10 ways to improve your theme teaching: how to choose and manage terrific themes - while avoiding theme burnout and cutesiness.

How to choose and manage terrific themes - while avoiding theme burnout and cutesiness

I taught my first theme with a class of seventh graders in a school in Somerset, England, in 1969. What was it? Graveyards. We explored a local cemetery and used it as a starting point for a theme on death, dying, and burial rites. It was gruesome - and the kids loved it. But they also gained substantive knowledge about local history and the whole business of dying, and I saw how worthwhile teaching with themes could be.

I've taught many themes since then. Along the way I've learned a lot about what makes themes work - and what makes them difficult to manage. Here are ten strategies that will improve your theme teaching, whether you're a veteran theme teacher or just starting out.

1. Don't try to integrate every subject area into every theme. I'm not sure who first started the all-in-one obsession, but it's widespread in schools. The problem is that not all themes naturally incorporate all subject areas, and when you try to force artificial connections, you risk ending up with shallow activities that dilute the focus of your theme. Integrate only the subject areas that fit naturally, and save the others for your next theme. For example, in a theme on Vincent Van Gogh, you could include math by measuring the area of his paintings - but does that really advance kids' understanding of the artist? I'd primarily focus on his art and his era. Just because you can fit a subject area into a theme doesn't mean you should!

2. When you teach a theme, tuck the skills inside it. Themes focus on content rather than skills, but the skills are nonetheless taught within the work that kids do while investigating the theme. For example, for a theme on pollution, your class might read Gail Gibbons's book Recycle! A Handbook for Kids (Little, Brown, 1992) to learn about the different ways that common items can be reused. While you're reading, you can teach comprehension, vocabulary, and word-recognition skills. You might teach math or science-process skills while students study recycling in their town. You can teach writing and research skills like note taking as children take notes from books and other material they're using to explore their topics.

3. Balance teacher-generated and student-created themes. There's quite a debate among educators on this issue - some are adamant that all themes should be student-created. While I like the idea of students creating themes, I see nothing wrong with teacher-generated themes, provided that they are appropriate for kids. Many of my own interests were sparked by other people engaging me in topics I'm sure I wouldn't have selected for myself. So plan some themes yourself, create some collaboratively with students, and let some arise spontaneously.

4. Avoid cutesy treatments of themes. I'm sure children enjoy fun activities like coloring in dittos of bears, but the question is: What are they learning? The point of a theme is to explore a subject in some depth, and we defeat the whole purpose when we gloss over a concept with flimsy activities. Why not turn that cutesy theme on bears into something worthwhile? Explore all aspects of bears, including the concept of habitats, so children will develop a much better understanding of bears and their environments.

5. Draw themes from a variety of arenas. If you think of themes as digging deep into important ideas, then doesn't it make sense to draw themes from all sorts of realms? Here are six areas to consider (see page 60 for other theme suggestions).

* Concepts like survival or justice make excellent themes, although they work better if there's some tension built into them (e.g., surviving natural versus man-made disasters, and justice versus prejudice).

* Content areas such as science and social studies make good sources for themes, especially if you use themes to pursue a narrow rather than broad focus. For example, instead of swamping kids with a study of the entire Civil War, or even something as broad as conflict, focus on the concept of broken alliances, inviting students to study different examples of this. One group might research families that were divided over the slavery issue and fought brother against brother, while another might explore why the abolitionists and the suffragists broke their ties.

* Current events offers lots of high-interest themes. You might start with an event that's in the news and trace it backward, historically, politically, geographically, and so on. The 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta are an obvious choice; the Iditarod is another (it can be explored in a number of ways, including the controversy over the treatment of animals).

* People make good themes. Explore the lives and contributions of people from different walks of life - authors and illustrators, composers, quilters, canoe builders, scientists, and so on.

* The calendar is a good source, too, especially in the early grades (for example, seasons, festivals, National Dairy Week).

* Finally, there are what I call form themes - themes that explore genres (mystery, humor, science fiction, and so on) and topics such as the alphabet or numbers. Form themes use the structure of a topic as their organizing framework. (For example, a mystery theme might examine the elements of a detective story.)

6. Make sure your themes are the right size. Have you ever become exhausted or bored with a theme that drags on forever? Are all your themes the same length? If you're nodding your head, maybe you should try adjusting the size of your themes. Think about three different sizes:

* A mini-theme might last less than a day in kindergarten (such as a focus on snails or magnets) or about a week in sixth grade (such as a current events theme devoted to a news item chosen by the students).

* A regular theme would last about a week in kindergarten (for example, bones and skeletons) and up to six weeks in the upper grades (for example, exploring the solar system).

* A major theme would last about two weeks in kindergarten (dinosaurs) and up to 12 weeks in the upper grades (ancient Greece).

Don't be afraid to cut short a regular or major theme that's dragging, or extend a theme that children have become absorbed in. But make sure that the major themes - those you'll be spending a lot of time preparing and carrying out - really are worthy of children's exploration.

7. Approach yearlong and schoolwide themes with caution. I have seen excellent schoolwide, yearlong themes. A science magnet school in Albany, New York, does a survival theme that involves all grade levels. But I have some concerns. One is that if you're doing the same theme all yearlong, you're not doing other themes. And what about the child who's stuck in a yearlong theme he or she doesn't like? Another concern is that some yearlong themes are so abstract or all-encompassing (such as respect) that it's hard to create relevant activities for them. It's not unusual for these themes to run out of steam. Schoolwide themes are easier to create than yearlong themes, but you have to be sure that the theme is suitable for students across the grades.

8. Bump up your own knowledge of the themes you're preparing. If you prepare themes by simply gathering books and activities, you may be missing out on one the most important aspects of creating themes - learning about the topics yourself, what I call "bumping up" your knowledge. If you do a theme on dinosaurs, bring your own knowledge of dinosaurs up to date. You'll find your theme will be more substantive, you'll have better suggestions for children as they pursue their projects, and you'll send a powerful message to children that you practice what you preach about learning. Bump up your knowledge through books, magazines and journals, talking to experts, exploring the Internet, and taking trips.

9. Teach a theme at least twice and recoup your investment in it. At a conference recently, a colleague told me that she never taught a theme twice because it would lose its interest and spontaneity. I can see how this could be true for cutesy themes, but substantive themes usually go better the second or third time they are done.

I wouldn't repeat a theme if it really bombed or if I had become tired of it after several years because it wasn't growing or changing.

10. Borrow theme ideas from others. Sometimes the best way to get started with themes is to use other people's, and then modify them with your own materials and activities. But I'd offer a couple of cautions. There area lot of publishers out there who want you to buy their "theme" packages, which are little more than sets of dittos loosely organized around a common label. Ask yourself: Will a child enlarge his or her knowledge of the world by using these materials, or are they just skills activities?

If you're looking for good theme ideas, check out the books I've listed in Resources on page 58. In time, you'll want to create your own themes. Who knows, you might end up writing your own theme book.

Turn to page 60 for examples of great themes for each grade level!

RELATED ARTICLE: Stages of Teaching a Theme

Launching

* Connect the theme to children's prior experiences.

* Find out what children know or want to explore.

* Draw children in with a powerful read-aloud.

Exploring

* Reading aloud, guided/shared reading, and independent reading related to the theme

* Writing (such as journal entries related to the reading and theme-connected stories)

* Speaking, listening, viewing (having children talk about their reading, watching a film on whales, listening to a speaker on birds of prey)

* Activities (such as making a class book about apples or measuring dinosaurs on the playground)

* Projects (such as having children explore a self-chosen or negotiated topic on their own or in small groups over several days or weeks)

Culminating

* Share what's been learned by making a display, putting on a readers' theater, or making a film strip or video.

* Take a field trip.

* Invite parents and friends into the classroom to learn about the theme.

Assessing

* If the theme's purpose is to enlarge children's understanding of an important concept, make sure your assessment focuses on this understanding.

* Use portfolios to have children show you what they've learned.

* Use checklists to see what skills have been mastered.

* Ask children and parents to give you feedback on the theme itself.

RELATED ARTICLE: YOUR Resources

The Basic School: A Community for Learning by Ernest Boyer (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1994). Boyer lays out a broad set of themes for elementary school.

Bridging the Gap: Integrating Curriculum in Upper Elementary and Middle Schools by Cora Lee Five and Marie Dionisio (Heinemann, 1995). This profiles a "Discoveries" theme in a fifth-grade classroom and a "Trying on Someone Else's Skin" theme in middle school.

Learning and Loving It: Theme Studies in the Classroom by Ruth Gamberg, Winniefred Kwak, Meredith Hutchings, and Judy Altheim (Heinemann, 1988). Full of practical ideas, this is about a primary school in Nova Scotia that organizes much of its curriculum around themes.

The Author Studies Handbook: Helping Students Build Powerful Connections to Literature by Laura Kotch and Leslie Zackman (Scholastic Professional Books, 1995). This is an excellent, very practical look at how to prepare themes on authors and illustrators.

Theme Immersion: Inquiry-Based Curriculum in Elementary and Middle Schools by Gary Manning, Maryann Manning, and Roberta Long (Heinemann, 1994). This look at theme immersions is well written, easy to follow, and full of good ideas.

Using Literature in the Middle Grades: A Thematic Approach by Joy Moss (Christopher Gordon, 1994). Focusing on literature themes in middle school, Moss has great ideas on creating themes around books.

Theme Studies: A Practical Guide by Penny Strube (Scholastic Professional Books, 1994). Discussing both teacher-generated and student-generated themes, Strube provides a wealth of practical ideas.

Teaching Kindergarten: A Developmentally Appropriate Approach by Bonnie Brown Walmsley, Anne-Marie Camp, and Sean Walmsley (Heinemann, 1992). This describes the philosophy and practice of a kindergarten program based entirely on themes. It provides teaching plans for 37 themes.

Editor's Note: Each month in Instructor you'll find an integrated theme unit by Bonnie Walmsley and Anne-Marie Camp in the Primary Theme Club.

Children Exploring Their World: Theme Teaching in Elementary School by Sean Walmsley (Heinemann, 1994). In the first half of this book, I lay out practical steps for creating and managing themes. In the second half of the book, teachers in grades K-6 share themes they have created (including insects, fish hatchery, architecture of a town, and Egyptian mummies).

RELATED ARTICLE: Great Themes Across the Grades

Here are some of my favorite themes for different grades, with explanations of why they work so well at each particular grade level.

Kindergarten

BEDTIME/BATH TIME

This is a health/social studies theme that focuses on the routines of bathing, brushing teeth, saying goodnight, and going to sleep. There's a wealth of fiction and nonfiction literature on this topic.

Why it works: This theme connects home, school, and subject areas in a way that kindergartners will find irresistible.

First Grade

ARTISTS

This theme might focus on a single artist or on a period of art (such as Impressionism). It involves exploring the lives of artists and their styles of painting or drawing.

Why it works: First graders learn primarily through their senses, and this theme is tactile, visual, and brings them up close to the work of great artists.

Second Grade

FAIRY TALES/FOLKTALES

This form theme compares fairy tales and folk-tales from different cultures and eras.

Why it works: This theme broadens kids' understanding not just of a genre but also of different cultures.

Third Grade

FASHION

This conceptual theme examines the history of fashion in the 20th century (looking at changes) and the garment industry (how fashions are designed, made, and marketed). It also looks at related social issues (such as killing animals to make clothes).

Why it works: Third graders have a fascination for how things work, and this theme has a strong behind-the-scenes quality.

Fourth Grade

BIRDS OF PREY

This science theme allows children to learn about different birds of prey - what they eat and how they catch their prey; their habitats; and how they fit into the ecology of the regions where they live.

Why it works: This theme encourages fourth graders to delve into a specific topic that derives from and generalizes to broader scientific principles.

Fifth Grade

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

This current events/conceptual theme examines a particular day from a variety of perspectives. For example, it could look at a day from the perspective of people in different walks of life in different countries. It would examine newspapers and other materials (such as interviews and diaries).

Why it works: This theme encourages fifth graders to look at events from different viewpoints and then learn to develop their own points of view.

Sixth Grade

FLIGHT

This conceptual theme offers opportunities to explore different facets of flight, including the mechanics of flying, comparing man-made versus bird flight, flight from oppression, and more.

Why it works: This theme offers the opportunities to explore sophisticated technical issues (such as the mechanics of bird and artificial flight) and abstract concepts (such as flights of fancy).

With acknowledgments to Anne-Marie Camp, Cindy Carubia, Mary Ellen Hart, Susan McWhinnie, Theresa Snyder, and Bonnie Walmsley for their theme ideas.

SEAN A. WALMSLEY is a professor in the reading department at the State University of New York at Albany, where he teaches graduate courses in reading and writing, and works with schools to improve their literacy programs. He has taught in both elementary and secondary schools.