Theme Assignment
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Created by Heather Taxis Greene, 2010 Name: _______________________________________ Date: ___________________________ Period: ______ Short Story Theme Assignment Due: Friday the 8 th or Monday the 11 th As decided by you and Wordle on Tuesday, theme is a message, moral, universal statement, or idea present in society. Fictional stories have themes. There are usually many themes in one piece of fiction. Directions: With a partner, identify a theme from “Licked,” “Eleven,” or “Dragon, Dragon.” Convey the theme in a comic or in a paragraph. Staple this assignment sheet to your work! Comic: You can keep the same characters and plot and recreate a scene that conveys the theme. Or, you can recreate the same theme with new characters in a new situation. Your comic should be at least six panels long and should include thought bubbles, speech bubbles, or captions (use words, not just pictures). Example: Paragraph: Explicitly state the theme and give support from the story as to how you know this theme is present in the text. Justify whether the theme is true to life or idealistic with examples from other texts, movies, or your life. Example: One theme in the Pixar shortfilm “For the Birds” is the presence of peer pressure in our society. There are several instances in the film where one blue bird does something and the other blue birds chime in. At the beginning, one blue bird makes fun of the large blue bird by ruffling his feathers and sticking out his tongue. The other birds on the line quickly follow. Also, when the two blue birds start pecking at the toes of the large blue bird, one bird starts a chant and the others join in, egging on the peckers. I think this theme is true to life because peer pressure is something that is present in schools. When I was in fifth grade, I was the new girl at a school. Jennifer, a girl who was not liked by my new friends, invited me to her birthday party. When she handed the invitations to me and my new friends, the other girls ripped them in half. They encouraged me to do the same. Because I still wanted them to like me, I felt pressured to rip up my invitation (and sadly, I did). If you need help, refer to Tuesday’s lesson on Theme using Pixar Shortfilms or the Theme handout with common themes listed.
Transcript of Theme Assignment
Created by Heather Taxis Greene, 2010
Name: _______________________________________ Date: ___________________________ Period: ______
Short Story Theme Assignment Due: Friday the 8th or Monday the 11th
As decided by you and Wordle on Tuesday, theme is a message, moral, universal statement, or idea present in society. Fictional stories have themes. There are usually many themes in one piece of fiction.
Directions: With a partner, identify a theme from “Licked,” “Eleven,” or “Dragon, Dragon.” Convey the theme in a comic or in a paragraph. Stap le th is a s s ignment sheet to your work !
Comic: You can keep the same characters and plot and recreate a scene that conveys the theme. Or, you can recreate the same theme with new characters in a new situation. Your comic should be at least six panels long and should include thought bubbles, speech bubbles, or captions (use words, not just pictures).
Example:
Paragraph: Explicitly state the theme and give support from the story as to how you know this theme is present in the text. Justify whether the theme is true to life or idealistic with examples from other texts, movies, or your life.
Example: One theme in the Pixar shortfilm “For the Birds” is the presence of peer pressure in our society.
There are several instances in the film where one blue bird does something and the other blue birds chime in. At the beginning, one blue bird makes fun of the large blue bird by ruffling his feathers and sticking out his tongue. The other birds on the line quickly follow. Also, when the two blue birds start pecking at the toes of the large blue bird, one bird starts a chant and the others join in, egging on the peckers. I think this theme is true to life because peer pressure is something that is present in schools. When I was in fifth grade, I was the new girl at a school. Jennifer, a girl who was not liked by my new friends, invited me to her birthday party. When she handed the invitations to me and my new friends, the other girls ripped them in half. They encouraged me to do the same. Because I still wanted them to like me, I felt pressured to rip up my invitation (and sadly, I did). If you need help, refer to Tuesday’s lesson on Theme using Pixar Shortfilms or the Theme handout with common themes listed.
