Theme, Central Ideas, and Summaries– Playlist and Teaching Notes

In this playlist, students explore standard RL.9-10.2. They learn how to determine a theme or central idea of a text, analyze its development over the course of the text, and provide an objective summary of the text. Students are guided through reading an excerpt, determining the theme or central idea and writing an objective summary of it. Students apply what they learned by identifying the theme or central idea and writing a summary of a classic horror story. Students also have the option to view instructional videos and complete practice quizzes or activities.

The playlist includes:
• Link to one practice quiz or activity
• Links to five instructional videos or texts
• A self-check quiz consisting of story or poem passages, such as excerpt from “The Awakening,” “The Raven,” and more, and four multiple choice questions

Accompanying Teaching Notes include:
• Classroom activities and writing prompts for students
• Links to additional resources, such as strategies for teaching theme
• An accompanying answer guide with correct answers, answer choice rationales, and DOK levels

For more teaching and learning resources on standard RL.9-10.2, visit .