Comparing Themes

Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...

Consider themes common among several works written by a single author. Learners examine the role theme plays in literary works. They use prior knowledge, annotation, and note taking skills in discovering theme. Then they respond to a...

How adept are your pupils at determining the theme of a fictional text? Review what a theme is (and what it is not) before launching into some practice with a quick lesson. After taking a look at how to create a theme statement for a...

After reading Huckleberry Finn and Connecticut Yankee, eleventh graders explore the theme of appearances vs. reality in chapters 27-29 of Connecticut Yankee. They will compare and contrast both works using Venn diagrams and create a...

What's the difference between the theme and the subject of a story? How do the theme and the subject differ from a motif? Class members may experience an epiphany, a moment of amazing clarity, after completing the exercises from McDougal...

Young scholars read two stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing plots and themes. In this Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories lesson, students read "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." After a class...

As I Lay Dying is a beautiful book and a wonderful vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and comparing themes. The class reads and analyzes the novel, discusses possible interpretations, and characterizations. They compare the themes...

In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...

Henry David Thoreau and Linda Ronstadt? Ann Tyler and Pete Townshend? Joyce Carol Oates and Pearl Jam? This richly detailed plan pairs classic literature with contemporary music and asks learners to analyze how the theme of conformity is...

After reading and discussing Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, pupils compare/contrast the concept/theme of love within several multiple pieces of literature. They must support their claims with textual evidence. In addition, they analyze...