Themes, symbols, and motifs come alive when you use a storyboard. In this activity, students will identify one theme from the text and trace the way it is developed throughout the story. Students may find that plot events, characters traits, important quotations, and symbols might all help convey a theme. Selecting and depicting these elements can be good preparation for an essay on themes within the novel.
The example below shows a sample storyboard for an exploration of the theme of prejudice. As a town with a large immigrant population, Manifest is home to many kinds of prejudice in the early 1900s. World War I only increases the townspeople’s fear of outsiders. Throughout the book, these prejudices manifest themselves in both major and minor ways.
Other themes to consider for this activity:
The 1917 flashbacks begin with Jinx and Ned running into a KKK rally. The KKK is strong in Manifest because of its large immigrant population. The klan members object to the different races, nationalities, and religions of the immigrants.
At the fair, Lance Devlin brags about enlisting in the army. He mocks Ned for being too poor to enlist, then suggests that he might be an enemy spy since his ethnic heritage is unknown.
Many of the women in town are prejudiced against Miss Sadie due to her Hungarian heritage, accent, and clothing. They do not allow her to submit a square for the Victory Quilt that is to be signed by President Roosevelt.
Ned is taken away from his mother when they arrive in America. When Miss Sadie finally tracks him down years later, he has been adopted by an American family. Miss Sadie decides not to reveal her identity in order to spare him humiliation and and prejudice she experiences.
Arthur Devlin takes advantage of the immigrants' need for work by making them work long hours for low pay. He encourages tension between ethnic groups by refusing to let different nationalities work together. He hopes this will prevent them from working against him.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard depicting important themes, symbols, and motifs in the story.
Guide students to connect plot events, character actions, and symbols to the story’s themes. Encourage participation by asking open-ended questions and inviting students to support their ideas with evidence from the text.
Prompt students to relate themes like belonging or perseverance to their own lives or current events. This deepens understanding and makes discussions more meaningful.
Provide students with a visual tool to track how themes evolve throughout the novel. Graphic organizers help students organize their thoughts and spot patterns in the story.
Divide students into groups and assign each group a theme to explore. Roles like summarizer, illustrator, and discussion leader ensure all students are engaged and responsible for a part of the analysis.
Invite groups or individuals to present their findings through storyboards, skits, or visual displays. Creative sharing reinforces learning and celebrates students’ insights.
Moon Over Manifest explores several key themes, including prejudice, community, hope and perseverance, friendship, home and belonging, and the power of stories. Each theme is developed through the novel’s characters, plot events, and symbols.
Students can use a storyboard to visually organize important events, character traits, and symbols that illustrate a chosen theme. This helps trace the theme’s development and prepares students to write essays or participate in discussions about the novel.
An example of prejudice in the novel is when Miss Sadie is excluded from contributing to the Victory Quilt due to her Hungarian heritage. The town’s immigrant community also faces suspicion and discrimination, especially during World War I.
Exploring themes helps students connect personally to the story, understand character motivations, and think critically about social issues depicted in the novel. It encourages deeper reading and engagement with the text.
Easy lesson ideas include storyboarding key themes, having students find quotations that illustrate each theme, or creating group presentations on how symbols represent larger ideas in the novel.