There are many themes, symbols, and motifs present throughout the novel The Wish Giver. In this activity, students will identify themes, symbols, and motifs in The Wish Giver and illustrate examples from the text. Students can explore by identifying these elements themselves or in an “envelope activity”, where they are given one or more to track throughout their reading. Then, they'll create a spider map illustrating what they found!
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes, symbols, or motifs found in The Wish Giver. Illustrate each and write a short description below each cell.
Student Instructions:
Encourage students to share their ideas about themes and symbols in an open forum. Fostering dialogue helps learners deepen understanding and see multiple perspectives.
Create a list of open-ended questions about key themes and symbols. Well-crafted prompts guide students to think critically and connect ideas from the text to their own experiences.
Remind students to listen actively and let everyone share. Setting ground rules promotes a safe environment where all voices are valued.
Display student-created spider maps or illustrations as visual anchors. Visuals help make abstract themes and symbols more concrete and inspire richer discussion.
Ask students to relate the story's themes to their own lives or current events. This reflection makes learning meaningful and memorable.
The Wish Giver features recurring themes such as friendship, self-control, kindness, and the idea of being careful what you wish for. Key symbols include the Bullfrog, Coven Tree, and water, each representing deeper meanings within the story.
Students can identify themes, symbols, and motifs by tracking recurring ideas or objects as they read. Using activities like a spider map or an envelope activity helps students organize examples and illustrate their findings effectively.
A spider map is a graphic organizer where students place a key theme, symbol, or motif in the center and branch out with examples and illustrations from the book. This visual approach aids comprehension and discussion.
Discussing motifs and symbols helps students develop critical thinking and literary analysis skills. It encourages them to look beyond the plot and understand deeper meanings within the story.
Fun strategies include storyboarding key moments, using envelope activities to assign motifs to students, and creating group discussions or visual projects like spider maps that make literary analysis interactive and engaging.