In this activity, students will identify themes in Bud, Not Buddy and support the theme with details from the text. Several themes are present in the novel, and students should discern how these themes are developed.
Throughout the novel, many strangers help Bud survive; they provide shelter, food, transportation, and even lie to keep Bud safe.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in Bud, Not Buddy. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.
Explain to students what themes are and why they are an essential part of any form of writing. Teachers can begin with the importance of themes to add depth to the writing and show students some examples of other authors.
Teachers can provide students with some exercises and reading comprehension where students will read certain paragraphs and identify the main theme behind that paragraph and how the author has integrated that theme into their writing.
Ask the students to familiarize themselves with symbolism and metaphors. Teachers can provide students with examples of how symbolic writing can represent a theme.
Give students the chance to participate in creative writing tasks that concentrate on incorporating themes. These exercises can be fun and encourage pupils to try out various writing styles.
Teachers can hold discussions or peer reviews where students can share their writing after finishing it and talk about how well the themes are incorporated into the narrative. This encourages progress in subsequent writing and promotes critical thinking.
The story's core topic is family, as Bud looks for his father and a place to fit in. Throughout his trip, he develops relationships with many personalities who, although not being his biological family, end up becoming his "chosen family" and giving him a sense of love, support, and belonging.
The Great Depression serves as a backdrop of financial hardship and societal difficulties that forms the experiences of the protagonists. Since the characters must overcome challenging conditions and forge relationships in order to survive and grow, the historical setting supports the themes of resiliency and family.
To fully engross readers and grasp their attention in Bud's trip, Christopher Paul Curtis uses rich visualization, humor, and first-person narration. Readers can better grasp the emotional depth and complexity of the subjects covered in the book by experiencing the events through Bud's point of view and understanding his perspective.
The value of tenacity, resiliency, and the significance of developing deep relationships with people in the surrounding can all be learned by readers. Readers are taught about the importance of family relationships and belonging through the concepts of love and support exchanged between people rather than only by blood.