Interpreting Theme of a Novel

Title of Project: Interpreting Theme of a Novel

Schools and Teachers

North Country Road Middle School Teacher: Kristen Marrone

ENL Proficiency Level | ENL Program | Standards | Technology

Expanding, Commanding | Stand-Alone, Integrated ENL/ELA | 8W1a 8W1b 8W1e | Brain Pop, Edpuzzle

Assessments

Formative & Summative: Students will be assessed based on the completion of the graphic organizer.


Description

Students have been reading/listening to the historical fiction novel, Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book is about the fever outbreak in Philadelphia in the late summer of 1793. The main character, Mattie, and her family are works of fiction, although there are facts, journal entries, and descriptions of what was truly happening in America during this time. While reading, students have analyzed characters, created story maps, and identified the problem/solution of the novel.

Content

I can identify the theme(s) of a novel and provide details to support my theme

Language

I can listen to the text and complete a graphic organizer to identify the theme(s) of the text

Technology

I can use educational websites such as Brain Pop to identify "theme" and Edpuzzle to listen to the novel

Student work- currently unavailable

Procedure

  1. Tell the class they will be listening to Chapter 26-the Epilogue of Fever 1793 and identifying the theme (message) of the novel.

  2. Show a Brain Pop video on Theme to activate prior knowledge (students have identified theme with prior novels throughout the year and should be familiar with the topic)

  3. Have students listen to Epilogue using the Edpuzzle video. Students can follow along with the online book while listening to the video.

  4. Have students complete the graphic organizer. Possible themes are listed to help students or they can write their own theme.

Resources and Other Materials

Reflection

I chose to use Brain Pop because my students are familiar with that website and use it often to reinforce concepts/topics. I understand that the language in the novel can be challenging for my ELLs, so using the Edpuzzle video was helpful.