ELA.4.R.1.2

loading spinner
Export Print
Explain a stated or implied theme and how it develops, using details, in a literary text.

Clarifications

Clarification 1: An explanation of how the theme develops should include how characters respond to situations and how the speaker reflects upon a topic in a literary text.
General Information
Subject Area: English Language Arts (B.E.S.T.)
Grade: 4
Strand: Reading
Standard: Reading Prose and Poetry
Date Adopted or Revised: 08/20
Status: State Board Approved

Related Courses

This benchmark is part of these courses.
5010030: Functional Basic Skills in Communications-Elementary (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
5010045: Language Arts - Grade Four (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
7710015: Access Language Arts - Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
5011040: Library Skills/Information Literacy 4 (Specifically in versions: 2016 - 2022, 2022 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current))
5010024: Basic Skills in Reading 3-5 (Specifically in versions: 2021 and beyond (current))
5010104: Introduction to Debate Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2020 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
5010015: English for Speakers of Other Languages Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2022 and beyond (current))

Related Access Points

Alternate version of this benchmark for students with significant cognitive disabilities.
ELA.4.R.1.AP.2: Identify a stated theme and how it develops, using details, in a literary text.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Lesson Plans

What's the Theme in The Well?:

This lesson uses the text, The Well written by Mildred Taylor. In this reading lesson, students will analyze the story elements as textual evidence to support the text’s theme. This lesson is to be used before a complete read of the text.

Type: Lesson Plan

If Animals Could Talk: Writing Fables:

In this lesson, students will analyze and discuss the characteristics and story lines of two different fables, "The Owl and The Grasshopper" and "The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse," and then write a fable of their own.

Type: Lesson Plan

Identifying Themes Across Cultures: Lesson on Theme:

In this lesson, students will learn to determine the universal theme of a story. They will first identify the problem and solution of a story and use that information to determine the theme or author's message, and from there, they will determine the universal theme. Finally, they will compare and contrast the text with another story with a similar theme. This lesson uses the texts Indian Children's Favorite Stories retold by Rosemarie Somaiah and Filipino Children's Favorite Stories retold by Liana Romulo.

Type: Lesson Plan

Aesop's Fable "The Lost Wig":

This lesson on Aesop's Fable "The Lost Wig" will provide students the opportunity to share and discuss their ideas of the fable’s theme. Students will work together in cooperative pairs to determine the theme "The Lost Wig." They will also have the opportunity to add on to the ending of "The Lost Wig" to enhance the theme.

Type: Lesson Plan

What’s in a Chapter Name?:

Using the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, students will complete a graphic organizer and identify the theme of a chapter. Once students have identified the theme they will create a new title for the chapter.

Type: Lesson Plan

Summarizing and Defending the Theme of Aesop’s Fable "The North Wind and the Sun":

This lesson will engage students in discussions that involve conceptual understanding of vocabulary, theme, and summarizing. After reading a short fable, "The North Wind and the Sun" by Aesop, students will complete activities that require them to think deeply, make inferences based on textual evidence, and defend their interpretation during discussions. Students will use context clues, word relationships, and/or figurative language to determine word meaning and unfamiliar phrasing. Students will participate in a class discussion evaluating conceptual understandings, examining themes, and making inferences. Students will engage in student-to-student discourse and partner work throughout the lesson. For the summative assessment, students will write a summary to convey understandings presented in the text and the discussions with their peers.

Type: Lesson Plan

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this benchmark.