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Read Chapters 15-24; Complete Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 15-24

Read aloud Grimm’s Fairy Tale of “The Ant and the Cricket.” After reading, ask students to think about what the message the authors of the fairy tale wanted to convey to readers. List your class’ messages on chart paper. Ask students to think about why they chose this as a message. What text evidence did they use? Record their answers on chart paper.

will explain that realistic fiction novels usually contain an author’s message about a realistic topic. This message is called a theme. A theme may be a lesson or a piece of advice the author would like to make to the reader or society in general. Common themes in works of realistic fiction focus on life, love, death, family, and friendship. Themes help shape the character, plot, settings, and events in a story.

In short stories, such as “The Ant and the Cricket,” the theme is often quickly found by looking at text evidence. In longer realistic fiction novels, many authors use recurring events to convey a theme to readers. To find recurring events, I will think about important topics in the book, find events in the story that deal with those topics, and analyze the events to draw a conclusion about the author’s message.

I will identify one topic in Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes. The most obvious topic of the book is humor or joking. I will write this down under the “Topic” column on the What’s the Theme? Chart 1. Note: See the What’s the Theme Chart 1 for specific examples.

Next, I will think about the recurring events that are centered on the topic of humor. Gary is always joking around. He makes up jokes and has posters of comedians on his wall in his bedroom. He’s planning to tell jokes for the talent show. He’s constantly telling jokes to Angeline and other characters in the book. Gary thinks he is humorous and he tries to make people laugh. He thinks all problems can be solved with joking and humor. These events happen throughout the book, so I will write these recurring events under the “Recurring Events” column on the What’s the Theme? Chart 1.

Now, I will draw a conclusion about the theme, or the message the author wants to convey about this humor topic. I will explain that you can gather hints and specific details from the text about what the author wants to say regarding the topic.

I will think about what happens surrounding Gary’s jokes and humor in the book. I recall that his joking sometimes gets Gary in trouble by his parents and teachers. In Chapter 8, Gary’s father tells him, “You seem to think that the way to be successful, or the way to make people like you, is to tell jokes. But people will like you because of who you are, not for the jokes you tell.” But by the end of the talent show, Gary actually shows that his jokes and sense of humor turn out to be good. And he shows that his jokes made him successful and likable in the talent show. Gary took the talent show very seriously, which caused him to be successful at his comedy act.

I will ask aloud: "What message does the author want to convey about humor and joking?" Gathering all the information I’ve learned about Gary and his sense of humor and jokes, I can conclude that one of the themes of the book could be: “It’s good to laugh at things in life, but not everything can be a joke.” Another possible theme related to humor could be, “Having a sense of humor is important, and knowing when to use it is even more important.” I will write these themes under the “Theme” column on the What’s the Theme? Chart 1.

Ask: "How do I figure out a theme in a story?" Students should respond that you look at a topic presented in the book and identify recurring events related to that topic. Then, you use text evidence to draw a conclusion about the theme of the book.

will examine the topic of individuality to figure out another theme of Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes. We will write this topic under the “Topic” column on the What’s the Theme? Chart 2. Note: See the What’s the Theme Chart 2 for specific examples.

Next, we will find recurring events centered on the topic of individuality. Throughout the book, there are several events centered on individuality and being true to yourself. For example, we can recall that Gary continues to be humorous and tell jokes, even though the kids in his school don’t laugh at the jokes and consider him a goon. We can also recall that Gary continues to “give one hundred percent” even though his jokes often flop. These events show that Gary is being true to himself. There are also events that show what happens when Gary is not being true to himself. For example, when he stops making up and telling jokes he no longer feels funny. He mopes around, feels pretty miserable and sad when he’s not telling jokes, so he is not being true to himself. Ask: "Can you recall other times in the book when the recurring event of being true to yourself comes up?" As we recall these events or skim the book to find additional events, we will note them on our What’s the Theme? Chart 2 under the “Recurring Event” column. Note: Recurring events centered on the topic of being true to yourself include: Gary plays croquet and wears funny hats; Gary keeps asking Joe to play football; Gary decides to stay in the talent show and give it one hundred percent; Gary doesn’t give up on thinking of good jokes.

We will think about what these events and characters tell us about being an individual. As a class, we will brainstorm the themes or messages the author wants to convey about the topic of individuality. We will write down our ideas about the theme, and then we will pick one theme about individuality/being true to yourself that we feel best describes the author’s message for the book. We will record this theme under the “Theme” column on our What’s the Theme? Chart 2. Note: Possible themes could include, but are not limited to: "When you’re true to yourself, you can accomplish anything," and "Be true to yourself and others will respect you."

will work with a partner to find recurring events centered on the topic of bullying. You may skim chapters, use your Student Packet, or use your recalling skills to identify recurring events for this topic. You and your partner will write the recurring events, details, and information about these events under the “Recurring Events” column on your What’s the Theme? Worksheet in your Student Packet. (See page 27 in the Student Packet.) For the “Theme” column, you will ask yourselves, "what is the message the author wants to convey about bullying?" You and your partner will write your theme ideas under the “Theme” column on your What’s the Theme? Worksheet.

will share the recurring events we have identified that relate to the topic of bullying. Each group will then share their theme.