Lesson on Theme High School

THEME

THE Message: the author's message to the reader; usually a lesson that is INFERRED and not directly stated

DETERMINING a THEME

• Theme is an author’s message or statement

• *It is the lesson being taught to the reader by the author.

• THEME IS not a topic, or just one word.  It is a sentence, or statement.  

• Theme is not directly stated by the author, it is inferred by the reader based upon the TEXTUAL EVIDENCE presented by the author.  

What is the THEME?

In his sophomore year of high school, Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team; Jordan was cut from the team. He didn’t let this obstacle defeat him. He trained vigorously the next year. When he finally made the varsity squad, Jordan averaged 25 points a game and went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in basketball history.

Story 1

All Victor ever wanted to do with his life was be a singer. He didn’t pay attention in school and he spent all of his time at home watching music videos online and impersonating his idols. His mother tried to teach him the value of getting an education and having a backup plan, but Victor would respond the same way every time, “Mom, I won’t need to know any of that boring old stuff when I’m famous. You’ll see.” But there was one major problem with Victor’s plan: he wasn’t any good at singing. Victor wanted to be a singer so badly, that he didn’t notice the pained look on the faces of those who endured his singing. Because he wanted to be a singer so badly, when honest people told him to find something else to do with his life, he accused them of being “jealous haters” and ignored their advice. After Victor dropped out of high school to focus on his music career, the years passed and the doors never opened.

story 2

After setting his alarm clock for PM instead of AM, Eric woke up late for school. In his haste, he forgot to pack a lunch or bring lunch money. Eric did not mind much at the time and figured that he could just eat some of his friend's food. During lunchtime, Eric explained his situation to the people at his lunch table. His friends were sympathetic, but they only packed lunches for themselves, not Eric. Katie offered Eric a small bag of carrots. "Yuck! I hate carrots." Chuck offered Eric his milk, to which Eric responded, "Is that skim milk? Ewww…. I hate skim milk. Does anyone have any chocolate milk?" Some people at the table did have chocolate milk, but they did not want to give their milk to Eric. Ben offered Eric half of his egg salad sandwich, but Eric again refused quite rudely, "Egg salad is gross. Doesn't anyone have anything good for me?" But that was the last offer that Eric would receive that day.

Multiple Choice

Cindy and Matthew are sister and brother. They both love watching tv when they are not doing homework or playing with their friends. One day Matthew was watching tv in the living when Cindy came in and changed the channel without asking. Matthew was in the middle of his favorite tv show, Henry Danger, but Cindy really wanted the tv because there was a new episode of Cupcake Wars on. Matthew and Cindy argued about who can watch tv when they were interrupted by their dad. Their dad told them they had to learn how to share. They wanted their dad to help them decide who could watch but he thought it was better for them to figure it out on their own. Cindy and Matthew were upset that they had to solve the issue on their own. They both really wanted to watch tv and did not want to give it up for the other person. Cindy sat down on the couch and held the remote in her hand. Matthew begged her to change the channel but she would not. They began arguing all over again until Matthew decided that he did not care anymore because he missed the entire episode anyway. Cindy felt bad that Matthew did not get to see his show, she knows that if it was her she would be really sad as well so she thought on a way where they both could watch their shows without interrupting the other. Cindy told Matthew her idea which was they could both record their shows and watch them at different times. They each had one hour to watch tv and then had to switch with the other person. This way everyone could watch what they wanted, whenever they had the time. After creating the plan, Matthew and Cindy never argued about who could watch tv after that and their dad was really proud of them for fixing the issue on their own.

What is the main idea?

• Learning how to compromise is important

• Matthew's favorite TV show is Henry Danger

• Their dad did not help solve the issue

• Cindy came up with an idea

Multiple Choice

What is the main difference between THEME and MAIN IDEA.

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

• Theme is a universal lesson, and main idea is what a story is about.