What is theme? The Book Thief mini lesson

Definition  With your elbow partner, write down your top three definitions of what you think a theme is.  Offer a few examples of theme statements  Offer a few that you have seen in the BT so far….

Definition  subject of discussion or composition: the subject of a discourse, discussion, piece of writing, or artistic composition  distinct and unifying idea: a distinct, recurring, and unifying quality or idea  Basically…it is the universal message. The moral to the story.

Class example  Look at page 20- from “prior to waking up….to the top of page 21”  What theme is illustrated in this passage?  What is the author’s purpose in presenting this theme to readers?

Activity 1: Your turn  With a partner review the last 2 chapters (up to page 80) and find 1 theme illustrated (ask yourself, which theme is suggested in the passage……)  Find 1 quotation to support/relates to your theme choice- citing textual evidence of your idea!  Write a 1 paragraph analysis of the theme- connecting to our thematic question, “is the world a good or a bad place?” –you and your partner write this together.

Activity 2: Carousel  Write your partners theme statement, quote, and one paragraph analysis on a sheet of paper.  We are going to pass your theme statement and analysis around the class to make notes- we are going to write 1 question for every theme that passes your way!  Good questions: asking the definition of certain words in context of the theme statement, questions of author’s purpose, questions of character intentions, any figurative language used (how does the author’s use of figurative language affect our understanding…), author’s craft and structure, etc.  Bad questions: any sort of plot based questions, close- ended questions, questions that deal with simple comprehension of character actions,etc…

The Book Thief Themes (just a few)  The importance and power of words  Abandonment versus love  Guilt  Death  Other lesser themes  Death’s observation of human nature  Grief  Theft  Dream versus reality  Education  Home  Music and dance