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What’s the Theme? The theme of a story is its big idea. It’s a message, lesson, or universal truth that goes beyond the literal events of the story. In other words, it’s an idea that applies to people in general—not just the characters in the story. An author doesn’t usually come right out and tell you what the theme is; as a reader, you need to infer it. A story can have more than one theme.

 

Teaching Theme Vs. Main Idea

Many students have difficulty differentiating between the main idea and the theme. The theme is the underlying message that the author wants to convey, whereas the main idea is what the story is mostly about. 

 

 

 

 

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson800/theme.pdf -  The Literary Element of Theme

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qME64SkxM - Finding the THEME

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8muSkXjPHE - Theme - Disney - Cinderella

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhEU3EF4jvM&list=PLvXg7TzijvVWP7O2HBH6XY-eFSQg8iEZc - Disney Film Clips - Theme

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvKzyYy6qvY&list=PLGniCcA0UBfEa6j7ZljW_lceQM83kU_94 - Theme in Movie Clips

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXPbijjMnV8 - Theme in Aesop's Fables - Cartoon

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3PJkPsW8_M - Theme in Songs

 

https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/teachers/blogs/angela-bunyi/migrated-files/identifying_theme.pdf - Identifying Theme - Scholastic PPT

 

 

 

https://prezi.com/9uiflfi3pikg/how-to-identify-a-theme-in-four-steps/ - Theme -  Prezi

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXPbijjMnV8 - Theme in Aesop's Fables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THEME VS MAIN IDEA 

 

The theme is the underlying message that the author wants to convey, whereas the main idea is what the story is mostly about.

 

 

 

 

Theme & Plot Video - https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-themes

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H6GCe7hmmA - Theme - You Tube

 

https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/theme/ - Theme - Flocabulary

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3PJkPsW8_M - Theme in Songs

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.paterson.k12.nj.us/11_departments/language-arts-docs/resources/Reading%20Resources/Story%20Elements/Theme/Theme.pdf - Theme Worksheets

 

Working with Theme:

 

• Use Annotation: Have students annotate a text with details, quotes, and other “golden lines” that highlight the theme.
• Tweet the Theme: Laura Robb, reading specialist and author of Differentiating Reading Instruction, loves Twitter’s concise format. Assign students to sum up the theme in 140 characters or less.
• Record Reader Responses: Writing responses to the essential question from a unit’s start to finish will help you see how students develop their ideas.
• Reflect: Have students reflect in writing and discussion on what the theme means to them and how understanding of the theme has changed based on their readings.
• Look for Additional Themes: Using a story that students are familiar with, have them identify and support a theme that’s different than the one you’ve already studied.
• Listen for Theme: In reading conferences with students, train yourself to listen for specific details and examples about theme. The more students are understanding, the better they’ll be at answering questions like “What does the author want you to remember?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common Themes in Literature

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.quia.com/rr/934941.html - QUIA - Theme in LIterature

 

https://www.weareteachers.com/tag/fairy-tales/- Fairy Tails & Theme

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H6GCe7hmmA&disable_polymer=true - Teaching Theme - Youtube

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQYdhioelJ0 - Theme Essay - Youtube