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Arizona ELA Standard: 7.RL.2

Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

Main Idea and Details

Main Idea and Details

Young students can use this big idea organizer to identify the main idea and support it with details.

Identifying A Story’s Theme

Identifying A Story’s Theme

Teach your young students to identify the moral or the theme of a story.

Introducing Universal Theme of Conflict

Introducing Universal Theme of Conflict

So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Conflict? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.

Chess Variant: Monster Chess

Chess Variant: Monster Chess

What if you had really weak chess pieces, but you could always move twice?

Charge of the Light Brigade – Chess Variant

Charge of the Light Brigade – Chess Variant

What if one side played with THREE QUEENS and the other had SEVEN KNIGHTS!? What if?

Analyze Characters Using Philosophy

Analyze Characters Using Philosophy

What is the Brick Pig’s philosophy? How would he apply it to the characters in Harry Potter?

Writing Sample: A Christmas Carol (Cold)

Writing Sample: A Christmas Carol (Cold)

A passage from White Fang to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

Writing Sample: Moby Dick

Writing Sample: Moby Dick

A passage from Moby Dick to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

Paradox: The Barber’s Paradox

Paradox: The Barber’s Paradox

The barber shaves everybody who doesn’t themselves. So… does the barber shave himself?

Content Imperatives: Convergence

Content Imperatives: Convergence

Add complexity by considering how multiple factors 🔄 Converge within one topic.

Content Imperatives: Origin

Content Imperatives: Origin

Take students back to the beginning by using the Content Imperative ⏺️ Origin.

Depth and Complexity: ⚖️ Ethics

Depth and Complexity: ⚖️ Ethics

Want to add drama to any topic? Use the Ethics prompt!

Depth and Complexity: 🏛️ Big Idea

Depth and Complexity: 🏛️ Big Idea

Let’s get students thinking big and focusing on more abstract ideas.

Depth and Complexity: 🌻 Details

Depth and Complexity: 🌻 Details

Get kids focusing on the small, but essential, details of a topic.

Romeo and Juliet Summary

Romeo and Juliet Summary

Romeo and Juliet in just about five minutes.

“Much Ado About Nothing” Summary

“Much Ado About Nothing” Summary

Shakespeare’s Much Ado summarized in just five minutes!

Twelfth Night Summary

Twelfth Night Summary

An animated summary of Shakespeare’s utterly ridiculous “Twelfth Night.”

Hamlet Summary

Hamlet Summary

It’s Hamlet in just about five minutes!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Nothing could possibly go wrong with a love potion on the loose!

Writing Summaries in Haiku

Writing Summaries in Haiku

Let’s write a summary. A very short summary. With VERY strict rules.

Add Layers To Direct Instruction

Add Layers To Direct Instruction

For Teachers

Take direction instruction beyond a monotonous practice of the same skill over and over.

Better Stories Part 3: Literary Themes

Better Stories Part 3: Literary Themes

A typical student narrative includes plot and characters but lacks a larger idea to hold it all together. This is where a lesson on themes comes in…