1. Theme
7th grade Language Arts

2. Learner Objective
I can determine the theme of a story and explain how it is developed.

3. Essential Questions What is theme?
How is it developed throughout a story?
What is the relationship of theme to characters, setting, and plot?
How do they help develop the theme?

4. What is theme?
The theme of a literary text is the underlying idea or statement that the author is trying to convey.
Theme - A writer’s message.

5. Your job as the reader
Part of your job as a reader is to understand what a writer is trying to say. Writers seldom come right out and tell you, “Hey, reader, this is what I want you to know.”
You need to make inferences and draw conclusions about what the writer is trying to express.

6. How do I find the theme? Figure out the topic or big idea
Common topics or big ideas
Love, Friendship, War, Journeys, Respect, Revolution, Service, Helping others

7. After deciding the topic or big idea…
Ask yourself:
What is the author saying about the big idea?
What lesson about life is the text trying to relay?
What changes does the main character go through?

8. Determine the theme
Remember that a theme is a STATEMENT. It will not be a one or two word phrase.
A good theme statement shows what lesson about life it is important to learn.

9. Common Themes The journey is more important than the destination.
Love conquers all.
True friends will stand by you in good and bad times.

10. Use this fill-in-the blank sentence for help:
The author suggests that when people (behave/think/feel like this), (this is the result).

11. Now write a theme for each of the following stories:
Mrs. Flowers
Tell Tale Heart
Too Soon A Woman