A student’s ability to find, explain, and analyze themes is a large part of the Common Core State Standards. Beginning in elementary school, students are expected to identify and explain the central idea, or theme, in a variety of texts. Ideally then, when a teacher in a high school classroom assigns students the task of finding a theme, explaining its development and overall relevance, no time should be spent reteaching this concept. However, for numerous reasons, this is not always the case. Neurodiverse students in particular can struggle with putting abstract concepts into written form. Nearly every semester I have a handful of students who struggle to identify and explain themes. To address this, I set the following objectives for myself:

• I can explain how to teach concepts with many layers of meaning like themes to neurodivergent learners through creation of an in-class activity. 
• I can design a more inclusive and accessible learning experience related to understanding themes in The Crucible for 11th grade neurodivergent students. 

In order to effectively design assessments, assignments, and objectives for students, I turned to Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005) Understanding by Design. With this backwards design, I first considered what I wanted my students to be able to do: name a theme, and trace its development across Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In order for students to demonstrate their knowledge, I thought about objectives they should be able to achieve: 

• Students can identify a theme in The Crucible through in-class discussion and work. 
• Students can explain in writing how a theme in The Crucible develops through use of a graphic organizer.

Finally, I considered what learning activities could get students there. I decided on: an in-class differentiated activity and a written component to highlight their thinking. Once I had decided on the structure and order of content, it was time to design it. 

Making sure to include accessibility from the start, I drew upon research in the special education and user design fields. Dolmage (2017) reminded me I should carefully consider if any ableist assumptions impact my design work. Upon reflection, one assumption I had was that many neurodiverse students are writing averse. However, Zagjic et al. (2024) found that many students with Autism have  good self-concept as writers, and merely need support to help them succeed with writing tasks. With this in mind, I kept researching ways to support my students. Bishop et al. (2015) found graphic organizers to be of help, while Beers and Probst (2012) stress the importance of putting a few easy to remember tools in the hands of students. Deciding a graphic organizer would be helpful for all students, as well as adopting some of the signposts Beers and Probst (2012) champion, I began drafting ideas for the in-class activity and thematic writing. 

Following Mangtani’s (2024) steps of intriguing the learner, introducing the objective, and illuminating with knowledge, I designed a Genially. Depending on students’ needs, it can be completed as a whole-group session, broken up into small groups, or completed individually with the teacher acting as support. Students are then able to inspect their practice through working with identifying themes in a familiar format for them: Pixar Shorts.

After working with themes on a smaller scale, I can check student work and help students transition back to working with The Crucible, which is a major text in English 11-2. Shifting from the Genially to a more traditional paper and pencil approach, I still incorporated opportunities for collaboration, as I believe strongly in sociocultural theory and the zone of proximal development as a way to help students grow (Vygotsky, 1979). Schneider (n.d.) and Beers and Probst (2012) helped give me ideas for scaffolding a thematic writing assignment for The Crucible. 

Students start with the familiar, writing down aspects of the play we have covered in class. Then, they move to applying what they learned with the Genially through identification of a theme. Finally, students put it all together by explaining how the theme develops throughout the text and why the theme matters.

I have reaffirmed my belief that building accessible learning experiences from the start benefits all students. Though this lesson is geared towards The Crucible, the Genially itself can be taken and adapted to numerous texts and multiple grade levels, as can the writing graphic organizer. 

More research is needed on teaching abstract concepts to neurodiverse students at the high school level. While supporting students at all levels is important, I find it startling that after using university libraries, Google Scholar, and regular web searches, it was difficult to find others talking about neurodiverse students in high school English classes, especially given the fact all students in Michigan need four years of English to graduate high school, and that the Common Core State Standards stress the importance of theme so much. 

I hope I can add this small piece to what will hopefully be a growing area of education, disability studies, and learning design.

References 

Beers, K., & Probst, R. (2012).  Notice & note: Strategies for close reading. Heinemann. 

Bishop, A. E., Sawyer, M., Alber-Morgan, S. R., & Boggs, M. (2015). Effects of a graphic organizer training package on the persuasive writing of middle school students with autism. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 50(3), 290–302.

Dolmage, J.T. (2017). Academic ableism: Disability and higher education. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/book.57058.

Mangtani, A. J. (2024). Instructional design unleashed: Unlocking professional learning potential with UX, agile, and AI methods (1st ed. 2024.). Apress.

Schneider, C. (n.d.). What is theme? 5 tips for teaching theme. The Daring English Teacher.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1979). Consciousness as a problem in the psychology of behavior.  Russian Social Science Review, 20(4), 47-79.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design, (2nd Ed.). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Zajic, M. C., McCauley, J. B., McIntyre, N. S., & Mundy, P. C. (2024). Writing self-concept, text engagement, and writing practices across contexts: Comparisons between school-age children on the Autism spectrum and their non-autistic peers. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 54(10), 3792-3807. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-06080-w