WHAT IS THE THEME OR MESSAGE IN A

STORY?

What is theme?

Let’s talk about it: The words theme, message,

moral are all synonyms. When we think of any of

these things, we’re really looking at what the story teaches us about life.

Let’s think of some stories we have read an talk about their themes:

In the book The Summer My Father Was Ten, a father tells his daughter the story of his mistakes as a young boy towards Mr. Bellavista and his garden.

What was the author trying to teach us in this story?

The theme in the story, The Summer My Father Was Ten is…

Treat others the way you want to be treated…or

Don’t do things you know are wrong or you might regret it!

Stories can have more than one theme sometimes!

How about Uncle Jed’s Barber Shop?

In this down south story, Uncle Jed is saving money for his own barber shop, when he uses most of his savings on a hospital visit for his niece. He ends up saving up all over again and opening his dream shop!

What is the theme in this book? In the story, Uncle Jed’s Barber Shop, the author is

trying to teach us… All people should be treated equally, regardless of your skin

color. If you pursue your dream, you

will accomplish it. You can do anything you put

your mind to.

Let’s review! So- what are some synonyms

for the ‘theme’ of a story? Moral or message

The theme of a story is really what the author…

Is trying to teach us about life!

Fabulous! Let’s take it a step further…

Usually, with fictional stories like A Bad Case of Stripes or Teammates, we look for a ‘theme’ when we are asking ourselves at the end.. ‘What did I learn from that?’

Does anyone remember what we call it when we ask ourselves this same question at the end of a non-fiction text, like Digging up a T-Rex?

We call it the main idea! When we are focusing on a non-

fiction text and we’re recalling the most important facts, that is always the main idea!

Let’s think back to a couple of non-fiction articles we have read!

How about that article about the NBA vs. WNBA!

What was the main idea of “Tying the Score: Men, Women, and Basketball?

The facts proved that men were making more money than women to play professional basketball! They also had more fans at their games.

Do you notice how the main idea includes facts that we have learned from the article?

Remember talking about school lunch?

What was the main idea of, “Food for Thought: Cafeteria Menus Shape Up?”

This article mainly taught us that school lunch nutrition has gone down hill. Children are gaining weight and not able to concentrate as well on their school work!

Again, we are looking at the important facts we have learned from the article.

Great job!

We are going to be focusing on theme this week, since we have already mastered the main idea!

What is the theme of a story again? The theme is what the story is teaching

us (lesson, moral, or message) Remember- we find theme in fictional

books!