Conflict and Theme

Overview

Lesson 3 of 5 in Growing Through Story. Students examine the selected chapters to identify the central conflict, sequence important events, and connect character decisions to themes such as courage, forgiveness, compassion, faith, and integrity.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to state the central conflict and explain how it develops.
• Students will be able to sequence three important events and connect them to character decisions.
• Students will be able to distinguish a topic from a theme.
• Students will be able to express a theme as a complete message supported by textual evidence.
• Students will discuss interpretations respectfully and build on others’ ideas.

Success criteria

• I can state the central conflict in one clear sentence.
• I can sequence three important events and explain how each develops the conflict.
• I can explain how a character’s decision connects to a possible theme.
• I can write a complete theme message and support it with evidence from the text.

Curriculum links

• Cite specific textual evidence when explaining what a literary text says and when drawing inferences.
• Determine a theme from details in a story and summarize the text.
• Analyze how a story’s structure, including events and conflict, develops meaning.
• Write about literary texts using evidence and participate effectively in collaborative discussions.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes — Hook and retrieval

Open with the opening question and lesson goals: “Can one difficult choice reveal what a person truly believes?” Students briefly write or turn and talk about a time a character in the novel faced a difficult choice. Invite two or three responses, reminding students that different interpretations may be reasonable when supported by evidence.

2. 5–12 minutes — Teach conflict, topic, and theme

Use the conflict, topic, and theme examples to explicitly teach:

• Conflict is the central struggle or problem.
• A topic is a single word or phrase, such as courage.
• A theme is a complete message about life, such as “Courage can help people act rightly even when they are afraid.”

Model changing a topic into a theme statement. Briefly clarify figurative or unfamiliar language from the selected chapters, using context clues, nearby sentences, and student-friendly synonyms.

3. 12–18 minutes — Guided rereading

Read or have students reread key passages from the selected chapters. Display the evidence-finding prompts: “What problem is becoming more serious?” “What choice does a character make?” and “What changes because of this choice?” Students mark one passage that reveals the conflict or a character decision. Pair students strategically for collaborative reading and quick explanation.

4. 18–32 minutes — Small-group event sequence

Place students in groups of three or four and distribute the group role cards. Assign roles such as reader, evidence finder, recorder, and discussion leader; combine roles if needed for smaller groups. Give each group the conflict and theme analysis worksheet. Students complete the story-mountain-style organizer by recording three important events in order, the character decision in each event, and how the conflict develops. Encourage groups to refer directly to the text rather than relying on memory.

5. 32–41 minutes — Theme discussion

Display the group discussion prompts. Groups discuss which topic or topics are developed and write one complete theme statement. They must add at least two pieces of evidence, explaining how each supports the message. Sentence frames may include: “The story suggests that…” and “This is shown when ___, because ___.” Circulate, asking, “Could this be a topic instead of a theme?” and “What does the character learn or reveal?”

6. 41–47 minutes — Share and compare interpretations

Invite three groups to share their conflict statement, event sequence, and theme. Students listen for similarities and differences. Use the comparison and response prompts: “Which event most strongly develops the theme?” and “What evidence makes this interpretation convincing?” Record strong evidence-based ideas for the class.

7. 47–50 minutes — Individual check

Students complete the final section of the conflict and theme analysis worksheet independently: state the conflict, list three events in order, and write one supported theme statement. Use the exit reflection for the prompt, “Which character decision most shaped the story’s message?” Collect the worksheets as students leave.

Resources

• Selected chapters and student copies of the novel
• the conflict and theme lesson deck
• the conflict and theme analysis worksheet
• the group role cards
• Highlighters or pencils
• Chart paper or whiteboard
• Sticky notes for marking evidence
• Dictionaries or classroom language supports

Assessment

• During group work, listen for accurate identification of conflict, correctly sequenced events, and evidence-based discussion.
• Review the worksheet for a clear conflict statement, three logically sequenced events, and a theme expressed as a complete message.
• Note whether students distinguish a topic from a theme and explain how evidence supports their interpretation.

Differentiation

• Provide a story-mountain template, event prompts, preselected passages, and partially completed event cards or notes for students who need organizational support.
• Use collaborative reading, mixed-ability grouping, role cards, audio reading where available, and sentence frames for EAL learners.
• Explicitly teach figurative and unfamiliar language with context clues, gestures, sketches, and student-friendly definitions.
• Extend advanced students by comparing the novel’s theme with a biblical parable or another short text, explaining similarities and differences without requiring a single interpretation.

Extension

Students write a brief comparison between the novel’s developing theme and a biblical parable or another short text. They should identify one shared or contrasting message and support the comparison with evidence from both texts.