Theme
5.R.RL.02
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including
how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a
poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
Objective
I can justify the theme in my story by using
evidence from the text.
Essential Questions
1.What is theme? How do I use evidence from the
text to support the theme?
2. How do the challenges that a character faces
connect to the theme?
Think….
Think back to our story of The Boy Who Cried
Wolf…
What was one of the lessons from the story? How
did you know?
Share with your face partner.
Let’s review our Big Ideas
Theme is the what the characters learn through
challenges and lessons in their life.
Theme is the “big idea” you can learn from a story.
“THE Message”
Sometimes the theme is explicit, or stated directly
or can also be implicit or not stated directly.
A story can have more than one Theme.
Cite evidence for theme
Look for examples or proof in the story that show
the character responding to or overcoming
challenges in the story.
Highlight and use annotation marks to help you
identify those areas in the story.
Using evidence from the text you can make
connections to yourself to help you understand the
theme of the story.
Prove Theme
Ask yourself what message is the author trying to
send?
How do changes in the character affect the
meaning of the story?
Does this story have a similar theme to other
stories?
Sentence Starters
When citing from a story use sentence starters to
help with justifying
Examples:
According to the text _________
From the reading I know that ___________
_____________ because______________
Organize our thoughts
We are going to use a graphic organizer to help us
to identify the theme and justify it with evidence
from the text.
I Do
The Lion and the Mouse
A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little
Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran
across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on
the tiny creature to kill her.
"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and some day I will surely
repay you."
The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was
generous and finally let the Mouse go.
Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the
toils of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry
roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net.
Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and
soon the Lion was free.
"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that
even a Mouse can help a Lion."
We do
Let’s look at the story
again….
On your slates- can you think of another theme for
The Lion and the Mouse? write it.
Write down one piece of evidence to justify your
theme.
Let’s share
They Do
Your turn with a partner
You and your partner read your fable
Discuss what the theme is and how you know
Together fill in your organizer be sure to justify
your answer
Personal connection- how does it make you feel?
Agree with it?
Closure
Think about our objective today
Write a $2 summary about how you justify the
theme of a story.
Share your summary with your partner