Lessons & Units

Theme 2nd Grade Unit

Lessons

Lesson 1 Story Elements that Support the Theme Identify the plot and main idea of a story that supports the theme.
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Lesson 2 Which Story Matches the Given Theme? Determine which story matches a given theme and support their choice with text evidence.
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables

Unit Extension Ideas

  • Provide students with poems from Aesop’s Fables by Jerry Pinkney or The Random House Book of Poetry for Children edited by Jack Prelutsky. Write the theme of each poem on a set of index cards. On a separate set of index cards, write the title of each poem. Have students read the poems and then play a matching game, matching poems with their themes.
  • Students can read the Concepts of Comprehension Reading Passages (provided on website) and answer the questions. Have the students identify the theme of each passage. Use the passage and question sets as a way to assess the students’ understandings of theme.
  • Have students continue reading fables from Aesop’s Fables. Cover the theme written at the bottom of each fable and have the students identify the theme, or show students the theme and work together to identify the textual evidence that supports that theme.
  • Provide the students with a theme and have them write a story based on that theme.
  • Have the students write a story and trade with a partner. Then have the partners identify the theme of the story.

Teacher and Student Materials

More Books for Teaching Theme

The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

Fountas and Pinnell
J
Lexile
650L
Crow Boy

Crow Boy

Lexile
690L
Amos and Boris

Amos and Boris

Fountas and Pinnell
O
Lexile
690L
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest

Fountas and Pinnell
R
Lexile
670L
Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems

Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems

A Bad Case of the Giggles: Kids' Favorite Funny Poems

A Bad Case of the Giggles: Kids' Favorite Funny Poems

Fables

Fables

Fountas and Pinnell
N
Lexile
540L

User Comments

Are there answer keys to the questions for the passages?

Submitted by hillc_2604171 on 2/2/17
You can find the answer keys by searching for those specific passages on our site: www.readworks.org/books/passages
Submitted by ReadWorks on 3/13/17

Extremely Helpful!

Submitted by oteylia.smith_1054083 on 11/20/14

Thank you for such clear, simple but wonderful lesson plans.

Submitted by Georgia Green on 10/14/12