Hayley Turner

Eled 3111
edTPA Lesson Plan Template
Subject: 4- Literature

Central Focus: Identifying Theme

Essential Standard/Common Core Objective:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL4.2

Date submitted: November 5, 2015 Date taught: N/A

Daily Lesson Objective:

Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem, from details in the text; summarize the text.
21st Century Skills: Communication and
Academic Language Demand (Language Function and
collaboration, creativity and imagination, and
Vocabulary): N/A
information literacy.
Prior Knowledge: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.

Activity

1. Focus and Review

2. Statement of
Objective for Student

Description of Activities and Setting

Over the past couple of weeks we have been reading several stories.
We also have learned how to find specific details within a story. Who
can tell me what a detail is? (CFU) A detail is a fact or piece of
information in the text. Today we will learn about the main idea of a
story, which is also known as theme.
Students will be able to identify the theme within Charlottes Web
written by: E.B White.

3. Teacher Input
Students will come to the carpet and I will first discuss what theme is.
Who can please tell me what they think theme is? (CFU) Great
Job. Details help us figure out what the story is about. This is known
as the theme. Today we will learn how to identify the theme of a story.
Theme is the main idea of a story, let me read this short story to you,
and show you how I would figure out the theme of the story.

Katie invited Missy to her house to work on their biology project, but
Katie had no idea what a visit from Missy entailed. First of all, it was
raining and Missy neither bothered to take her boots off nor thoroughly
wiped them on the doormat. Then Missy ate a bag of hot chips on
Katies white bedspread without asking, and Missy is a sloppy eater, so
hot chip powder got all over the bedspread. Katie tried to be polite and
ignore Missys sloppy behavior, but then Missy threw her chip wrapper

Time

Hayley Turner
Eled 3111

on the floor. Offended, Katie pretended that she was sick and asked
Missy to leave. The next day Katie asked the teacher if she could work
by herself. After explaining her situation, the teacher allowed Katie to
work alone. Missy would have finished the assignment by herself, but
she spilled grape soda all over her assignment.

Who can tell me what the theme is? (CFU) It is hard to work
cooperatively with someone when they are messy and disrespectful.
I know that this is the theme because in the story it describes the ways
that Missy was messy in Katies house, and how much it frustrated
Katie to the point she worked on the assignment alone.

Lets try to find theme! Read the following passage aloud with
students: (ELL Student will sit in the front row, with a copy of the text
so that he/she can read along with the teacher (PID.))

Mr. Pig and Mr. Dog were hanging out at the food court of the animal
shopping mall. Mr. Pig was eating a huge feast of pizza and drinking a
large jug of fruit punch and Mr. Dog was watching him eat. Hey, Mr.
Pig. If you give me a slice of your pizza, Ill let you have the next bone
I find. Mr. Pig declined, even though it hurt his stomach to eat the last
three slices of pizza. Im sorry, Mr. Dog,Mr. Pig said, but I paid for
this pizza, and its all mine. Mr. Dog sighed and waited for Mr. Pig to
finish, and then they left the animal mall together. On the way out, a
hunter spotted them and gave chase. Mr. Pig normally could have
escaped the hunter but since he was weighed down by such a large
meal, Mr. Pig collapsed and the hunter killed him. Mr. Dog easily
escaped. Later that night while returning to the scene, Mr. Dog caught
the scent of something delicious and began digging around a trash can.
He found a large ham bone with lots of meat and marrow still stuck to
the bone. Mr. Dog happily ate.

Who can tell me what you think the theme might be in this short story?
(CFU)
What details from the passage can you use to support your answer?

Hayley Turner
Eled 3111

(CFU)

As a class we come up with the following theme: Being greedy can

cause you to lose your friends and in extreme cases your life.
Textual evidence to back up the theme: Mr. Pig wouldnt share the
pizza with his Mr. Dog and he was too full to run away from the hunter
and he died. This shows how his greediness caused him to lose his life.

4. Guided Practice

Students will work in groups with partners, and be given a two

paragraph passage. (Students who are ELL learners will be paired in a
group that has a strong academic student (PID)) They will need to come
up with their group the theme of the two passages. I will walk around
checking in on the groups; giving feedback and correction as needed to
make sure they are understand how to find/identify the theme. As I am
monitoring and walking around, if I see the ELL student struggling to
understand the text, I will pull he/she into a small group (PID)

5. Independent Practice

Now that we have found a theme together, I want you all to go home
and read the first three chapters of Charlottes Web and find a theme
from each. Dont forget to find evidence from the story to support your
thoughts. (Students who are ELL learners will be assigned to find the
theme of only one chapter (PID))

6. Assessment Methods
of all objectives/skills:

Check the independent practice for a completion grade. Students will need to have
completed a theme worksheet that has the three themes they were assigned to do. If
students have all three themes and make an effort of the assignment they will get a
completion grade. ELL students will be required to show effort and completion on
one theme from one chapter (PID).

7. Closure

Before we leave today, lets review what we have learned. (CFU)

Who can tell me what theme is? (CFU)
Why does having evidence from the story help you explain your theme?
(CFU)
What was the theme of the first passage I read to you? (CFU)
What was the theme from the second passage? (CFU)
How can we relate these themes back to our personal lives? (CFU)

8. Assessment Results of
all objectives/skills:
N/A

Hayley Turner
Eled 3111

Targeted Students Modifications/Accommodations

Student/Small Group Modifications/Accommodations

ELL student accommodation: Guided practice, and

independent practice, and assessment of objective.

Students who are struggling to understand the text, or

theme will be pulled into small group to go over the topic
and work together closely to ask specific questions.

Materials/Technology: Charlottes Web

Reflection on lesson: N/A
*Modified slightly for use in ELED 3111, Smith, Fall 2015.