1. Bell Ringer On a post-it note, respond the essential question below. (If out of post-its, get a new pad from the drawer.)  How can the same story (but a different version) exist across many cultures? In other words, how can societies come up with a similar story before they had contact with one another?

2. Housekeeping  Ms. Barker’s library books due back by Friday.  No fear A Days...No work will be assigned on the day of the Epcot Field Trip.  Review logging into Gaggle & submitting an assignment (in the event you do not finish your class work today.)  Home learning: Illuminated Letter (see next slide.)

3. Illuminated Letter Directions  Choose one of the vocab. words from this week’s list to illustrate.  Include the: –part of speech –definition –use the word correctly in a sentence –list its a positive, negative, or neutral connotation  Illustrate the meaning of the word through how you write the word. Examples shown in class. –Does not have to be colorful, so long as it is completed with quality in mind. –May use the computer to illustrate and not graded on artistic ability.

4. Universal Theme

5. Theme  A theme is the underlying meaning of a piece of literature. It usually includes an observation about life. It could be the moral of the story, a teaching or an observation of human experience.  By the end of the story, the character usually LEARNS A LESSON based on their experiences.

6. How Can You Determine a Theme?  You are never actually TOLD what the theme is in a story. You determine the theme from the characters and action in a story. In short, you must determine the theme on your own.

7. Theme - Example 1  Beauty and the Beast - The theme could be described as “you must look beyond superficial surface beauty and look for what's inside the heart”

8. Theme - Example 2  Aladdin - The theme could be described as love is not earned through money, but from the heart.

9. Universal Themes  Universal themes contain –an underlying meaning like all themes –a universal truth, (something true for all) and –a significant statement the story is making about society or human nature.  They add to the timelessness of a piece because they relate to us all--either in our experiences or in our dreams.

10. At times the author's theme may not confirm or agree with your own beliefs. Even then, if skillfully written, the work will still have a theme that illuminates some aspects of true human experience.

11. Universal Themes A-Z  - abuse of power  - action vs. apathy  - beating the odds  - beauty  - coming of age  - corruption  - courage  - effects of the past  - faith  - fall from grace  - family

12. Universal Themes A-Z (cont’d)  - fate  - fear  - fear of failure  - freedom  - friendship  - greed  - hate  - heritage  - heroes  - honesty  - innocence  - justice  - love  - loyalty

13. Universal Themes A-Z (cont’d)  - manipulation  - mothering  - nature  - need for change  - obligation  - parent-child relationships  - peace  - peer pressure  - perseverance  - power of the mind vs. authority

14.  - prejudice  - price of progress  - pride  - quest for knowledge  - revenge  - secrecy  - security/safety  - seizing the moment  - survival  - the overlooked  - the road not taken  - war  - winners and losers

15. Example of Universal Theme  What is the universal theme presented in How the Grinch Stole Christmas?

16. What other stories have the same universal theme of the individual overcoming one’s selfishness and greed?  The main character Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol symbolizes a greedy wealthy man

17. You Do  Using the universal theme handout, come up with a memorization trick (e.g. rap, acronym, visual cue, gesture, etc.) that works for universal theme. It can either be one example from the list or the overall definition.  Be prepared to share your group’s trick.

18. Work Period  Read “Yen-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China” (p. 722 lit. book)  Come up with at least one meaningful question about the story after reading it. Write these questions down and post them on the Exit Slip wall. (If you are unable to submit your question, upload it to the class’ Gaggle assignment drop box by 11:59PM tonight.)