Theme of a Story

Theme: The message in the story

What is theme?

• Theme is the message of the story.

• A universal life lesson that you can learn from the story

To figure out the theme ask yourself these question:

• What was the characters problem?

• What did the character learn?

Lets look at some Examples!

Read the following passages to determine their themes.

Multiple Choice

George heard a strange noise while driving his car. It didn't sound right, but he didn't want to pay to get it looked at. So he kept driving the car for weeks until one day the car wouldn't even start. Now George had to pay a tow truck to take his car to the mechanic. Once the mechanic looked the car over, he told George that if he had come when he first noticed the sound, it could have easily been fixed for $300, but since he kept driving it making it worse it will now cost him $1,500 to get his car fixed.

What is the theme of this passage?

• It is expensive to fix cars.

• Do not wait until your problems get worse before you decide to fix them.

• Always take your car to the mechanic.

Multiple Choice

Today was test day. Joe and Sally entered the classroom. They had both spent the whole night studying. As soon as the students began their test, Joe's pencil broke. Instead of worrying, he just grabbed an extra from his backpack. Sally also broke her pencil shortly after the test began, but she did not have any extras. She did not get to finish answering her test because she did not have an extra pencil.

What is the theme of this passage?

• Pencils can easily break.

• Hard work pays off.

• Always be prepared.

Multiple Choice

Jack spend all his time playing computer games. When his cousin Hunter beat him in the spellin bee, Jack thought, "He just got lucky." However, Jack didn't see Hunter spend hours studying his words. When it was soccer season, Jack's friend Mike received the most votes for the soccer team captain. "He just got lucky," said Jack, but Jack did not see Mike practicing for hours and hours with his teammates. After watching his friends become successful, Jack grew upset. "I am so unlucky," he said while sitting at his computer screen. "When will good things begin happening to me?" Jack thought.

What is the theme of this passage?

• Jack is not good at anything.

• Good things do not happen unless you make them happen.

• Luck is an important factor in life.