Common Themes in Fiction

As a group, we discussed using these posters for anchor charts.  We felt that the discussion of themes and sorting our read alouds by theme (the read alouds you already do...don't go hunting for anything special)should be modeled through think alouds.   This will prepare them for the next year :)



This is a teacher's site, Beth Newington.  Once you follow the link, you will scroll down to Reading Workshop.  In that menu of choices click on Theme Study and Posters.

http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/

This is an example of the theme posters and how she uses them

If you have time to shop around, she has many other great ideas and resources.


Here are a few anchor charts we have used in the upper grades if it helps guide how you discuss theme.

Just a look forward....
(they have plenty of time to master this skill, just model it through think alouds this year)


One of  the 4th grade released sample questions:

Both the poem and the selection express the imortance of -
                a) thinking a out others
                b) making new friends
                c) being accepting of others
                d) overcoming challenges

One of the 3rd grade released sample questions:

What is the main message in the poem:
                a) It is important for owners to train their pets
                b) it is difficult to care for some pets
                c) dogs and people are very different
                d) pets and their owners can make each other happy

4(B) Context Clues - week 11

Reading/ Vocabulary Development Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing
K	1	2	3	4	5
	6(c) determine what words mean from how they are used in a sentence, either heard or read	5(B) use context to determine the relevant meaning of unfamiliar words or multiple meaning words	4(B) use context to determine relative meaning of unfamiliar words or distinguish among multiple meaning words and homographs	2(B) use the context of the sentence (e.g. in-sentence example or definition) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words or multiple meaning words	2(B) use context (in-sentence restatement) to determine or clarify the meaning of any unfamiliar or multiple meaning words
Use the context of a sentence to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words Use the context of a sentence to determine the meaning of multiple meaning words

Activities:
Use the K/1 Linda Hoyt - Vocabulary page 151 - using Owen by Kevin Henkes
Use the K/1 Linda Hoyt - Context Clues page 155 - using Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Comprehension Tool Kit - Book 4 - Lesson 12 - Infer Meaning

Anchor Activities:




Possible Test Questions:

2nd 9 Weeks @ a Glance

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
TEK	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
14(D) use text features	x			x	x
5(B) context clues		x					x
14(A) main idea - expository			x
14(B) locate facts			x	x
14(c) order of events			x
9(B) describe characters						x
Figure 19(D) make inferences						x
9(A) similarities/differences in plot/setting								x