write
Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:46:38 -0700
I agree with you, Bonita. I was at the Reading is Thinking workshop with Stephanie Harvey last week and she showed a video of 8th graders. The way she explained theme is with one word... like hope. That's not the way I learned theme as an English major. The theme (and there can be many in one book) must be expressed in a sentence. For example, "Hope helps people through difficult times." I was frustrated, but there were about 300 of us at the workshop, and I didn't feel as it was the appropriate place for a discussion. -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: Bonita DeAmicis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > My last comment for now on this chapter is one where I vary from the authors, > although I am thinking they are addressing it on an elementary level in this > book and so keeping it simple. I feel like the coverage of "theme" in the > inference chapter is not how I see theme. To me, what they are talking about > here is topic. So on page 144 when they talk of students finding themes like > friendship, loneliness, courage--I think of these as topics that can lead to > themes. The themes to me would be the messages the author sends about these > topics. So I do have my students search for topics, but then we discuss the > author's message about the topic and we look for text evidence that hints at > or > supports the message. It is a larger step in theme, but I find upper > elementary > students can do this. _______________________________________________ Stw2chat mailing list Stw2chat@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/stw2chat_literacyworkshop.org. Search the STW2 Chat Archives at http://snipurl.com/stw2archives.