Teaching theme is hard. Finding theme games and centers that actually help struggling students practice how to determine the theme of a story is even harder.
Most theme practice involves simply reading a passage and answering a multiple choice question about what the theme is. Not only can this be boring and monotonous for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students, but it is extremely unhelpful for struggling students who are unsure of how to find the theme of a passage.
Below, find 3 center/game ideas to help students practice theme in a fun and engaging way. Use these ideas to create your own theme centers for your classroom, or buy the extremely low prep version here. (Only 1 center requires prep - a little cutting.)
Theme Game/Center #1 - Theme Mazes
Mazes are a fun way to practice this skill, and they can be used in a variety of ways depending on what aspect of theme your upper elementary students need practice with.
The theme mazes I have created in my Finding the Theme Games and Centers resource address two different skills.
The first 2 mazes help students practice distinguishing between a theme and a main idea. In order to complete the maze, students must shade in some possible theme statements. Students are required to think about the difference between theme and main idea in order to complete this activity successfully.
In the last 3 mazes of the resource, students are given a theme. In order to complete the mazes, students have to shade in the main ideas that could go along with the provided theme. Students must think about what stories and plots could have a certain theme.
These mazes are good way for upper elementary students to practice skills associated with theme without students having to read a lot of text.
Theme Game/Center #2 - Theme Sort
Having students sort short stories by theme is an incredibly beneficial activity for students that are struggling to determine the theme on their own.
Often, this type of game is played like a matching game, where students read a short paragraph and then have to match up the correct theme to the paragraph. This is easier to create, but not as helpful for struggling students.
Instead, create a game where only 3 - 4 themes are included. For each theme, include several short stories that have that theme. Then, have students sort the stories based on theme.
Having students think about how completely different stories can have the same theme just based on the plot and lessons learned will really help students better understand what a theme is.
If your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students need extra practice with this skill, this no prep theme freebie might help.
Theme Center/Game #3 - Writing With a Theme
One of the best ways to have upper elementary students apply what they know about theme is to have them write stories with a theme! This is a rigorous activity for upper elementary students that requires little prep on the teacher's end - a win/win!
However, this can be an overwhelming task for students, especially if they don't enjoy writing. Some students will benefit from a little scaffolding instead of being given free rein.
Provide students with the theme of their story, as well as ideas for characters and settings if they are having trouble coming up with their own. Then, students just have to focus on how to get the theme across.
While the writing center mentioned above does not require much prep to create, the other two centers can be time consuming to make. However, they are engaging activities that will help students better understand how to find the theme of a story. Save time by buying the already made version of these centers here.
Each of the centers in this resource comes with either a student recording sheet or a grading rubric so that you hold students accountable for their work, and you can also easily assign a grade to each center.
You might like some of these other ideas and activities for teaching theme.
Teaching theme soon? This no prep cut and paste activity will make a great addition to your lessons.