R22: Compare groups of titles with respect to a specific universal idea.

Notes and Resources:

Story Chart
Socratic List

As with all other facets of literary reading, students apply the techniques they have learned previously on children’s stories to works at their own reading level, comparing the contributions of a range of authors to a discussion of universal ideas.

The “general theme” of a story is the universal idea, topic, or question that the story addresses; the subject toward which the author wishes to turn the conversation. It is distinct from the “specific theme” of a story, which is the case, point, or argument that the author is making about that topic.