Academic Vocabulary Overview: Theme, Central Idea, & Summary

Academic Vocabulary Overview:

Theme, Central Idea, & Objective Summaries

central idea

• Sometimes also called main idea. The central idea is what the story is mostly about.

   

  Example: The Three Little Pigs is a story about three pig brothers who each build their house differently. 

Multiple Choice

Most people think that Johann Sebastian Bach played the piano, but this is not true. The piano was not invented until just two years before he died. Bach's main instrument was the organ. He was a great organist. He wrote a lot of wonderful music for that instrument. He also played other keyboard instruments that were ancestors of the piano. Among these instruments was the harpsichord. Along with Mozart, Bach is considered to be one of the all-time great composers

What is the central idea of this paragraph?

• Mozart and Bach did not compose music for the piano.

• Johann Sebastian Bach was a great organist and writer.

• The piano had not been invented three hundred years ago.

• The harpsichord was a keyboard instrument before the piano.

explicit text

• Explicit text is information that is stated directly in a passage or story.

   

  Example: In The Three Little Pigs, the author directly states that the first brother built his house out of straw, the second built his house out of sticks, and the third brother built his house out of bricks.

Multiple Choice

Read the following passage and answer the question:

Maggie was getting ready to walk to school. She put on her coat and grabbed her backpack.

Which of the following is explicitly stated in the paragraph?

• Maggie lives close to the school.

• Maggie put on her coat and grabbed her backpack.

• Maggie is in primary school.

• Maggie is never late to school.

implicit text

• Implicit text is the information that is indirectly stated in a passage or story.

   

  Example: Since the pig brothers used different materials of different strengths, their houses are probably different strengths. I know this because I read between the lines. I took what the text explicitly told me and combined it with what I already knew in order to make an inference.  

Multiple Choice

Identify the implicit information in the article below:

Maggie was getting ready to walk to school. She put on her coat and grabbed her backpack.

• Maggie was late to school.

• Maggie lives close to the school.

• Maggie was in primary school.

• Maggie is excited about going to school.

inference

• An inference is what you do to read between the lines. It is closely related to implicit text. It is important to be able to make an inference because many times, you will need to inference in order to determine theme. 

Multiple Choice

As I walked in the door, I was amazed at the beautiful colors and smells. I knew it would be hard to decide what I would buy with my $3. The chocolate truffles looked delicious, but they were expensive. The jelly beans were not only cheaper, but so colorful! With so much to choose from, I knew I would be here a long time. Where am I?

• Gas station
• Candy store
• Grocery store
• Shoe store

objective (adj)

• To be objective means to stick to the facts and only the facts. This is how your summaries should be.

   

  Example: It is objective to say that the pig brothers built their homes out of different materials of different strengths: straw, sticks, and bricks.

Multiple Choice

If you're asked to write an objective summary, which of the following should you avoid?

• Listing the major events of the story/article

• Choosing only the most important parts

• Explaining your thoughts about the story/article

• Stating the central conflict of the story/article

subjective (adj)

• To summarize means to retell the most important part of the story. Remain objective when writing a summary. Do not insert your own opinions!

   

  Example: The Three Little Pigs is a story about three pig brothers who each build their house differently. A hungry wolf comes to where to brother pigs live and the wolf slowly starts to blow the pigs’ houses down. He starts with the house of the brother who built his house of straw, which the wolf easily blows down. Then, the wolf goes to the brother’s house who built his home of sticks. The wolf easily blows down this pig’s home, too. Finally, the wolf goes to the brother’s house that built his home out of brick. The wolf is unable to blow down the final brick house.

Multiple Choice

Bias is "prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair." What kind of writing would be most likely to show bias?

• Objective

• Subjective

summary

• To summarize means to retell the most important part of the story. Remain objective when writing a summary. Do not insert your own opinions!

   

  Example: The Three Little Pigs is a story about three pig brothers who each build their house differently. A hungry wolf comes to where to brother pigs live and the wolf slowly starts to blow the pigs’ houses down. He starts with the house of the brother who built his house of straw, which the wolf easily blows down. Then, the wolf goes to the brother’s house who built his home of sticks. The wolf easily blows down this pig’s home, too. Finally, the wolf goes to the brother’s house that built his home out of brick. The wolf is unable to blow down the final brick house.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the better objective summary of The Lion King?

• This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba, the heir of his father, Mufasa. Simba's wicked uncle, Scar, plots to usurp Mufasa's throne by luring father and son into a stampede of wildebeests. But Simba escapes, and only Mufasa is killed. Simba returns as an adult to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his friends Timon and Pumbaa.

• In a tear jerker story, a young lion, Simba, becomes the victim of his cruel Uncle Scar’s plot to take the throne. After finding himself with the help of his friends Timon and Pumbaa, Simba heroically returns to Pride Rock where he overpowers Scar. While the film is charming and inspiring, the likelihood of a vegetarian lion beating his dominant uncle in a fight is hard to swallow.

theme

• Theme is the universal message, moral, or lesson a story conveys. You need to make sure you can support your theme with explicit text from the story.

   

  Example: The theme of the story The Three Little Pigs is that taking your time to do something pays off. I know this because the only pig whose house isn’t destroyed is the brother who took his time to build a sturdy house out of bricks.

Multiple Choice

Three butterflies notice an overturned honey pot. Two of the butterflies decide to land in the honey and start eating it. But the oldest butterfly stays back. The two butterflies tease the older butterfly, but then get stuck in the honey. What is the theme of this story?

• Overeating leads to illness.

• The first to try something gets rewarded.

• Some treats aren't worth risking your safety.

topic

• Topic is the subject. You will see topics both for central idea and for theme. There are many common theme topics. Scroll to the end of these notes for a list of the most common.

Multiple Choice

"Friendship" is an example of a...

• Topic

• Theme