Comparing Themes

Words such as friendship, love, family, and toxic relationships are considered:

• Themes

• Thematic Statements

• Topics

• Topical Ointments

What TOPIC or BIG SUBJECT is the author discussing in this passage?

Today was Friday and Mark knew that meant it was Fun Friday at school. All the students were allowed to participate in Fun Friday if they turned in their homework. Mark walked into class and open his backpack. He stared inside and froze. He had left his homework on the counter. He tried to think quickly, what could he say? He could tell Mr. Barnes that his little brother had thrown it away. He could tell him that he dropped it on the bus or he could say that he already turned it in and that Mr. Barnes must have lost it. "Where's your homework, Mark?" asked Mr. Barnes. Mark just hung his head, he couldn't tell a lie. "I left it at home", he said quietly.

• Friendship

• Perseverance

• Honesty

• Compassion

How does the author REVEAL the theme "Being prepared is the best way to succeed in at life." in this excerpt.

Today was Friday and Mark knew that meant it was Fun Friday at school. All the students were allowed to participate in Fun Friday if they turned in their homework. Mark walked into class and open his backpack. He stared inside and froze. He had left his homework on the counter. He tried to think quickly, what could he say? He could tell Mr. Barnes that his little brother had thrown it away. He could tell him that he dropped it on the bus or he could say that he already turned it in and that Mr. Barnes must have lost it. "Where's your homework, Mark?" asked Mr. Barnes. Mark just hung his head, he couldn't tell a lie. "I left it at home", he said quietly.

• Mark's external conflict between himself and Mr. Barnes.

• Mark's argument with his little brother.

• Mark's internal conflict with being honest.

• Mark's excitement about today being Fun Friday.

Theme should be a statement, not just one word.

• False

• True

Read the selection and determine the theme of the story.

Derek was doing his homework on his computer one night when he saw an ad banner for a free Gamebox 9000. He clicked on the ad with great interest and was taken to a webpage with details about the offer. It seemed simple enough. All he had to do was post some content to his social networking pages and complete a few offers. Derek didn't really approve of the content that he was required to share, but he really wanted the new Gamebox, so he shared the required links with all of his friends and family. Then Derek began completing the offers. According to the website, he had to complete three offers, and then he would get his Gamebox for free. So Derek started completing the offers in the first tier, which required him to create accounts on a bunch of websites that he had no interest in joining. The second tier required Derek to become a member at more websites and to get three of his friends to sign up to the program. Getting his friends (who thought the offer was a scam) to participate in the program was much harder, but Derek finally found three freshman who agreed to participate. Unfortunately, the third tier required him to sign up for satellite television service, change his phone service provider, and get approved for several credit cards. Derek finally did what he should have done from the beginning and walked away from these offers.

• Don't sign up for offers without your parents' permission.

• Everything that glitters is not gold.

• Something that seems too good to be true usually isn't true.

• Sometimes you win; sometimes you loose.

. Read the selection and determine which of following COULD NOT be the theme of the story.

Nicole was hesitant to lend Lia her tea set. Though the tea set was not worth much money, it had been in the family for a long time and was pretty much irreplaceable. But Lia was persistent and since she was a dear friend, Nicole relented and agreed to lend her the tea set. As Nicole had feared, Lia did not handle the tea set with the same care that Nicole would have and consequently Lia broke or damaged several of the pieces. When Nicole asked for her tea set, Lia stalled, "Uh… I forgot it at my cousin's house. I'll get it later this week. I'm so sorry." Lia figured that she could run out and replace the missing pieces. When she got around to doing so, Lia was disappointed to find that no stores carried the antique tea set. So Lia purchased a brand new tea set, much more expensive than the old set. She then threw out the rest of Nicole's old tea set to hide the evidence of her irresponsibility. When Lia presented Nicole with the new tea set, Nicole was extremely disappointed, and Lia did not understand why. "Look, Nicole, my cousin lost your tea set. I mean, he's still looking for it, but it's probably gone, but this tea set is much nicer." When Nicole did not accept the new tea set, Lia shook her head in disgust and told herself, "Some people don't appreciate anything."

• Treat people the way you want to be treated.

• Somethings are more valuable than they seem.

• It is best to trust your first instincts.

• Your character is worth more than covering your mistakes.

The petals drop one by one—

from the fragile daisy.

The shriveled, yellowing pieces of flower

blow away, leaving behind a bare stem.

I have to remember to live,

to enjoy each petal of my life,

to share and grow and bask

in the sun's sweet light.

The theme of this poem is..

• Flowers lose petals quickly.

• Life is short, so enjoy every day.

• It is important to be alone sometimes.

• Selfishness doesn't pay

Read these three parts of a story. Which part supports the theme "True friends are more valuable than money"?

• He hardly ever had time for his friends, now that he was always running around putting the finishing touches on his mansion. His friends were sad and puzzled, but they tried to be happy for him.

• He returned to find his friends gathered in the ruins of the house, carrying food and clothing. "I can't believe you are all here for me, after how I treated you," he said. "I haven't lost everything at all: I still have what is most important."

• One night, during a terrible thunderstorm, a bolt of lightning struck his roof. The beautiful mansion, with all his money in it, burned to the ground. "I've lost everything," he wailed

The difference between theme and topic is....

• A theme can usually be described in one or two words: "friendship" or "war." A topic, however, is usually expressed using a complete sentence, such as "friendship is more valuable than money," or "war can turn ordinary people into heroes."

• A topic can usually be described in one or two words: "friendship" or "war." A theme, however, is usually expressed using a complete sentence, such as "friendship is more valuable than money," or "war can turn ordinary people into heroes."

Which option below is an example of a solid theme?

• Nemo believed in himself so he was able to accomplish great things

• You need to believe in yourself

• If one puts their mind to something, he/she can accomplish anything