Themes

What is theme?

• The subject an author writes about in the story

• The life lesson a reader can learn from reading the story

• The main symbol the author uses in the story

• The changes the character goes through in the story

Select all of the ways to identify a story's theme. Choose three right answers.

• Look for a statement of theme

• Think about changes in the character's behavior

• Look at the first paragraph only

• Think about the title

Which of the following is an example of theme?

• Love

• Don't forget to feed your gerbil.

• If you stay up all night playing video games, you will be tired.

• Sometimes you have to face your fears in order to conquer them.

Dan and Doug led the journalism club. While Dan was generally regarded as a better writer than Doug, Doug was invaluable to the publication for his investigative skills. Together, they had uncovered a scandal in the cafeteria that had been dubbed "Horsemeat-Gate." Due to Dan and Doug's compelling story, interest in the high school paper grew. Dan was even interviewed by the local paper. During the interview, Dan spoke at length about all he had done to write the story. He failed to mention Doug's involvement. Doug felt slighted and confronted Dan, but Dan asserted that he was the main writer of the story and therefore deserved the credit. Shortly after the blowout, Doug left the journalism club. The people of the town were interested in the high school paper, but without Doug's knack for finding good stories, the quality of the paper diminished and so did interest in the paper. Now that his popularity surge had ended, Dan had more time to think. He reasoned that they'd still be on top of the world if Doug hadn't been so stubborn and selfish. Choose the best theme.

• Either lead or get out of the way.

• Give credit where credit is due.

• Dan and Doug argued over whose contribution was more important to the paper.

• Kindness matters.

Which of the following could be the theme of a story?

• Fear is more dangerous than any beast

• A brave young girl pretends to be a man and takes her father's place in the army. 

• a fear of heights

• "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dogs, too!"

A story can have more than one theme.

• True

• False

During a baseball game, Tanner tried to tag a player leaving first base. When the umpire called the player out, Tanner immediately informed the umpire that he in fact did not tag the runner. Two weeks later, the very same umpire was at another one of Tanner’s baseball games. Tanner was playing short stop and tagged a runner as they approached third base. When the umpire called the player safe, Tanner didn’t say a word, but the umpire noticed the surprised look on Tanner’s face. “Did you tag the runner?” she asked Tanner. When Tanner told her that he did tag the runner, the umpire changed her decision and called the player out. The coaches and parents were furious, but the umpire stood by her decision.
What is the theme?

• You should cheat to win.

• Always work hard.

• It pays to be honest.

• Teamwork is best.

The theme, or message of a story is- 

• life lesson that we can take away from the characters actions

• main idea of the selection

• summary of what was read

• important detail in the selection 

These books are about characters who never give up, even when times get hard! 

• honesty 

• kindness

• loyalty 

• perseverance 

These stories have characters who keep trying and never give up even when things do not work out at first.

• Honesty

• Courage

• Cooperation

• Perseverance