Middle School Language Arts, Middle School Reading

READING SKILLS – EASY TIPS TO TEACH THEME IN LITERATURE

Linda Asaro
January 29, 2024

This is the last in a mini-series on teaching reading skills with a focus on how to teach theme in middle school.

Middle school language arts teachers, listen up: Reading a novel aloud to your class does NOT teach reading skills. Students should be reading novels, and hopefully they are in book clubs. But even if you are teaching a whole-class novel, you need a plan for teaching reading skills. One of the most important reading skills, in my opinion, is teaching theme. When you teach theme well, it is a skill your kids will use throughout their academic careers. Understanding theme is the whole point of reading great literature. Read here for tips on teaching reading skills, specifically how to teach theme, in middle school.

blog post on how to teach theme in literature — Theme is the heart of the story! Read here for tips on how to teach theme in middle school.

Why it is Crucial to Teach Theme in your ELA Class

I would argue that the most important purpose of reading quality fiction is to glean the theme. The theme is the lesson the author wants us to learn. Recognizing lessons in literature can open up students’ minds and hearts in ways we never thought possible.

Let’s look at Harry Potter for a moment. This story is obviously chock-full of themes. One that comes to mind is that family can be found in the people who care for you, not just those who are related to us. This is a very powerful theme, and one that many kids need to hear and understand. Obviously, the author doesn’t state this outright, but it is proven time and time again throughout the entire series.

Note: Kids (and adults) often mistake theme for the topic. The topic in the example above is family, but the theme is the actual lesson about the topic. Be sure to point this out to your students.

When we teach theme successfully, our students will find connections in literature that can change the way they think, feel, and relate to others…usually for the bettter.

General Tips on How to Teaching Reading Skills

Theme is an abstract concept, so we don’t often think of it as a “skill”. However, there are steps you can take to teach theme as you would any other reading skill. When teaching reading skills in general, you will want to use some consistency with your students so they know what to expect and what is expected of them. For me, I use a reading workshop model of instruction. I have a whole series of blog posts on reading workshop which you might like to check out. Please know that I adapted my reading workshop from the “true” model to be more skills-based.

General Reading Workshop Guidelines

Teach the mini-lesson – keep it brief…10-15 minutes
Student workshop time- this is when kids work on something in their reading that you taught in the mini-lesson
Conference – meet with kids to check in with their reading and how they are doing with the skills you are teaching
Share- meet at the end of class to briefly share something from their reading

What to Include in a Mini-Lesson to Teach Theme

I have an entire blog post related to teaching mini-lessons. Here is a shortened version:

Each mini-lesson follows a pattern. In this way, students not only know what to expect but you will have a “blueprint” for when you begin to create.

Here are the components of teaching theme examples:

Connect: Here you link what you have learned to where you are going in the lesson. Example: you might say, “When we last met we talked about the topic of your novel. Today, you are going to look closely at possible lessons the author is trying to teach you about life through this topic, which is the theme.”
Teaching Objective: It is crucial to explicitly state to your students what you want them to learn. Example: “Today’s goal is to understand that themes are universal and apply not only to the book you are reading, but to life as well.”
Strategies: Here you will give kids a strategy or strategies to meet the objective. Example: “Look at the example theme statements. See if any can be applied to the book that you are reading. ”
Engagement: This is where you want to show a real-life example and then have students practice during the lesson. Use “turn and talk” here so that students use a skill in a partnership. Example: “Turn and talk to your partner about a possible theme for this school year. Consider your achievements and disappointments as you are deciding. ”
Student Objective: This is very important; it’s where students are given directions for their workshop time. Keep it brief and specific. It is always best to note that students should be doing this every time they read, not just in this lesson. Example: “Today and every time you are reading a novel, note when a minor character is explaining something to the main character. This could be a hint at a theme.”

I have a mini-lesson on teaching theme in my TPT store:

mini-lesson to teach theme in middle school — Mini-lessons are the way to go when teaching complex topics.

If you are looking for a complete lesson on theme, try this video lesson. It’s free on YouTube, and I have the presentation and guided notes available in my TPT store.

video lesson and guided notes for teaching theme — Grab this video lesson and sit back while I teach your class!

Practice with Teaching Reading Skills– Activities for Students

Once kids have learned the skill, it’s time to practice. This is the portion of reading workshop where students go off to work and do something to apply the skill you taught in the mini-lesson to their reading. Be careful not to “kill the skill”…you are looking for application, not a bunch of extra work for your kids.

What practice should NOT look like:

Random worksheets – “skill and drill” style are not conducive to truly learning and applying reading skills
Unrelated exercises – kids should be applying it to the reading they are doing now, or to a mentor text (a short story that is in the same genre as your current unit of study, for example- a short historical fiction story if you are in a historical fiction unit)
Work that is too long – you don’t want kids doing skill work that takes a long time; you want them getting into their reading

What practice SHOULD look like:

Mentor text work: Having a mentor text to refer to throughout a unit is key. You’ll want one that is in the same genre and contains skills that you will be teaching. For example, if you are in a realistic fiction unit and are teaching character traits, symbolism, theme, point of view, and perspective, you’ll want a short story to do that. It should be a high-interest story. I love the story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros to help teach theme.
Reading application: As you progress in the unit and kids are reading novels, have them keep a chart of when a minor character is explaining something to the main character and another chart of possible symbols. These are all hints at the theme.
Debate: Having kids debate is a great engagement strategy. For example, students might disagree on possible themes for a mentor text. I would keep it quick (maybe 10 minutes) as you want kids actually reading during reading workshop.
Centers: Having kids do centers on a specific skill towards the end of a unit to show what they know and to extend their learning is ideal. It can also help them to prepare for an upcoming assessment. I have centers to help you teach theme in my TPT store: