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Study Skills – Heffernan Own it!
Study Skills Lesson 22
Agenda:
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Study Skills – Heffernan Own it!
1. Set-up and Quick Questions (6)
2. HW, Score, and Report (5)
3. Aims (1)
4. Guided Practice (11)
5. Independent Practice (10)
6. Exit Ticket (5)
7. Score & Report (5)
8. Transition (2)
Quick Questions: DRP
Aim: SWBAT explain the theme of a fiction passage.
Just like there is always a purpose to every essay you write, there is also a purpose to every story that is written.
And, just like you will never say, “My essay will be about…,” no story will ever say, “This book is about…”
However, even though a story will never come right out and declare what it is about, every story has a purpose, meaning that it is trying to teach the reader something about life and the world we live in.
We call this message about life the ______of a story.
Theme is the ______
There is no “perfect” way to find a story’s theme, but there are a few places we can start:
Do any of the characters change? Why?
Are these good changes or bad changes?
Do any of the characters take on a challenge?
Are they successful or unsuccessful? What does that teach me?
Are any of the characters really happy about life? Or are any of them really sad and depressed? Why? Are they able to do anything to change their happiness?
Themes tend to be about BIG ideas, such as:
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Examples of possible themes:Technology is ruining our world and the way we interact with other people.
Friendship is valuable and important to everyone.
Life has its ups and downs, but all you can control is your attitude.
Even when you do your best, sometimes it’s not enough.
Nature is beautiful and valuable.
A lot of times, stories will end in a way that tries to tie everything together, often hinting at what the theme of the story is.
Think of The Lion King. In the story, a young lion watches as his father, who is the leader of the pride, is killed. The young lion is led to believe that it was his fault. Ashamed, he runs away, and he eventually becomes comfortable in his new life away from his friends and family. However, he later learns that the new leader of the pride, his uncle, is ruining the group and life has become almost unbearable for his family members and former friends. His friends need him to return to save the group from his evil uncle, but he is hesitant to do so. Eventually he is persuaded to return, and he defeats the new evil leader.
What could be the theme of this movie? What message about life are we supposed to learn?
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“Why Bat Has No Friends”:
Many years ago there was a great war between the birds and the animals.
No-one knows why. It just happened.
The creatures with wings flew to the battle site and made their camp. Those who had legs walked there.
Bat joined the birds. "Hey, I've got wings. So I must be a bird. And there are more of us, so we should win!"
The first battle was long and hard, but gradually slashing claws and tearing teeth began to win over beaks and wings.
Bat could see that the birds were losing so he hid behind a bush.
When the battle was over, the animals walked back towards their camp.
"Man, did we kick those birds' butts or what?" said Buffalo, spitting out a few feathers.
"Yeah! We kicked their butts" cried Bat in his high pitched voice
The animals stopped. "What are you doing with us?" shouted Beaver, slapping the ground hard with his big, flat tail. "You've got wings. You're with the other side." "Yeah, that's right" growled Bear. "And I'm going to eat you!"
"Guys! Guys! Get real!" said Bat, pointing into his mouth. "When have you ever seen a bird with teeth? Of course I'm one of you!"
"I suppose so," grumbled Bear.
The next day there was to be another battle and Bat walked to the site with the animals. "Let's rip their beaks off!" he yelled.
This time the birds flew as an army with the sun behind them, its bright light blinding the animals. Tearing talons and flapping wings tore into furry bodies. The birds were winning. Again Bat hid behind a bush.
When it was all over and the birds started to fly back to their camp, Bat silently joined them.
"That was a good victory today", said Eagle. "Yeah! We kicked their butts" shouted Bat. "Hold on" said Crow. "You were with the other side."
"Guys! Guys! Get real," said Bat. "When have you ever seen an animal with wings like mine? Of course I'm one of you." He flapped his wings vigorously.
"I suppose so", said Eagle.
And that's how it was in each battle.
When Bat saw that the side he was on was going to lose, he pretended he was on the other side.
Eventually the birds and animals got tired of fighting each other. They all came together while their Chiefs held a council of truce to decide how things would be settled.
It was very difficult for Bat to pretend that he belonged to both sides. The Chiefs knew what he had done.
"Friends should always help each other and not pretend to be one thing when they are another" they said.
"Bat has wings, but he is not a bird. He has teeth, but he is not an animal. From now on, Bat will only fly at night when other birds are asleep and the animals are hunting."
All the creatures nodded in agreement.
"You will always be alone, Bat. You will never have a friend among the creatures that fly or from those that walk!"
And that's why Bat always flies at night and doesn't have any friends.
The End
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Study Skills – Heffernan Own it!
Exit Ticket 22
What is the theme of “Why Bat has no friends?” (Use RACE!)
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Score: ______Corrected by:______
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Study Skills – Heffernan Own it!
Homework 22
Underline your evidence!
Icing on the Cake
By Paula W. Graham • Illustrated by Susan Spellman
Read the passage. Then answer questions 1-7.
1. Marcie lifted the ice pack and peeked at her bruise. Brown, purple, and blue swirls covered her leg just inside her right knee.
2. “Feeling any better?” asked Coach Jaremko.
3. She sat down on the bench next to Marcie and handed her a towel. Marcie pressed the center of the bruise with her finger. She winced. “A little.”
4. “What happened up there?” asked Coach.
5. “I’m not sure. It happened so fast,” said Marcie, shaking her head.
6. Marcie closed her eyes and imagined a slow-motion movie of herself going through her balance-beam routine. “I had good power on my throw and a tight tuck position,” she explained. “First I heard a crack, and then I heard a thud—the crack when my knee hit the beam, the thud when I hit the mats.”
7. Coach Jaremko nodded. “Best thing to do is get right back up there,” she said. “When a gymnast quits, it’s usually because of fear.”
8. Marcie stared at the hard wooden beam. It looked like a stranger or an enemy, not her favorite piece of equipment. The thought of getting back up there made her stomach scrunch.
9. “Come on, I’ll spot you.” Coach Jaremko started toward the balance beam.
10. Marcie tried to stand up. She couldn’t move. She felt as if a thousand steel ropes were keeping her tied to the bench.
11. “I can’t, Coach,” she called, shaking her head. It wasn’t the pain in her leg; it was the pain in her stomach. She was afraid to get back on the beam. And she knew that if she couldn’t do the backflip, she would lose her chance to compete in the state finals.
12. Marcie watched her teammates practice their routines. Nikki pounded the springboard and vaulted over the horse. Amanda cast off the high bar and finished her uneven-bar routine with a back-twisting somersault.
13. “Great dismount,” Marcie called to her friend. She held up ten fingers to indicate a perfect score.
14. Amanda poured a cup of ice water from the jug and offered it to Marcie. “Wow!” she said, looking at Marcie’s bruise. “Reminds me of the chocolate icing on my birthday cake.” She giggled.
- Marcie forced a laugh.
- “Sorry. Does it hurt?” asked Amanda.
- “Not really.” Marcie sighed.
- “Then what’s the matter?”
- “I can’t get back up there. I’m too scared.” Marcie chewed her bottom lip.
- “Come on, Marcie. You’ve done that flip a zillion times,” Amanda said.
- Marcie blinked back tears. “I can’t,” she said, choking on her words.
- When practice was over, her teammates wiggled into their sweat clothes and zipped their duffel bags. One by one they called out good night to Coach Jaremko.
23. “Ready to try again?” asked Coach when everyone was gone.
24. Marcie looked around the empty gym. She felt that the vaulting horse and the uneven parallel bars were daring her to get back up on the balance beam.
- “Coach, where’s that little beam? You know, the low one.”
- “The practice beam? It’s in the storage closet,” said Coach.
“I need it.” Marcie felt like a beginner, but she didn’t care.
- Marcie and Coach slid the practice beam onto the gym floor and laid thick tumbling mats at each side of it.
28. Marcie stepped onto the beam. She skipped, then turned and skipped in the other direction. Slowly arching her back, Marcie leaned into a backbend and kicked through a back walkover. Her left foot landed on the padded beam and then her right foot. Being this close to the ground, she wasn’t frightened at all.
- Marcie went through the routine three more times on the practice beam. Then she ran over to the regulation beam and pressed her hands along its hard wooden edges. Vaulting onto its end, Marcie mounted the beam. She balanced herself with outstretched arms as she walked to the middle and gripped the beam with her toes.
30. “Spot me.” Marcie looked down into Coach Jaremko’s springy black curls.
31. A rerun of her terrible fall flashed into Marcie’s mind. “Fear . . . quit. Fear . . . quit.” Coach’s words pounded in her head. Marcie took a deep breath and calmed herself. “I’ve done this flip a zillion times,” she thought. She grabbed Coach’s raised hand and closed her eyes. Instead of seeing herself fall, Marcie pictured herself at the state finals. In front of her teammates, coach, and judges, she saw herself doing a perfect backflip.
32. Marcie opened her eyes. “Now,” she yelled, freeing her hand. Pushing off hard with her legs, she flung her arms backward into the air. Tucking her body into a ball, she flipped. Both feet landed securely on the beam at the same time. In a split second, Marcie uncurled her body from her knees to her chin.
33. “Piece of cake,” she shouted out loud to the vaulting horse and to the uneven bars.
34. “Piece of cake?” Coach Jaremko raised her eyebrows curiously.
35. Now it was Marcie’s turn to laugh. She pointed to her bruise. “To go with the icing on my leg.”
Used with permission of Highlights Magazine.
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1. This passage is an example of realistic fiction because it
a. teaches a lesson.
b. includes a happy ending.
c. provides useful information.
d. describes events that could happen.
2. What is the initiating event in the story?
a. Marcie’s fear of getting back on the balance-beam.
b. When Marcie fell off the balance-beam.
c. When Marcie got back onto the balance-beam.
d. When Marcie decided to use the practice beam first.
3. Coach Jaremko can be best described as
a. friendly.
b. nagging.
c. happy.
d. supportive.
4. The ideas in paragraph 12 are arranged to show
a. a list of details.
b. a main idea with supporting details.
c. how two things are alike.
d. the order in which things happened.
5. This story is mostly about the
a. skills needed to master gymnastics.
b. joy of competing in gymnastics.
c. experience of a bad fall.
d. need to face and overcome one’s fears.
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
6. Study the two lessons below.
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Write a response in which you tell which lesson better fits the story “Icing on the Cake.” Use details from the story to support you answer.
In your answer, be sure to
· choose one of two lessons
· Explain why this lesson is appropriate to the story
· use details from the story to support your answer
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7. Which part of the story do you think was most important? Use information from the story and your own life to explain why you chose that part.
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Score: ______Corrected by:______
Date: 9/21/11 / Unit: 1 Lesson # 22AIM(s)
SWBAT explain the theme of a fiction pasage.
Do Now – 5 - 10 Minutes