Identifying Irony and Theme in Poetry

Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God presents three strong central themes: a woman's voice, race, and religion. After finishing the novel for homework the night before, kids address these themes in a discussion and writing...

If your language arts learners have a hard time determining the universal theme of a written work, use a straightforward learning exercise to help them find it. After reviewing a list of common themes, kids note the title, character,...

Use a discussion on themes of A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines to inspire your class's writing. After addressing the themes of racism, commitment, and manhood, kids use historical references and evidence from the text to answer...

Discuss two possible themes from Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club in the ninth of ten lessons in a novel unit. Having finished the book, readers engage in a discussion about the themes of fate, memory, and transformation, and answer questions...

Jack London includes a great deal about the relationship between nature and civilization in his book The Call of the Wild. Ask your class members to examine this theme through discussion and writing. The resource includes quotes to focus...

What is theme, and how can you find themes in literary works? These and other questions are answered by a colorful and engaging presentation that not only defines the term but also provides easy to understand examples. The slides...

Colorful contemporary images contained in a PowerPoint presentation will capture the attention of class members and model for them the how to distinguish between the subject and the theme of a work. A great want to introduce this...

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...

Can you name the most important themes in To Kill a Mockingbird? Help your class study seven themes throughout their reading of the classic. They search for examples linking to education, bravery/cowardice, racial prejudice, social class...

Identifying the theme of a piece is crucial to understanding. Using the play Romeo and Juliet as an example, the concept of theme is explored in a video of a classroom lecture.