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CCSS ELA Standard: 4.RL.2

Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

Comparing Characters
Comparing Characters
Your young students will compare how two characters have changed in a story.
Gr 1-8
Identifying A Story’s Theme
Identifying A Story’s Theme
Teach your young students to identify the moral or the theme of a story.
Gr 1-8
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.
Gr 1-8
Writing Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher
Writing Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher
A passage from “The Fall of the House of Usher” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Gr 1-8
Depth and Complexity: 🏛️ Big Idea
Depth and Complexity: 🏛️ Big Idea
Let’s get students thinking big and focusing on more abstract ideas.
Gr 1-8
Analyze Character Change with Depth and Complexity
Analyze Character Change with Depth and Complexity
Your students will use Depth and Complexity to note how a character’s main trait changes across a story.
Gr 1-8
Romeo and Juliet Summary
Romeo and Juliet Summary
Romeo and Juliet in just about five minutes.
Gr 2-8
“Much Ado About Nothing” Summary
“Much Ado About Nothing” Summary
Shakespeare’s Much Ado summarized in just five minutes!
Gr 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Twelfth Night Summary
Twelfth Night Summary
An animated summary of Shakespeare’s utterly ridiculous “Twelfth Night.”
Gr 2-8
Hamlet Summary
Hamlet Summary
It’s Hamlet in just about five minutes!
Gr 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Nothing could possibly go wrong with a love potion on the loose!
Gr 2-8
Writing Summaries in Haiku
Writing Summaries in Haiku
Let’s write a summary. A very short summary. With VERY strict rules.
Gr 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
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…
Gr 1-8