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Strategies to Think Analytically. Days 101-105. Essential Questions. What lessons can you learn from reading? How does this compare to other stories/poems/dramas you've read?. Vocabulary. Connection.
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Strategies to Think Analytically Days 101-105
Essential Questions • What lessons can you learn from reading? • How does this compare to other stories/poems/dramas you've read?
Connection • We have learned how to analyze a series of chapters, stanzas, or scenes to explain how they fit together to provide the overall structure of the story. • Understanding this structure helps us to interpret a theme in the text.
Teaching Point • Today we will compare and contrast stories on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
Teaching • Let’s begin by brainstorming a list of prevalent themes we have identified in literature. • I will record our thoughts on chart paper in order to refer back to throughout the week. • I am going to select the theme, “focusing on the good in life.” • Some of the titles of books we’ve read illustrate this theme. • Examples include The Tiger Rising and M.C. Higgins, the Great. Record list of titles beside theme on chart.)
A strategy we can use to compare and contrast how authors approach similar themes is to think about the pivotal moments that are present throughout the book. • What strong emotions do the main characters experience? • What critical decisions do the main characters make? • We can record our ideas on a chart so that it is visually easier to compare and contrast the different approaches.
Earlier we analyzed a series of chapters in The Tiger Rising. • How did Kate DiCamillo approach this theme in her story? • In the beginning, she shows how Rob ignores his feelings about things that bother him. • He chooses not to think about them and refocuses his attention on something else, something good. • Rob focuses on the powerful tiger and Sistine. • His plan for dealing with problems is simply to bury his emotions about them. • I will record these ideas on Comparing Approaches to Themes in Stories chart.
How does Virginia Hamilton approach this theme in M.C. Higgins, the Great? • In the beginning, M.C. also chooses to avoid things that bother him. • For example, he pays no attention to odors and decay and avoids looking at the side yard covered with junk. • He also focuses on something else, something good. M.C. focuses on the beauty he finds in his environment.
We can look across our chart to find similarities and differences in how authors approach themes in stories. • As you can see from the chart, both authors selected to use characters who, in the beginning, avoid dealing with things that bother them. • The characters, instead, focused on the good things in their life.
We can also see the differences. • In The Tiger Rising the main character is dealing with emotional issues - the death of his mother, and being bullied by other kids. • Whereas, in M.C. Higgins, the Great , M.C. is dealing with the negative aspects of where he lives - how rubble and pollution may affect his home. • Although, both authors use characters who may avoid bothersome issues, the way in which the characters plan to deal with the problem is different. • Rob, in The Tiger Rising, withdraws and his plan is to not express his feelings. • M.C., in M.C. Higgins, the Great, forms an active plan to move away from his home.
By comparing and contrasting these approaches we can gain new perspectives of a theme. • How have these different approaches altered your perceptions of this theme? • Discuss with your elbow buddy.
Activity • Each group of students will have a note card with a theme written at the top. • You will work together to identify a list of stories that illustrate this theme. • Discuss the similarities and differences in how the authors approach this theme.
Link • As you read stories on your own, take time to think about how they compare to other stories you have read with similar themes. • Making connections among texts, comparing and contrasting authors’ approaches to development of themes will help you gain a deeper understanding of a theme’s meaning.
