1. Literary Themes
8th Grade Unit – Nicholas Silano (Spring 2015)

2. Rationale for Integrating Technology
• Although literature thrives on a
paper-based discussion, it
can still benefit from the smart
inclusion of technology in its
many different forms.
• This presentation will detail
how various electronic aids
(e.g. websites, charts, apps)
can bolster understanding
about the literary themes.

3. Internet Content Credibility
• Any information and statistics provided from internet sources are
included based on the strength of the respective website’s validity.
Thus, both the creator of the presentation and the viewer can be
certain that the content is reliable as well as up-to-date (Jan 2015).
• Images for this presentation are collected from a wide range of
various internet sources. To give credit where credit is due, clicking
any image will redirect the viewer to the image’s source of origin.

4. Websites for Content Definitions
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of integrating technology in the
classroom is the ability to pull up information when it is needed.
One such example of this would be a website like dictionary.com.

5. Interactive Visual Aids (Ex: Polls)
• Some teachers have difficulty
keeping students away from
their smartphones and their
cellular devices. Interactive
presentations (such as text
polls provided by websites
like polleverywhere.com) can
be used to maintain student
interest while deterring the
unwanted distractions that
come from such electronics.

6. Instructional Videos
Online videos can be excellent teaching aids if they are both entertaining and educational!
Click on either one of the videos below to be redirected to the respective video!
Plot and Theme Song (“Poker Face” parody)“How to find a theme” Guide

7. Instructional Videos
While Youtube is full of user-
submitted content, educational
videos are often hard to come by.
Websites like brightstorm.com
offer more instructive videos that
forgo entertainment in favor of
traditional lecture-based snippits.
Click the video to the right to
watch teacher Katie Aquino
explain how to determine the
themes of Finding Nemo!

8. Blog: The Literacy Cookbook
Sarah Tantillo (pictured right) has been
an teacher, department head, and an
educational coach prior to her role as a
valuable resource in the NJ community.
She operates a Wordpress blog that is
frequently updated and corresponds
with the work of her organization. Her
post on themes can be found here.

9. Kidspiration
Such programs as Kidspiration can prove useful for creating
illustrations and diagrams.

10. Padlet
Padlet is a website that allows
you to create online corkboards
that can be shared with your
students! Students are also able
to post onto the board as well,
turning it into a discussion piece.

11. Web 2.0
Although they are normally taboo in
most school settings, social networks
can actually be very useful in the
classroom when used appropriately.
Twitter can be a helpful avenue for
news and notices, Instagram can make
activities more engaging via sharing of
relevant images, and Facebook can be
used as a class hub for communication
and group discussions. Very helpful!

12. Applications (Apps)
Genius
A good example of a useful
“app” for the classroom
would be Genius, a program
designed for the aided
interpretation of various
forms of artistic content.
Aside from the novelty of
analyzing song lyrics, the app
includes a respectable
amount of user-submitted
annotations on famous
poetry pieces and works of
well-known literature.

13. Applications (Apps)
Books
Another useful application (app)
is the basic “Books” app that
comes with the today’s standard
smartphone. These apps often
have a great amount of free
texts to download and read on
one’s smart device, which allows
teachers and students to forgo
the cost of physical copies. This
level of accessibility can only
benefit the classroom and give
teachers more time to instruct.

14. Teaching Aides
Scholastic is one of the many
great educational resources for
teachers which offers various
templates and lesson plans for
specific topics. If you visit the
following website, you will be
directed to a sheer bounty of
wonderful thematic activities:
http://www.scholastic.com/tea
chers/top_teaching/2011/02/h
elping-students-grasp-themes-
in-literature

15. Teaching Aides
Pinterest is another great
resource for accumulating unique
educational resources. Making an
account on the site takes less
than a minute, giving you almost
immediate access to hundreds (if
not thousands) of great material:
https://www.pinterest.com/wear
eteachers/teaching-theme-in-
literature/

16. Podcasts (Listed by te@chthought)
As someone who absolutely enjoys
podcasts on his own personal time,
I am a major proponent of the use
of podcasts as teacher aides. While,
there are plenty of literary-themed
ones that emphasize issues of the
Language Arts classroom, I greatly
insist on checking out a great variety
of the educational podcasts listed here:
http://www.teachthought.com/technology/51-education-
podcasts-for-the-21st-century-teacher/

17. PuzzleMaker (from DiscoveryEducation)
PuzzleMaker is a valuable
online resource that allows
users to generate puzzles.
This is an excellent website
for teachers to use in order
to make custom puzzle
sheets to fit the needs of a
particular lesson, such as
the themes found in a
certain work of fiction!

18. Smart Board Activities
“Smart Exchange” offers a
helpful amount of different
interactive presentations, a
resource that is free for all.
Click on the image to the left
to be redirected to the Smart
Board activity focusing on
helping students to identify
literary themes in the stories
that they read!

19. Prezi / HaikuDeck
Want to create a PowerPoint slideshow but dislike the Microsoft suite
of products? Programs like Prezi and HaikuDeck are great alternatives
and are free-to-use for educational purposes as a teacher.

20. Slideshare