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Asking the Right Questions OrganizerAsking the Right Questions Organizer
Publisher
Writing Educators Symposium
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
7th - 12th
Subjects
English Language Arts
2 more...
Resource Types
Graphic Organizers
3 more...
Audience
For Teacher Use
Instructional Strategies
Discussion
1 more...
Organizer

Asking the Right Questions

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and active reading.

415 Views 376 Downloads
CCSS: Adaptable

Concepts

literary themes, socratic discussion, universal themes, elements of a short story, story elements, plot, conflict, protagonists

Additional Tags

english language arts

Instructional Ideas

  • Use in a literary elements unit, or when discussing theme
  • Keep the list of themes as a reference for additional story or novel units
  • See if kids can identify books they have read that align with as many of the listed themes as possible
  • Modify the comprehension questions to reflect the piece of writing your kids are studying in class

Classroom Considerations

  • Graphic organizer and questions worksheet have a specific story in the title, but the actual worksheet could be applicable to any story or book

Pros

  • Applicable to different stories
  • Questions are thought-provoking and prompt kids to reflect on what they have read
  • Defines the difference between theme and other literary concepts

Cons

  • None

Common Core

RL.7.2 RL.8.2 RL.9-10.2 RL.11-12.2

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Organizer

Identifying Themes in Literature

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If your language arts learners have a hard time determining the universal theme of a written work, use a straightforward worksheet to help them find it. After reviewing a list of common themes, kids note the title, character, plot, point...
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What's theme, and can texts of every length have one? Explore the themes of fives short reading passages with your middle school class. Encourage them to highlight specific places in the text where they recognized the theme. 
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Exploring Themes in Literature: The Oral Tradition

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Are you are considering a unit on Beowulf or Superman, on myths, or tricksters? Here's a great overview you can use to launch a study of universal themes and archetypes. The focus here is on the oral tradition, but the concepts apply to...
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Dr. Seuss and Universal Themes

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Theme Analysis in A Christmas Carol

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Why does Charles Dickens have Ebenezer go from scrooge to light-hearted and generous? From "Bah, humbug!" to "God Bless Us, Every One!" After rereading Dickens' preface to A Christmas Carol, learners analyze quotations from the tale that...
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Animal Farm: Theme of Dreams, Hopes, and Plans

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Interpreting Characters, Setting, Plot, and Theme - The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Disaster

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Examine story development and historical disaster with your class. Learners view a video depicting the incidents surrounding The Triangle Shirtwaist Disaster. They use graphic organizers and the Internet to gather enough information to...
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Same Theme, Different Story Using Fox by Margaret Wild

Curated OER
Middle schoolers work with themes in this lesson, which is based on Fox by Margaret Wild. Because the book has multiple themes, it is a great way to transition into exploring literary analysis and writing stories. A Six Trait writing...
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Lesson Plan

Analysis Of Theme In The Scarlet Letter

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Eleventh graders engage in the reading of the novel "The Scarlet Letter" while choosing a topic to write a literature response. They search the novel for textual evidence to include in writing a paper that supports a well thought...
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