to Margot.  What sort of meaning might this have?
    6. What do you like better, the story or the movie?  Why?

YouTube Link (In case movie below does not work)

HOMEWORK:  Read the following

 

E9 AGENDA 9/22: All Summer in a Day and Characters

  1. Discuss plot & theme in All Summer in a Day
  2. Powerpoint: All About Characters
  3. Read about the different types of characters and characterization

HOMEWORK:  Watch the Animated Short, “Dustin.”  Do the following on a piece of paper (Don’t forget your heading):

  1. Write a theme and prove it
  2. Create a plot chart
  3. Discuss who the antagonist, protagonist are.  Which characters are round or flat?

 

E9 AGENDA 9/21: All Summer in a Day

  1. Review homework – theme and plot in “Paperman”
  2. Read “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury

HOMEWORK:  Fill out the Plot Theme Worksheet

  1. Create a plot chart for “All Summer in a Day”
  2. Write down three topics contained in “All Summer in a Day”
  3. Convert those topics into themes by turning them into compound sentences.
  4. Find contextual evidence: Choose one of your themes.  For that theme, write THREE quotes from the story that prove that this theme exists in the story.

 

How to find Theme in a Story

How do you know if it’s a theme?

  1. It can apply to anyone in the world, not just the characters in the story.  The theme must not mention specific characters or situations, it must be a general statement.
    • “Batman and Robin are great friends and they fight crime together well because of their friendship” is not a theme because it’s too specific.
    • “Friendship at work makes work more pleasant” is a theme because it can apply to anyone.
  2. The theme must be a lesson or moral of some kind, even if you don’t agree with it.
    • “Women are evil, but they hide it well” is a lesson that you might not agree with, but it’s the writer’s opinion and counts as a theme.
  3. The theme must not be a single word, but a complex idea.
    • “Love” is not a theme
    • “Love has the power to heal even the deepest hurts” is a theme because it’s a complex idea
  4. The theme must not be simplistic, it must be a complex idea that is not necessarily obvious.
    •  “Love is a good thing” is too simple, but “Love is a good thing, but it can sometimes hurt,” is a theme.
  5. It is not obviously stated in the story.  You must figure it out on your own.
  6. You must be able to find contextual clues (evidence) in the story that prove that this theme exists in the story.  If you cannot find evidence, then it’s not a theme.

How do you find the theme of a story?

  1. Come up with a list of topics that relate to the story
    • Love
    • Gifts
    • Happiness
  2. Turn your topics into complex sentences.  The sentence must have at least two parts to it to keep it from being too simple or obvious:
    • “Black cats are evil” is too simple to be a theme
    • “Black cats are evil, but they are capable of good, sometimes’ has two ideas and is complex enough to be a theme.
  3. Find contextual evidence within the story– in other words, skim the story looking for parts of the story that relate to your sentence.   If you cannot find anything, then re-write your theme so that it aligns with the story better.  Here are a few types of contextual clues:
    • Find something that a character says
    • Find something that the character does
    • Find something that the narrator or author says
    • Find something that is repeated in the story– a word, a phrase, an object or action.  This is likely to be evidence of a theme

E9 AGENDA 9/19: Finding Theme

  1. Review what theme is
  2. Yesterday’s homework: theme sentences, compound
  3. What is contextual evidence?
  4. How do you figure out what the theme of a story is?
  5. Gift of the Magi theme activity

HOMEWORK: Look at the link in item 4 above.  Then, On a piece of paper:

  1. Write down three topics for The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin.
  2. Convert those topics into themes by turning them into compound sentences.
  3. Find contextual evidence: Choose one of your themes.  For that theme, write THREE quotes from the story that prove that this theme exists in the story.

E9 AGENDA 9/18: Theme

HOMEWORK;

  1. Go back to your “About Me” blog entry.  Make sure you have personal pictures.  Highlight your three compound sentences in BLUE
  2. On your cornell notes about theme, add the main ideas (left column) and summarize on the bottom section.
  3. On a piece of paper come up with at least three topics that show up in The Gift of the Magi.  Write a compound sentence for each of these topics.

E9 UNIT 2: Short Stories and their Elements

In this unit, you will learn about the elements and devices that make a good story.  You will read a variety of short stories and watch a few short films to help you understand how a story is developed and how writers utilize a variety of techniques to make a story more interesting.  You will also attempt to write a short story of your own using these literary elements and devices.

SHORT STORIES

FLASH FICTION

SLIDESHOWS

DOCUMENTS

FLASH FICTION

UNIT RESOURCES

INTERNET RESOURCES

VOCABULARY

You will encounter these words during the unit.  Write a definition (in your own words) for each word and use it in a sentence correctly

  1. Antagonist
  2. Character
  3. Climax
  4. Conflict
  5. Falling Action
  6. First Person
  7. Irony
  8. Literary Device
  9. Literary Element
  10. Man Vs Self
  11. Man Vs. Man
  12. Man Vs. Nature
  13. Man Vs. Society
  14. Narrator
  15. Omniscient
  16. Plot
  17. Point of View
  18. Protagonist
  19. Resolution
  20. Rising Action
  21. Setting
  22. Theme
  23. Third Person