This assignment ties thematically into texts concerning Mob Mentality, Cliques, and Groupthink. Students are asked to evaluate the psychology behind groupthink and relate it to written and world texts they have encountered.

Students will identify theme in various media forms including songs, art-work, and writing.

This is a 10-20 minute activity that frontloads T.S. Eliot's "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" using a Terry Gross interview with Stephen Colbert. In the interview, Colbert tells Gross about his fascination with the masks we wear. He then pulls in a favorite song of his - "The Best Imitation of Myself" by Ben Folds - to illustrate the concept of 'faking' identity. Next steps after this activity: reading and annotating the poem itself. This activity is an excellent example to use for teaching 'allusion.'

"The Interlopers" by Saki (H.H. Munroe) is a story that portrays the theme of hatred resulting in tragedy. This story also has several examples of situational irony which is the contrast between what is said or expected and what actually happens.  Three examples of irony will be discussed and how they are significant to the theme.  The examples are:1.  The men die over something unimportant.2.  The struggle for land ownership ends in a tragedy when nature takes their lives.3.  The long running feud ended, but no one in the village/town could learn of that as both men died.

Students often struggle to find theme in literature--one that is not a bumper sticker, a "moral to the story," or anything that could be applied to more than one story.  Understanding what theme is, an implicit argument the author is making, is the first step.  Then it gets more complicated as they realize that there are wrong answers (the ones that don't make sense with the story), there are undeveloped answers (ones that don't get far enough past motif but are on the right track), and there are many possible correct answers that can be explained and supported with the text. This activity uses the Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate strategy in small groups to help students focus on the details of the story and how they contribute to the overall point of the story.  It can be used with any piece of literature you deem appropriate for your students.

Students often struggle to find theme in literature--one that is not a bumper sticker, a "moral to the story," or anything that could be applied to more than one story.  Understanding what theme is, an implicit argument the author is making, is the first step.  Then it gets more complicated as they realize that there are wrong answers (the ones that don't make sense with the story), there are undeveloped answers (ones that don't get far enough past motif but are on the right track), and there are many possible correct answers that can be explained and supported with the text. This activity uses the Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate strategy in small groups to help students focus on the details of the story and how they contribute to the overall point of the story.  It can be used with any piece of literature you deem appropriate for your students.

Students often struggle to find theme in literature--one that is not a bumper sticker, a "moral to the story," or anything that could be applied to more than one story.  Understanding what theme is, an implicit argument the author is making, is the first step.  Then it gets more complicated as they realize that there are wrong answers (the ones that don't make sense with the story), there are undeveloped answers (ones that don't get far enough past motif but are on the right track), and there are many possible correct answers that can be explained and supported with the text. This activity uses the Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate strategy in small groups to help students focus on the details of the story and how they contribute to the overall point of the story.  It can be used with any piece of literature you deem appropriate for your students.

Lesson Title:  Using Setting to study the meaning of Home in The One and Only Ivan Grade level: 6 Standard: RL 6.2, 6.6 Time: Objectives: Students will analyze the elements of setting in each of Ivan’s homes throughout the novel.Students will work in groups to find textual examples and evidence.Students will use setting analysis to write a paragraph about the meaning of Home in the novel. Materials: The One and Only Ivan novelsPoster board (1 per pair of students)Markers, crayons, colored pencils of choicePaper and writing utensils Procedures: Assign students their partner pairings, and have them spread out around the room, sitting with their partners.Pass out poster boards (one per pair).  Students should draw two lines through the center of the poster, one horizontally and one vertically to create four equal quadrants on the poster.In a large group discussion, students should help identify the four settings described in the novel which served as HOME for Ivan at some point.  They should then label each quadrant with one of the settings (Mack’s house, jungle, circus, zoo)Give them time to work with their partners to identify as least four textual examples describing each of the four settings.  (four examples x four settings = at least 16 textual references) Students should record these examples in the corresponding quadrant of the poster.  They should also create a drawing or visual representation of each setting in the corresponding quadrant.Students will then present their posters to the class, sharing at least one example for each setting, so as not to take up too much class time and become too repetitive.Discuss as a full group those details that made each setting either positive or negative.  Have students reflect on what they think HOME means to the author that is conveyed through the character of Ivan.Assign students (individually, no longer in partners) a paragraph writing assignment describing the meaning of HOME in the novel.  They should reference at least four textual examples from their partner projects in their paragraphs.