A theme is a central idea, subject, or message in a story. Many stories have more than one important theme. For this activity, students will identify and illustrate the themes in Dragonwings. Teachers may want the students to identify and illustrate 3 themes, one for each cell, or identify one theme, and show three examples of it, one example per cell.
Moon Shadow had never met his father, and when he does, he has an enormous amount of respect for him. Windrider gave up everything for his family by moving to America many years ago, and makes money so they can all have a better life.
It is clear that Moon Shadow’s friends are like family in America. The Whitlaws and the Company became very close to Windrider and Moon Shadow, and helped them a great deal in many ways.
As a Chinese immigrant, Moon Shadow experiences many cultural differences. He and the other Tang people endure cruel racism and discrimination from the white people around them, whom they call “demons”. As Moon Shadow meets more kind “demons”, he realizes that not all Americans are bad people.
Windrider has a big dream of building and flying his own airplane. Although it takes a long time and a lot of money, he never gives up and achieves his dream.
Throughout the novel, the characters speak of previous and future lives. They believe in many lives, and honor the dead a great deal.
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in Dragonwings. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.
Student Instructions:
Engage students in a collaborative conversation about themes in Dragonwings. This helps build understanding and encourages participation when students begin their own storyboards.
Read a short passage aloud and think aloud as you identify clues about the story’s theme. This demonstration shows students how to connect details to themes in context.
Give students sentence starters such as “A big idea in this chapter is…” or “This event shows that…”. Guiding questions help students focus their thinking and make theme identification easier.
Remind students to include quotes or specific details from Dragonwings when writing their descriptions. Textual evidence strengthens their understanding and explanations of each theme.
Dragonwings explores several key themes, including family, friendship, race and discrimination, dreams, and belief in the afterlife. These themes reflect the struggles and hopes of Chinese immigrants in early 20th-century America.
Students can identify themes by looking for recurring ideas or messages in the story. To illustrate them, they might create a storyboard, drawing scenes that represent each theme and writing short descriptions to explain their choices.
Family is central to Dragonwings, as Moon Shadow's relationship with his father, Windrider, shows the sacrifices and deep respect within immigrant families. The story highlights how family bonds help characters overcome challenges.
Moon Shadow and his community face racism and discrimination from white Americans. However, as he befriends kind Americans, he learns not all are prejudiced, showing the complex theme of race in the novel.
The theme of dreams drives Windrider to pursue building and flying his own airplane. His determination inspires others, teaching readers about perseverance and hope.