Mini Lesson 1
For my first lesson, I taught the students the difference between a theme and a main idea. I used a powerpoint to discuss the actual meaning of a theme and of a main idea and included examples to gauge the student's understanding. Then I created a high-engagement jeopardy game that excited the students. I put in clips from movies and asked the students, who were put into teams grouped by ability, to describe a theme they saw displayed. The class was currently reading "The Outsiders," so I also included a theme question from that book.