Preparing Students to Understand Theme

One way to help students understand the importance of theme is to use the skills, which they already have as applied to simulated texts such as fables, collages, timelines, paintings, photos, and precious objects.


FABLES – Often thought of as useful for lower grades only, fables can be used in all grades for the purpose of teaching students to understand theme.

IN ACTION - Read a couple of fables that relate to the particular essential question that you be pursuing.For example: when using the inquiry question, “What does it take to be happy?” read fables such as "The Flies and the Honey Pot," "The Lioness," and "The Miser." With the first few fables tell the students what the moral is and ask, “What comment on achievement and happiness does the fable make?” After a couple of fables are addressed together in this way present other related fables without giving the moral. Students can then work in pairs or small groups to write the missing morals. They can then debate who has written the best moral by tying their particular moral to data in the fable, explaining how their moral matches the story, and finally how their moral connects to life in general.

With this preparation, students are nearly ready to write their own fables. Brainstorm qualities of people that really get on their nerves. Choose one human foible to work on as a class and have kids address the following: “What kind of problems are caused by that shortcoming? What are the consequences of the quirk?”

Next discuss the knowledge of form for the fable. Lead a discussion on the animals what would best represent that foible. Then consider how the behavior will change an initial situation, complicating it and leading to particular consequences. Finally students can be helped to see how a moral must reflect the trajectory of the story, … how the moral reflects the changes wrought or problems caused by this particular foible.

Students can then work in groups to compose a fable together. Then jigsaw the students into new groups with one pupil from each group entering the new group to share what their original group had come up with. “After a read around of each fable, students discuss the choices they made and why they made them” (pg 170).

Next students could write advice from the point of view of the author – in this case Aesop. The RAFT technique can be a useful organizing and brainstorming device.

R = Role = Aesop
A = Audience = a person who need advice about happiness – the miser
F = Form = an advice letter
T = Topic = Advice about happiness based on a particular fable

Next, students can rewrite the ending of the fable, then rewrite the letter of advice to match the new situation and moral. This last step helps students to see how the ending of a novel is of great importance in establishing theme.

More to come on simulated texts to develop theme.