What Disney World Taught Me About Teaching THEME [S7 EP. 224]

Listen to the full episode below:

There are several frequently asked questions that we get in our Brave New Teaching community and many of them center around teaching theme. For example, How can we make teaching theme easier? What are some new ways of teaching theme? What do students really need to know when it comes to theme?

It’s clear that theme is something we could all use additional support with! It’s a state standard and not going anywhere, so let’s talk about it! I recently took a magical trip to Disney with my family, and the experiences we had there taught me a lot about teaching theme. While Disney has its flaws, one thing they have absolutely mastered is the art of theming!

There are three main lessons I learned about teaching theme through the Disney lens:

  1. Theme is an experience that requires a beginning, middle, and end

  2. The details of the experience enhance and color that theme

  3. How important is it actually for kids to articulate a theme statement independently?

I’m breaking down each of these lessons inside this episode. And don’t worry, you don’t need to be a Disney fan to appreciate the takeaways! I have a feeling it will help you in your lesson planning and goal setting this year.

If you want to continue the conversation about teaching theme, send us a message on Instagram @bravenewteaching. Better yet, join us in Happy Hour where we have lots of detailed discussions about these topics with actionable lesson plans and resources every single month!

Topics Discussed:

  • A deep dive into the three lessons I learned about teaching theme

  • What to consider when thinking about when and where to teach theme

  • Things that get in the way of teaching theme effectively

  • What students need to understand when learning about theme

  • Planning out the skills that you want to focus on in advance

  • Alternative ideas to having students write theme statements by themselves

  • Transferring themes to the real world

Resources Mentioned:

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More about Brave New Teaching:

Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!

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