Themes in Ella Enchanted

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 two of the themes in Ella Enchanted. Teachers may want the students to identify and illustrate two themes, one for each cell, or identify one theme and show two examples of it, one example per cell.

Examples of Themes in Ella Enchanted

Selflessness

Ella’s selflessness is evident throughout the story. Perhaps her greatest act of selflessness is when she refuses Char’s marriage proposal in order to keep him safe, even though she loves him and wants to be his wife.

Power

Although Ella is born into wealth and privilege, her gift of obedience causes her to lose control of her own actions. She does not have the power to make her own choices. Hattie abuses her power by tormenting and tricking Ella into doing things she doesn’t want to do.

Wealth

Wealth and status is a major theme of the story. Her father lost all his money, and her new step family is obsessed with wealth and having nice things. Ella, on the other hand, doesn’t care about money, and it turns out that Char doesn’t either.

Due Date:

Objective: Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in Ella Enchanted. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.

Student Instructions:

1. Click "Start Assignment".
2. Identify the themes from Ella Enchanted you wish to include and write them in the headings.
3. Create an image for an example that represents this theme using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
4. Write a short description of each of the examples.