Theme Mini Lesson

Theme

Cliche

Two Ways to THEME!

Two Questions:

1. What what happened good or bad?

2. Why was it good or bad?

Two Statements:

1. The main character learned that he/she should…

2. We should…

Questions (Concrete)

1. Make a list of topics covered in the story.

2. Pick a topic and write this sentence about it: 

3. The author’s message is that (topic)  _________________________.

4. Now cross out “The author’s message is that”

Formula (abstract)

Multiple Choice

The message or lesson that the author wants you to learn from the story is called the

• conflict

• resolution

• theme

• main idea

Multiple Choice

One way you could figure out the theme is to...

• Skim through the story

• Just read the beginning of the story

• Think about what the character has learned

Multiple Choice

Susie was waiting for Tina to arrive in the crowded lunch room. She looked through the crowd to see if she could spot Tina from afar. Tina was standing in an area all by herself. She had a perplexed look on her face, as there were no other seats available. Thankfully, Susie had saved her a seat, and all was well.

• Lunch is best when it's crowded

• Be nice

• Friends should look out for each other

Multiple Choice

Jim was stacking boxes at work. There was a certain height he had to reach. He stretched his body, but could not reach to place the final box at the top. Bill happened to see Jim struggling and came to his rescue, since he was a foot taller.

• Teamwork can accomplish a goal

• Tall people are the best

• Work hard to reach a goal

Multiple Choice

The girls were coloring when Mike wanted to join along. One girl moved the crayons closer to them. The other girl proceeded to take the other crayon boxes. Mike had no crayons to use. One girl remarked, "These crayons are ours. Find your own."

• Being greedy is never nice

• You should keep your own things to yourself

• Friends should color together

Multiple Choice

"You can do it!" shouted her father, as he pushed Chloe and let go. She was going on her own, but suddenly fell. She cried, but said, "Again, daddy!" This time she went farther but fell into the ditch. A few moments later, she was riding down the street, smiling from ear to ear.

• You should never give up

• Your family will do anything for you

• When you are greedy, you will fall down

Multiple Choice

The three-year-old peered down from the diving board and looked back at his mother behind him. His knees began to buckle as he took another step forward. "Splash!"

• It takes courage to accomplish your goals

• You should never give up

• It takes loyalty to reach your dreams

Multiple Choice

There was a ragged old woman following behind me as I walked down each aisle. She had a strange look on her face, as her missing teeth distorted her smile. I rushed to try to avoid her, as I was a little nervous about what she might do. Come to find out, I dropped some money and she was trying to return it to me.

• Old people are always mean

• Don't judge something by outward appearance

• You should be aware of others

Multiple Choice

Kim had gone through her closet with her mom over the weekend. She remembered a new girl at school who always seemed to wear the same pants over and over. Kim wondered what she could do with the clothes. She handed the new girl a bag as she passed her in the hallway.

• Sacrifice is difficult sometimes

• It's better to give than to receive

• Friendship is the most important thing in life

Multiple Choice

Ben knew his friend was about to receive a check for not being prepared for class. This would have been the third day in a row he would have to stand out from recess. Ben gave the pencil to Tim. Later, Ben received a check and had to stand out from recess.

• It's hard to stand up for your friends

• Sometimes sacrifice is necessary to help others

• Don't judge a book by its cover

Multiple Choice

The phone rang. She dropped the phone and tears began to drop onto her check. Her lip quivered as she pictured the scene that was described to her. "NO!" she wailed.

• Honesty is the best policy

• It takes courage to live life

• Experiencing loss/grief is difficult

Multiple Choice

She sobbed for hours trying to think of a way out of having to tell her father she wrecked her new car. After stewing over it for quite some time, she called her father on his cell phone. "Thank you," he said.

• Sometimes crying is good for you

• it's important to be honest

• Driving a car is a big responsibility

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of THEME?

• How much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

• Cereal is the healthiest food you can eat.

• Life is short; make the most of it.

Categorize

Options (16)

Love overcomes all obstacles

Friendship is the key to happiness

Family is the most important thing in life

Hard work leads to success

Kindness is always rewarded

Believe in yourself and anything is possible

Never give up on your dreams

Forgiveness is the path to inner peace

Learning a new language can be challenging

Cats are better than dogs

Pineapple does not belong on pizza

Winter is the best season

Chocolate is the best dessert

Traveling is a great way to broaden your horizons

Exercise is important for a healthy lifestyle

Reading is a great way to escape reality

Organize these options into the right categories

Theme Statements

Not Theme Statements

Multiple Choice

How do you support the validity of a theme?

• text evidence
• summarizing
• you can't
• using the plot

Multiple Choice

What is the main difference between THEME and MAIN IDEA. 

• Theme is a universal lesson and main idea is what a story is about.
• Theme is what a story is about and main idea is the universal lesson it teaches.
  

Supporting Theme Statements

Use the text: a quote or a reference

When you find a theme statement that will do, you need to locate evidence to support.

Find a part of the text that relates to the theme, the character's struggle, or both. Then, copy that after your statement.

Multiple Choice

One summer's day, a merry Grasshopper was dancing, singing and playing his violin with all his heart. He saw an Ant passing by working hard to store food for the winter. “Come and sing with me instead of working so hard,” said the Grasshopper “Let’s have fun together.” “I must store food for the winter,” said the Ant,“ and I advise you to do the same.” “Don’t worry about winter, it’s still very far away,” said the Grasshopper, laughing at him. But the Ant wouldn’t listen and continued to work. When winter came, the starving Grasshopper went to the Ant’s house and humbly begged for something to eat. “If you had listened to my advice in the summer you would not now be in need,” said the Ant. “I’m afraid you will have to go without supper,” and he closed the door.
The Theme: Work before you play

Which quote would BEST support that theme?

• "'Come and sing with me instead of working so hard,' said the Grasshopper"

• "'If you had listened to my advice in the summer you would not now be in need"'

• "'Don't worry about winter, it's still very far away,'"

• "But the Ant wouldn't listen and continued to work."

Multiple Choice

When Curtis transferred to our high school from some fancy private school, I was assigned the job of showing him around our building. First, I showed him our trophy case. Our school has done put together some quality teams and programs over the years, so our trophy case was pretty full. Curtis was not impressed. He claimed that the trophy case at his old school was at least twice as big as ours and much more crowded. Next I showed him our swimming pool. Not every high school has a swimming pool, so we were proud of ours, but Curtis couldn't care less. "The swimming pool at my old school is bigger and more modern. This one looks kind of dirty," he said with disdain. I continued to guide Curtis around the school, showing him our cafeteria, gymnasium, and even our garden, but Curtis seemed disappointed with everything that he saw. He'd quickly compare it to his old school, which in his words was superior to ours in every way. The last thing I showed Curtis was the front door. I told him that he would like this one best because he could walk through it and go back to his old school.

The Theme: Do not criticize things that are dear to others

Which quote would BEST support that theme?

• "The last thing I showed Curtis was the front door. I told him that he...could walk through it and go back to his old school"

• "I was assigned the job of showing him around our building."

• "He claimed that the trophy case at his old school was at least twice as big as ours and much more crowded."

• "Not every high school has a swimming pool, so we were proud of ours..."

Multiple Choice

Alan had very few responsibilities, but one of them was to clean his room. It did not take long, but Alan still didn't like doing it. One day Alan thought of a way to save some time. Rather than putting everything neatly back in its place, he decided to just throw all the stuff on the floor into his closet. His mom would think that he had cleaned his room, and it would only take a fraction of the time. Alan was pleased with himself for thinking of this brilliant idea. He figured that this would save a lot of time and energy. The next time his room got messy, he piled everything up in the closet and the pile grew. It grew and grew. Then Alan's friend Steve called. "Alan, everyone is playing baseball at the park. Do you want to play too?" Alan loved baseball. "That sounds great, Steve. I'll be right there." Alan went to grab his baseball mitt when he realized that it wasn't in its usual place. Alan thought to himself, I guess it's in the closet. When he opened up the closet door, he was faced with a huge, unnavigable mess, some of which poured out as he opened the door. Alan began digging through the pile in a frantic attempt to find his mitt. He dug and dug, and as he dug his room got messier and messier. Soon his room was the messiest that it had ever been, and he still hadn't found his mitt. Alan sighed in despair. By the time he found his mitt, the boys had long concluded their game and Alan had hours of cleaning ahead of him before he'd be allowed to leave.

The Theme: It is better to do a thing once the right way than many times the wrong way.

Which quote would BEST support the theme?

• "Alan had very few responsibilities, but one of them was to clean his room."

• "Alan was pleased with himself for thinking of this brilliant idea."

• "By the time he found his mitt [the game] had concluded...Alan had hours of cleaning ahead of him."

• "When he opens up the closet door, he was faced with a huge, unnavigable mess."