Identifying Themes in a Story

Identifying Themes in a Story

By Peter Gibson

Theme is the big idea the writer of a story is trying to tell you (the reader).

​What that means:

Theme is the underlying message or main idea of a story.

​The Definition:

What does theme mean in a story?

How can I find out the theme of a story?

Ask the following questions while reading your story:

1. What is the story about?

2. ​What is the meaning behind the story?

3. ​What is the lesson that the story is trying to teach us?

Can I find the theme of this short story?

​Kayla tried to ignore her sore throat and stuffy nose. She was trying out for the soccer team, and Coach Markham would pick only the twenty best players.

Kayla sipped from her water bottle while she waited to do practice drills. She sneezed, and then Coach Markham signaled her to start. First, Kayla had to run across the field as fast as she could. She took off, but her stuffy nose made it hard to breathe. When she reached the end of the field, she felt dizzy and her head was swimming a little. She hoped the coach hadn't noticed.

Next, she and another girl had to compete for control of the soccer ball. The other girl quickly stole the ball from Kayla. Kayla was surprised. She was usually good at this. For the first time, she worried that she might not make the team.

Kayla struggled through the other drills, too. At the end of the tryout, she felt terrible and left as soon as she could.

A few days later, Kayla had recovered from her cold. She was still worried about her performance at the tryout, but maybe it wasn't too late to do something about it.

Kayla went to see Coach Markham. She explained that she hadn't done her best because of her cold. Coach Markham listened patiently and agreed to let Kayla join the team for the first practice.

That was all Kayla wanted. She knew she would be a valuable member of the team. She just needed a chance to prove it.

Multiple Choice

What is the main theme of the story about Kayla?

• No one likes to hear excuses.

• Sometimes it pays off to ask for a second chance.

• You should always make sure you aren't sick before exercising.

• Kayla really likes soccer.

Now that I've practiced finding a story's theme, what is next?

As a class we will be reading a 4 chapter short story called "The Science of Slipping Up".

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​Throughout the story we will be looking at a self check rubric to see how we are doing at finding the theme of the story.

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We will finish by writing a paragraph about what the theme of the story is and providing examples of that theme throughout the story.​