Starting at Level K, we interpret and reflect on our reading. Why?
Teaching students to find the author’s message and theme in elementary school is fundamental for several reasons:
1. **Critical Thinking**: Identifying the author’s message and theme helps students develop critical thinking skills. They learn to go beyond the surface of a text and understand deeper meanings, which fosters analytical abilities.
2. **Comprehension**: Understanding the theme and author’s message enhances overall reading comprehension. It allows students to grasp the purpose behind a story and recognize important ideas, which is crucial for understanding more complex texts as they progress in their education.
3. **Empathy and Perspective**: Themes often involve universal concepts like love, courage, or justice. Discussing these helps students develop empathy and understand different perspectives, which are important social and emotional skills.
4. **Communication Skills**: When students learn to articulate the author’s message and theme, they improve their ability to express ideas clearly and concisely. This skill is valuable in both written and verbal communication.
5. **Connection to Real Life**: Themes often relate to real-life situations and moral lessons. By recognizing these, students can connect literature to their own experiences, making reading more meaningful and relevant.
6. **Foundation for Advanced Literature Study**: Understanding themes and messages in elementary school lays the groundwork for more advanced literary analysis in later grades. It prepares students for the complexities of literature they will encounter in middle and high school.
This approach nurtures well-rounded readers who can appreciate literature on multiple levels, preparing them for future academic success and informed citizenship.
How do we teach finding the author’s message and theme?
Check out FREE author’s purpose worksheets here – 
Interpreting a story – Finding the author’s message
This is inferring! Readers go beyond the literal meaning to gain a deeper understanding by using prior knowledge to grasp the author’s intentions. Advanced students will connect with many details within the story.
Teachers are looking for:
- An insightful understanding of important text implications using important supporting details for both fiction and nonfiction.
- What the character in the story learned.
- “State what the character learned, and use your prior knowledge to state the big idea or the importance of learning this.”
Reflecting on a story – Finding the author’s message
Readers use their prior knowledge to help them determine the importance of, reflect on, and evaluate what they read. Making judgments is essential in critical reading and thinking, as is justifying one’s response.
- “What do you think is the most important message? What is the author trying to tell you?”
- “What is the most important event?”
Advanced students understand that a chain of events leads to a resolution or conclusion. They can identify the story’s initial or earlier event as the most critical event.
When identifying the most important message, they can synthesize information from the text and use prior knowledge to relay an important message, supported by reasons.
Teachers are looking for:
- The most significant event in the story and why using higher-level thinking.
- The student, when describing characters, should talk about the characters’ traits. The author may not say each character’s qualities; the student must infer the traits.
- The story’s most important message or information, and give a reason for the opinion that reflects higher-level thinking.
finding the author’s message
Teachers are looking for “THE MEaning” ~ the theme is the message you find in the story and can apply to your own life. It is much different than a summary. Notice “the me” in the word theme. 🙂
Create a classroom list of common themes so students can choose one that fits best!
finding the author’s message
Themes ~ The author might want to teach us:
- The concept of “otherness” ~ boy vs. girl
- People all have the same basic needs
- Importance of friendship
- Importance of family
- How prejudice/bullying is wrong
- How hard work brings rewards
- Honesty is the best policy
- Believe in yourself and follow your dreams
- How to overcome life’s struggles ~ dealing with grief and sadness
Deep Questions to Think About Related to Theme
- Does the author seem to leave the reader with an increased understanding of some aspects of life?
- Do the ideas of kindness, helping, and making the world a better place emerge in this book? In what ways?
- Some books provide examples of good conquering evil. Does this book provide any?
- What lesson do one or more characters learn that will help improve their lives?
- What obstacles does the setting provide that the main character must overcome?
- What is the book’s climax (the point at which all of the action comes together, the highest point of interest)? Not all stories have a climax.
- Do you think the author is trying to provide a “moral” or an important lesson?
- How does the protagonist (main character) overcome problems in this book?
- Is there an antagonist (someone who provides an obstacle) to the main character? What details lead to your decision? What happens to that character?
Picture Books for Discussing Themes
- Faithful Elephants, by Yukio Tsuchiya
- Fly Away Home, by Eve Bunting
- The Old Woman Who Named Things, by Cynthia Rylant
- The Raft, by Jim LaMarche
- Mr. Peabody’s Apples, by Madonna
- Old Turtle and the Broken Truth, by Douglas Wood
- Fables, by Arnold Lobel
Familiar Movies for Discussing Themes
- The Lion King (responsibility)
- Babe, the 1995 version (redemption)
- The Emperor’s New Groove (humility)
- Antz (friendship)
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the 1971 version (greed)
- A Little Princess, the 1995 version starring Liesel Matthews, which is lesser-known but well done (the power of imagination)
Songs for Discussing Themes
- “Hero,” by Mariah Carey (appreciation)
- “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” by Green Day (good-byes)
- “I Hope You Dance,” by Lee Ann Womack (sacrifice/societal pressure)
- “Cats in the Cradle,” by Harry Chapin (family relationships)
- “Hold On,” by Wilson Phillips (overcoming obstacles)
Literature acts as:
- A mirror to enable readers to reflect on life problems and circumstances
- A source of knowledge
- A source of ideological challenge
- A means to peer into the past and the future
- A vehicle to other places
- A tool to reflect on inner struggles
- An introduction to the realities of life and death
- A vehicle for the raising and discussion of social issues
What is the Author’s Purpose and Point of View?
The author’s purpose is the REASON why the story was written. It could be to entertain, inform, or persuade.
The author’s point of view is how the author FEELS about the topic and events in the writing. For example, is the author angry, disappointed, sorrowful, delighted, enthusiastic, or empathetic?
Why is the Author’s Purpose and Point of View an important reading strategy?
Understanding the author’s purpose helps to identify the main idea and the most important details.
To Entertain: Characters, setting, problem, events, solution
To Inform: Who, Where, When, What, Why, How
To Persuade: Audience, point of view, supporting reasons
How do we find the Author’s Purpose and Point of View to help us understand what we are reading?
- “As you read, ask yourself: Why do I think the author wrote this?” (An author MAY have more than one purpose for writing.)
- Look for clues to help understand how the author feels and their point of view.
- Compare your feelings and point of view with the author. Do you feel the same or differently?
QUESTIONS TO SPARK DIALOGUE
- Why do you believe that?
- What might be another point of view?
- How would this be viewed from the perspective of _____?
- How are these ideas alike? Different?
- What feelings or emotions might have caused _____?
- The author said _____. What do you think?
- What is an alternative to what the character did?
Copyright 10/31/2012
Edited on 09/02/2024
References
Cairney, Trevor. “Literature as a Means to Understand People Different from Yourself.” Literature as a Means to Understand People Different from Yourself. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. <http://trevorcairney.blogspot.com/2012/05/literature-as-means-to-understand.html>.
DRA2 Manual, Pearson Publishing, 2006.
“Teacher to Teacher Ideas in the Top Teaching Blog | Scholastic.” Teacher-to-Teacher Ideas in the Top Teaching Blog | Scholastic. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. <http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2011/02/helping-students-grasp-themes-literature>.
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