Theme

A story can have more than one theme.

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She sobbed for hours trying to think of a way out of having to tell her father she wrecked her new car.  After stewing over it for quite some time, she called her father on his cell phone.  "Thank you," he said.

• Sometimes crying is good for you
• it's important to be honest
• Driving a car is a big responsibility
• expereincing loss/grief is difficult

In a piece of narrative text, what is the "theme"?

• What the story is about
• The topic of the text
• A message the author is trying to get across to the reader
• Where and when the story happens

To identify a theme in a story, a reader can ask ...

• What has the character learned?
• What is the setting?
• Who is the narrator?
• ALL of the above

In the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel," a brother and sister find a house made of candy in the forest, are invited inside by an old woman, and are almost cooked and eaten by the woman, who turns out to be a witch. In "Little Red Riding Hood," a little girl is on her way through the forest to see her grandmother and tells a wolf where the grandmother lives. The wolf races ahead of the little girl and eats her grandmother. What recurring theme is present in both stories?

• Wolves and witches are mean.

• The forest is a dangerous place.

• Do not trust strangers.

• Always be prepared

Larry had it all. A huge house, all the toys he wanted, and best of all he had enough money to buy anything he wants. He was always coming to school with new shoes and designer clothes. What more could a kid ask for? But everyday at recess Larry went out to the playground and played on the swings by himself. He disliked recess because there was no one that wanted to play with him. It made him very sad. What is the theme?

• Money can't buy happiness (or friends).

• Helping others

• Do the right thing and people will follow.

• Practice and persistence pay off.

Gary thought it would be funny to hide Tracy’s book bag. One day he took it from the back of the room and threw it behind the book case. At the end of the day Tracy was looking everywhere. The teacher started looking and asked the class if anyone has seen the book bag. Gary of course did not answer. After about ten minutes of searching the teacher called for the principal to come and help. Gary had told the teacher he did not know where it was, so what was he going to tell the principal? He should have just taken it out right away when Tracy was looking. What is the theme?

• Money can't buy happiness (or friends).

• Always tell the truth.

• Practice and persistence pay off.

• Don't put things off to the last minute

Derek's mom and dad were billionaires. Derek always got everything he wanted. When Derek was three, his parents paid the whole cast of Sesame Street to come to his birthday party. In fifth grade, when Derek wanted to win the science fair, his parents paid a tutor to create an award-winning project. In tenth grade, when Derek wanted to be the best soccer player, his parents paid for David Beckham to privately train him. By the time Derek was an adult, he was bored and struggled to find anything meaningful to do. None of the things that he could buy made him happy.

What is the theme of this passage?

• Derek is unhappy because he always got everything he ever wanted as a child.

• Money can't buy happiness.

• You should save your money to buy things later in life.

One morning, a boy led his sheep to a field. His job was to watch for wolves that might want to eat his sheep. But watching the sheep was boring. Then, he thought of a way to have a little fun. As loud as he could, the boy cried, "Wolf! Wolf!" In no time, farmers from a nearby farm rushed to help him. But the boy just laughed. He told them that there was no wolf. The farmers all shook their heads and left. By lunchtime, the boy was bored again. So, he cried "Wolf!" a second time. Again, the farmers came running. Again, the boy just laughed. The farmers shook their fists at him and stomped away. But a little while later, the boy really did see a wolf. It was looking at his sheep. The boy cried "Wolf!" a third time. But this time, nobody came to help. The farmers didn't believe the boy anymore

• If you lie, no one will believe when you tell the truth

• If you're bored it's okay to tell a small lie

• It's okay to lie as longs as you tell the truth in the end

• Don't believe fools

What is the difference between theme and main idea?

• Main idea is what the text is mainly about and theme is the lesson or moral in the story

• Theme is what the text is mainly about and Main idea is the lesson or moral in the story

• Theme is specific to characters in the story and main idea is not