Theme vs. Main Idea

Together, main idea and theme help me to understand what I read...

• in a very limited setting or circumstance.

• in a very narrow or specific context

• in both specific and general circumstances.

• mainly in connection to the lives of others.

Theme is...

• a general message about life in the story.

• a specific message aimed at the characters in the story.

• a somewhat specific message that ONLY relates to characters in the story.

• the happy message a story is trying to convey.

Which of the following is not true: Theme is...

• an idea that fits your life.

• an idea that fits others' lives.

• an idea that is limited to the characters in the story.

• an idea that is not limited to the characters in the story.

Theme is...

• usually stated directly.

• never stated directly.

• always stated directly.

• often stated indirectly.

Theme is usually limited to...

• fictional stories and artwork.

• articles and interviews.

• biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs.

• all of the answers are correct.

Main idea...

• connects the text as a whole.

• combines different articles and texts.

• unifies separate texts as unique.

• separates the text into different parts.

Main idea is...

• like theme: it usually cannot be applied to you or me.

• different from theme: it usually cannot be applied to you or me.

• not specific to the story but is a universal idea.

• is the same as theme.

Main idea is most often stated...

• as a question.

• as a single word.

• as a phrase.

• as a sentence.

Main idea is...

• not the topic.

• is the topic.

What is the topic of the following paragraph?

Julia’s report card reflected poor grades. She felt she would get in trouble, so she hid her report card from her parents. When her parents discovered what her grades were, they grounded her for trying to hide the truth.

• Julia

• Getting poor grades

• Hiding the truth

• Julia's parents discovering her grades