Theme

Do Now:
1. Place your homework on your desk
2. Copy down tonight's homework
3. Read the story on the slide below in order
to determine the theme:

Theme

What is the theme of the following story?

_______________________________________________
The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. "I have
never yet been beaten," said he, "when I put forth my full speed. I
challenge any one here to race with me."
The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."
"That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance round you all the
way."
"Keep your boasting till you've beaten," answered the Tortoise. "Shall we
race?"
So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare darted almost out
of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the
Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded on and plodded
on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near
the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race. Then said
the Tortoise:

Underline the evidence that helped you determine the

theme

Theme

Learning Targets:
* I can determine a theme of Steve Jobs' speech and see
how it is conveyed through particular details.
* I can select text evidence to support themes from Bud,
Not Buddy.
* I can support a theme (claim), with clear reasons and
relevant evidence, using credible sources and
demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is one of the themes in Steve Jobs' commencement speech?
How do you know? What evidence proves this?

Theme

Theme

Theme: __________________________
_________________________________

Theme

Let's look at a few scenes from our novel, Bud, Not Buddy to help us
determine theme:
(page 51)
"My pretend daddy read the signs to my pretend brother and sister and we all sat at a
long table with strangers on both sides of us. The oatmeal was delicious! I poured some
of my milk into it so it wouldn't be so lumpy and mixed it all together.
My pretend mother opened her pocketbook and took out a little brown envelope. She
reached inside of it and sprinkled something on my pretend brother's and sister's
oatmeal, then said to them, "I know that's not as much as you normally get, but I wanted
to ask you if you minded sharing some with Clarence."
They pouted and gave me a couple of dirty looks. My pretend mother said, "Good," and
emptied the rest of the envelope over my oatmeal. Brown sugar!
Shucks, I didn't even mind them calling me Clarence anymore. I said "Thank you,
Momma, ma'am."'

Theme

(page 68)
"All these people" the mouth organ man said, "are just like you, they're tired, hungry and
a little bit nervous about tomorrow. This here is the right place for y'all to be 'cause we're
all in the same boat. And you boys are nearer to home than you'll ever get."
Someone said, "Amen, brother."
The mouth organ man said, "It don't matter if you're looking for Chicago or Detroit or
Orlando or Oklahoma City, I rode the rails to all of them. You might think or you might
hear that things are better just down the line, but they're singing the same sad song all
over this country. Believe me, son, being on the road is no good. If you two boys are
from Flint, this is the right Hooverville for you."
Someone said, "Brother, why don't we feed these boys? That one looks like he ain't
eaten in two or three months."
Shucks, he didn't have to point or nothing, everyone knew who he meant.
But I didn't care, the food that was bubbling up in those three big pots even sounded
delicious."

Theme: __________________________
_________________________________

Theme

Now we're going to do the opposite of what we just practiced.

Whereas we just used evidence to help us determine a theme,

you are now going to find evidence to support a given theme.

Each group will be given a theme. Find

evidence in Bud, Not Buddy to support
your theme.

Theme

When one door closes, another door always opens.

Perseverance allows you to be successful during challenging
times.
Love between a family, whether near or far, is everlasting.
Memories can serve as protection and guidance in the future.
Once you set a goal, don't let anything prevent you from
reaching it.

Theme

How does the author develop the theme in Bud, Not

Buddy? In your response, be sure you mention the
theme, include evidence (details) from the story, and
provide scholarly reasoning.
Paragraph Organization

Topic sentence (theme)

Explain what you mean (without using I)
Provide evidence
Explain how the evidence connects to your claim
Strong concluding sentence

Theme

Reflection:
1. How was I able to prove my understanding of the theme?

2. How did I determine that the evidence I found to support

my theme was relevant?

3. How does the theme from Bud, Not Buddy apply to your
own life?