Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Theme, and supports the standard of determining the theme and supporting details. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students:

  • What do you think might be the lesson, or theme, of “Little Red Riding Hood?” 

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read aloud the description on the Theme topic page
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Theme Challenge and Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about the story element, theme while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Create a movie that retells your favorite story. Challenge a classmate to identify the theme of the story. In your movie, answer this question: How can you use details to figure out the theme?
  • Make-a-Map: Make a concept map that states the theme of a favorite story and then identify details from the story that support that theme.  
  • Creative Coding:  Code a Theme sorting game. Think of two themes that are common to many fairy tales. Then think of tales that fit in one of the two categories and challenge players to sort them by theme. 
  • Primary Source Activity: Read the fable and cite details to answer the questions. 

More to Explore

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of key ideas and details with these topics: Plot, Story Conflict, and Main Idea

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments