Exploring themes in 'Mulan'
I can explore the themes within ‘Mulan’ to infer a moral from the story.
Exploring themes in 'Mulan'
I can explore the themes within ‘Mulan’ to infer a moral from the story.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.
- Identifying the themes within ‘Mulan’ helps us understand the deeper meaning behind the story.
- A moral is a lesson that can be learnt from a story or experience.
- Key themes such as gender roles and the character traits Mulan shows to become a trailblazer help us infer a moral.
- Readers may have different interpretations of a text, its meaning or the moral drawn from it.
Keywords
Theme - a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story
Moral - a lesson that can be learnt from a story or experience
Gender roles - ways in which girls and boys might be expected to behave differently
Trailblazer - a person who is the first to do something; an innovator
Common misconception
Children may find it hard to infer or justify an appropriate moral for the tale.
Ask the children to consider what they think is 'right vs wrong' in the story. Use prompt questions such as, "Do you think that girls should be allowed to do the same things as boys?" or "Do you think that lying is always the wrong thing?"
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2014 Oxford University Press edition of ‘Mulan' written by Michaela Morgan for this lesson.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
the ability to do something that frightens one; bravery
the ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions
having a firm goal and remaining committed to it