Finding Theme in Ficiton At the end of this presentation you will have a better idea on how you can write a summary of a fictional text, and how to support your idea of theme in that summary.

How to find theme… What is theme? – Definition: the lesson you should learn from the story, OR the author’s message. – You, as the reader, have to infer (infer means to read between the lines)the theme. The author does not state the theme in the text of the story. You have to be a super sleuth to figure it out! – Themes are bigger than the story. Example: Tim hated his old baseball glove. He wanted to play with a new glove, but he didn’t have any money, so he decided to steal it. But when Tim got caught stealing the glove, his parents said he couldn’t play baseball all summer. What’s the theme? – If you said “don’t steal” think bigger than that! (this shows you understand the story but doesn’t show higher order thinking) – Think more like: “The theme of this story is if you want something in life you should work for it.”

Big World of the Theme. Applies to the “Real” World. Applies to all not just characters in story. Identifying Themes Themes are not explicit (clearly stated). Themes are implied. Themes are bigger than the story. Small World of the Story

Themes are about the big picture. Not “Aliens are made of sugar.” Not “Aliens melt in the rain.” Think BIGGER. Find “Real” World advice. Big World of the Theme. Applies to the “Real” World. Applies to all not just characters in story. Small World of the Story

How to find theme in “Rain, Rain”… First take a look at your topic sentence for the summary paragraph, did you use the (name it, verb it, big picture) strategy? – If you did, take a look at the end of your topic sentence the “big picture” part. This should theoretically be your theme of the story. Can you find a textual support, or a quote from the story, that will support your idea of theme? It could be a quote that is about the characters, the setting, or the plot of the story but as long as it relates to your idea of theme it helps to support your idea!

How to find theme.. Hunger Games Example Example topic sentence: The novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins explores the concept of protecting your loved ones at all costs. There are obviously a lot more themes you could pull from this novel, especially about government and utopia/dystopia life, but for now I am using this particular idea. Again are there quotes from the story that we could use to support this idea? The big picture “theme.”

Structure of the Theme Paragraph STEP 1: use the “name it, verb it, big picture” strategy to state what the title of the story you are discussing, and the theme you have settled on. STEP 2: use the jot dots to write a summary of the story STEP 3: add in a quote or two that supports your idea of theme. – Steps 2&3 could be interchangeable. – Bottom line, make the paragraph flow and make sense while explaining your understanding of this “real” world advice from the story and how the quote supports it.

You are finished! Don’t forget to scroll down to the digital WSQ and do your summary and question!