Exploring themes

Last updated: 15/11/2023
Contributor: Teachit Author
Exploring themes
Main Subject
Key stage
Category
Prose: 19th-century prose
Resource type
Worksheet
Revision
Complete lesson
Genre
Heritage
Title
Great Expectations
Author
Charles Dickens
Authors
Charles Dickens
Questions designed to encourage students to think about the presentation of themes in the novel.

All reviews

Have you used this resource?

5

26/01/2019

At a personal level - I hate teaching a text in the same way that I did it last time - so I tend to go mainly by themes - then mainly by characters - and then take the most successful approaches and make them into a coherent unit. Once I have taught that I would rather leave the text alone and try something different.

The lower the potential ability level of the group the more successful I find the thematic approach.

I also encourage students to buy their own text so that they can mark it up as we go - and I tend to do a general marking up with symbols - hearts for love = a flower for nature - etc. These are easy to find when they are flicking through the text looking for the information = or ideas they need.

Characters I do with highlighter pens - underlining in fine felt pen etc - and again it need to be something that they can see easily - highlighting tends not to be good for colour-blind students and underlining is better.

Themes are also easier for being able to cross-relate to other texts they have studied. A way to gain major brownie points from me.

These are also the easiest way for many students to create a longish piece of work that can cover many points in the text. Try getting a five sentence paragraph - that is PEEQY (point - example - explain - quote - your view - one each of these themes done in 5 minutes in your lesson. (They can tidy it up for homework.) With this worksheet you could actually get a ten paragraph essay - plus an opening and a concluding paragraph done in two or three weeks.

This is an ideal way to teach essay writing skills to the disenchanted. No-one really minds five minutes but their hearts will sink when they get an essay title - and not much idea of what to do with it!

Learning to write a 5 minute paragraph stands them in really good stead for public exams. Even my very lowest groups were all able to write at least one page in half an hour in exam conditions.

Ruth Newbury

17/07/2013

5

5

26/01/2019

At a personal level - I hate teaching a text in the same way that I did it last time - so I tend to go mainly by themes - then mainly by characters - and then take the most successful approaches and make them into a coherent unit. Once I have taught that I would rather leave the text alone and try something different.

The lower the potential ability level of the group the more successful I find the thematic approach.

I also encourage students to buy their own text so that they can mark it up as we go - and I tend to do a general marking up with symbols - hearts for love = a flower for nature - etc. These are easy to find when they are flicking through the text looking for the information = or ideas they need.

Characters I do with highlighter pens - underlining in fine felt pen etc - and again it need to be something that they can see easily - highlighting tends not to be good for colour-blind students and underlining is better.

Themes are also easier for being able to cross-relate to other texts they have studied. A way to gain major brownie points from me.

These are also the easiest way for many students to create a longish piece of work that can cover many points in the text. Try getting a five sentence paragraph - that is PEEQY (point - example - explain - quote - your view - one each of these themes done in 5 minutes in your lesson. (They can tidy it up for homework.) With this worksheet you could actually get a ten paragraph essay - plus an opening and a concluding paragraph done in two or three weeks.

This is an ideal way to teach essay writing skills to the disenchanted. No-one really minds five minutes but their hearts will sink when they get an essay title - and not much idea of what to do with it!

Learning to write a 5 minute paragraph stands them in really good stead for public exams. Even my very lowest groups were all able to write at least one page in half an hour in exam conditions.

Ruth Newbury

17/07/2013

5