Writers’ Workshop – Lesson 3                                                  Writing

– Themes                                                Communication / Social Skills

 

At a Glance

Students will:

 

ü analyze the most important themes (main ideas) of the book and how the character would relate to those themes based on their previous work

 

    Purpose:  Using themes (main ideas) to deepen understanding                     of the chosen essay topic

 

    Materials:  1 handout:  Which Theme and Why?

 

    Preparation:  10 minutes (to copy hand-outs)

 

    Time:                                 60 – 90 minutes

 

 

Teacher’s Notes

 

Procedure

1.     Choose a short story or book that the students have finished reading which will be the basis of individual essays, or essays written in small groups.

 

2.     Elicit a list of the main characters and write them on the board.

 

3.     Give students the handout with a number of themes that might be included in the source you are using as a basis for the essay.

 

4.     Ask students to choose five of the themes from the list. Students should then write down some ideas about how these themes affect a character of their choosing.

 

5.     Get students into small groups of students who have chosen the same character. Students should discuss their choice of themes, answers and explain their reasoning to each other.

Writing                                                   Writers’ Workshop – Lesson 3

Communication / Social Skills                                                – Themes

 

 

 

Teacher’s Notes

 

Lesson Extension

1.   a short story  - George Orwell’s Animal Farm works well with this lesson.  See Writers Workshop Lesson 1.

      finished reading – see The Multiple Choice Challenge for ensuring students read assigned material. (At a glance: Students will read assigned material; create and answer multiple choice comprehension questions; work as a team and compete for points)

 

 

4.   write down some ideas – see Graphic Organizers.

 

5.   discuss and explain their reasoning – see Teaching Conversation Skills – Tips and Strategies

 

 

 

 

Follow-up / Transfer Activities:

 

1.     Do a class session talking about the variety of responses and write down a broad selection of answers.  Photocopy the answers and give to the students for study/review notes when writing an essay or preparing for a test.

 

 

Additional Resources