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I have been having a Voxer conversation with some teachers on the subject of Writing about Reading #WabtR. Last week we discussed theme and the difficulty students have in identifying the theme of a given story. So I wondered, what if we give them the theme up front? Julianne responded with 5 common themes she had gathered from Cornelius Minor at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project #TCRWP this summer.
Lori tweeted out to authors this question.
The responses flowed in, so I retweeted and tagged some of my favorite authors. I just have to comment here on how cool it is to connect with authors in this way.
These seeds were planted, so I decided that students needed to see all of this in an interesting way. I created an Emaze presentation. As the week went on, I got more advice from the group and added slides. Students can see the 5 common themes, the progression from topic to theme involving a character change or a problem and solution. I added in a student reader response sample from a 4th grader along with some of the author tweet responses.
Feel free to use this Emaze in your classroom to teach, review, or reinforce the concept of theme. (Note: On the slide with the video, you have to pause the presentation to be able to watch the video.) I’d love to hear your results. Tweet @MargaretGSimon with the hashtag #WabtR.
Click on the image to go to Emaze.
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Reflections on the Teche 
I love the synergy of connecting to books from multiple frames of reference.
Love the way you wove the threads of this thinking together, Margaret. This is definitely something to share and grow with my students (school starts next week!). Thanks for the fabulous Emaze!
Interesting way to approach theme. Thanks so much for sharing the Emaze presentation and video! I will be sharing it with my 5th grade teams. I especially like the parts on “topic to theme” and “problem to theme.”
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I just shared this with my grade 4-5 teachers. The Emaze is really cool. Having the comments of the authors and students in the mix is so engaging and lends such relevance.
After thinking on this a bit more, with that feeling of this reminds me of something, I finally sorted out what it was. Sharing these common themes with students ahead of time is a bit like the signposts, the ways of looking deeply at literary text shared with us through Notice and Note, by Beers and Probst. It gives learners a user-friendly, highly accessible way to frame their thinking…to create a foundation of thought to build on.
Thanks for that connection. I am using notice and note for the first time this year. The signposts are great but hard for students. They need lots of practice.
Terrific Margaret! So much in this to use with students. Thank you.
I just left my comment on the Emaze site-great resource for teachers, Margaret!
Great way to work with theme for your students. I really like sharing the themes first – especially with younger students. And the emaze is simply wonderful!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Fran. I am enjoying sharing it with my kids.
I was in the middle of #cyberPD when you started your #wabtr group. I couldn’t commit to keeping up with another group, but have enjoyed following your journey.
Like you, I find it amazing the way we can interact with authors now. As a kid, I would have been over the moon to be able to have a conversation with one of them.
Thanks for hosting. (Sorry to be late linking. I posted it yesterday morning, but then got busy with our day of cleaning.)
Cathy