The only way you will ever need to teach theme

Broken down into the cognitive steps, students can determine theme with the support of modeling and collaboration. This video shows the strategy for introducing the concept (even though kids in 8th grade were exposed WHAT theme is in prior years, I never assume they were taught HOW to figure it out). After doing this strategy with passing the paper and creating multiple themes, it is simply a matter of reminding students throughout the school year that in order to determine theme you just need to follow these basic steps.

[kjcross]

I am a sophomore in college and was never taught how to find a theme in high school 13 years ago!
This video helped me a lot as I have an essay on the theme of a literary work due tomorrow morning. Thank you so much!!!

[ashlymcmillen]

I have struggled for years with how best to teach theme to my students! This is fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing! :D I will be using often!

[porcupineracer]

This also helps for adults who either didn't get a good primary education, or just didn't pay attention. =)

[leeaherenow]

This is an amazing way to teach theme!! My students got it and LOVE it!! Thank you so much for turning on a light bulb for both my students and I!! I will use it forEVER!!

[lavondaevans]

Homeschool mom here and I "had" a reluctant writer. I was so concerned about how to teach the concept of Theme. We tried fun books, mystery books, all types of books. THIS is by far the best, down-to-earth way of teaching theme. In minutes, he picked up on it and is no longer a reluctant writer OR reader. He finds it intriguing to read a book specifically to "identify the themes". I can't thank you enough!

[erikamyers]

This was awesome!! I shared this video with my coworkers. Many teachers think that theme is a word and you demonstrated that this is not true, topic vs. theme. Love it!

[kellyfarewell]

This is the best lesson on theme I've ever seen. Thank you! I use it in my 4th grade classroom with excellent results!

[robynoby]

I love this combination of learning styles! I love this idea because if it's a topic and not a theme it's too shallow. This is putting the responsibility back on them to differentiate the two and WHY I am going to use this!

[TheLyons]

Tried this in 3 4th grade classrooms. 2 were English speaking, and 1 was second language learners. Went very well. I can see that we will need to repeat and practice more until all are quite comfortable and self sufficient.  Thank you.

[guidingontheside]

+Alberto M T will not let me reply to your comment, but I can reply to other people....odd. here is the reply: Thanks! Thesis statement is typically thought of as something in
non-fiction that is the direct statement of the author's position. Theme is
inferred in fiction. My stories don't just directly state the point! I
personally feel that teaching "love" as a theme is simplistic and not
meeting the demands of our current curriculum any more than teaching kids PIE
meets the demands of asking author's purpose. Yes, you get an answer, but
really it is a half answer and not showing a deeper understanding of why the
writer is crafting the piece, selecting the diction, etc. I teach author's
purpose as a reader and thesis as a writer of non-fiction. My favorite thesis
strategy is Gretchen Bernabie 3-to-1 in her book Story of My Thinking. She,
like myself, is an Abydos trainer and devotes her career to helping kids and
training teachers.

[jefffinn]

It says something that, after years of teaching, I came to the exact same system independently.  I do think you go about it a bit backwards.  Like any scientist, you should collect your evidence first and then try to find patterns. If you start off with an idea of the answer, you often find evidence to back it up even though it may not explain everything and may even be wrong. I also like to have students ask a question about the topic/subject/big idea that is worth answering.  Another thing that I've found is helpful to make complex themes is to have multiple topics and trying to find a way to combine them into one theme.  But overall, nicely done and I wish more English teachers would do this with their students.   

[scottherrewig]

This is excellent: methodical, social, and student-driven lessons work well with any age group.

[mackenzieluke]

I'm in 11th grade and I still found this extremely helpful! Thank you!!!

[amyladtkow]

Wow, I think this is just a fabulous explanation of theme. I also love how you break the misconception of topics as theme. Just love it!! I can't wait to try this with my students!!

[milanaking]

Super helpful, based my lesson of of this today and saw kids who were struggling with theme for a while finally get it! Thank you so much!

[isaiahxisaiahx]

Thank you so much. I teach in other cultures through interpreters. The way we were trying to teach theme was not working. It basically had theme and topic mixed up which I knew intuitively but could not verbalize  the problem. I stumbled on your video about THEME and Voila ! So helpful.

[VesnaVK]

This is gold! I've never been able to figure out with confidence what the theme, per se, of a book is. Now I can confidently find multiple theme! Found this looking to help my 8th grade son with schoolwork. Your symbolism video is also great. Please! Make more videos like these!

[bettece]

I love the way you teach this. I a, m going to try it tomorrow with my students!

[valerieshaw]

Thank you, Sara Johnson, for this excellent, eye-opening resource!

[JaegerMrs]

Nicely done! I like the way you have them add textual evidence at the end.