- Define symbolism and identify symbols in the world around us.
- Recognize symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony in a short story.
- Analyze an author's choice of symbols, identifying various levels of meaning.
- Write about how literary devices (symbolism, irony, characterization, allusion, etc.) help us to see how themes are developed.
What we did:
- We spent some time talking about common symbols in the world around us. We viewed several examples, and we heard from various class members about what different things these symbols could represent.
- We discussed how one symbol can have various meanings that require different levels of interpretation to discover. Some meanings can be classified as "surface level" while others require a little more inference, or looking at them from multiple perspectives.
- We applied what we learned about symbols to a short story, "Like the Sun." Students worked in groups to read the story and interpret the symbolism in it before reporting back to the whole class.
- We discussed how understanding the symbolism in a story can lead us to a theme or overarching idea that the story expresses. I modeled for the students how they can use the Schaffer paragraphing model to write about a theme, using symbolism examples as supporting details.
- I assigned the students a different story to read, where they were responsible for noticing literary devices that helped them in their understanding of theme. The students worked on creating their own paragraphs in which they stated a theme, and then argued how the story's symbolism, irony, allusions, characterizations, etc. helped them to arrive at that theme.
Homework for tonight:
- Read for at least 30 minutes from your personal reading book
- Have your parents log in to Skyward with their family access login and password. Have them follow the instructions to grant you permission to use school computers.