1. How can I find the theme of a text?

2. What is theme? Theme is the underlying message of a story or poem. Theme is a big idea, something that you can learn about life in general.

3. Finding Theme Often, the theme is not clearly stated in the story - you need to make an inference. We knew it was time to set the butterfly free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge. It had flown around in the cage, trying to stretch its wings. Although we felt a little sad, we opened the lid to the cage one evening. The butterfly seemed confused and didn’t leave at first. Then, in one burst of zigzag fluttering, it erupted from the cage and flew all the way to the end of the yard and down the hill by the school. “That was the right thing to do,” Aidan said. “I know,” I answered, even though I already worried about the butterfly. What would it eat? How would it live?

4. Finding Theme What clues lead us to the theme? We knew it was time to set the butterfly free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge. It had flown around in the cage, trying to stretch its wings. Although we felt a little sad, we opened the lid to the cage one evening. The butterfly seemed confused and didn’t leave at first. Then, in one burst of zigzag fluttering, it erupted from the cage and flew all the way to the end of the yard and down the hill by the school. “That was the right thing to do,” Aidan said. “I know,” I answered, even though I already worried about the butterfly. What would it eat? How would it live?

5. Finding Theme We knew it was time to set the butterfly free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge. It had flown around in the cage, trying to stretch its wings. Although we felt a little sad, we opened the lid to the cage one evening. The butterfly seemed confused and didn’t leave at first. Then, in one burst of zigzag fluttering, it erupted from the cage and flew all the way to the end of the yard and down the hill by the school. “That was the right thing to do,” Aidan said. “I know,” I answered, even though I already worried about the butterfly. What would it eat? How would it live? What clues lead us to the theme?

6. Finding Theme We knew it was time to set the butterfly free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge. It had flown around in the cage, trying to stretch its wings. Although we felt a little sad, we opened the lid to the cage one evening. The butterfly seemed confused and didn’t leave at first. Then, in one burst of zigzag fluttering, it erupted from the cage and flew all the way to the end of the yard and down the hill by the school. “That was the right thing to do,” Aidan said. “I know,” I answered, even though I already worried about the butterfly. What would it eat? How would it live? Theme: Wild creatures should be free.

7. Finding Theme You’ve probably read something with this theme before. That’s one of the neat things about theme—the same ideas are repeated over and over. Wild creatures should be free.

8. Common Themes Persistence pays off. Honesty is better than cheating. It’s more important to be nice than to be popular. Be careful what you wish for. Love is the most important force.

9. Can you find the theme? A day to play Got washed away. Rain comes down, Covers town. Eyes are sad. Rain is bad! Come downstairs. Get the chairs. Blankets, sheet, Looking neat! Inside forts Instead of sports Rainy day tears Can turn into cheers. How does the speaker feel about the beginning of the poem? How do the speaker’s feelings change?

10. Can you find the theme? A day to play Got washed away. Rain comes down, Covers town. Eyes are sad. Rain is bad! Come downstairs. Get the chairs. Blankets, sheet, Looking neat! Inside forts Instead of sports Rainy day tears Can turn into cheers. Choices Persistence pays off. Good can come from bad. A cheerful attitude can overcome obstacles. Love conquers all

11. Can you find the theme? A day to play Got washed away. Rain comes down, Covers town. Eyes are sad. Rain is bad! Come downstairs. Get the chairs. Blankets, sheet, Looking neat! Inside forts Instead of sports Rainy day tears Can turn into cheers. Choices Persistence pays off. Good can come from bad. A cheerful attitude can overcome obstacles. Love conquers all

12. Can you find the theme? A day to play Got washed away. Rain comes down, Covers town. Eyes are sad. Rain is bad! Come downstairs. Get the chairs. Blankets, sheet, Looking neat! Inside forts Instead of sports Rainy day tears Can turn into cheers. Choices Persistence pays off. Good can come from bad. A cheerful attitude can overcome obstacles. Love conquers all

13. Can you find the theme? A day to play Got washed away. Rain comes down, Covers town. Eyes are sad. Rain is bad! Come downstairs. Get the chairs. Blankets, sheet, Looking neat! Inside forts Instead of sports Rainy day tears Can turn into cheers. Good can come from bad. A cheerful attitude can overcome obstacles. Either one of these can be supported with details from the text.

14. Can you find the theme? A day to play Got washed away. Rain comes down, Covers town. Eyes are sad. Rain is bad! Come downstairs. Get the chairs. Blankets, sheet, Looking neat! Inside forts Instead of sports Rainy day tears Can turn into cheers. Good can come from bad. Evidence from the text: -The day starts out badly, because of the rain -The speaker builds indoor forts -The speaker realizes that rainy days can still be fun

15. Can you find the theme? A day to play Got washed away. Rain comes down, Covers town. Eyes are sad. Rain is bad! Come downstairs. Get the chairs. Blankets, sheet, Looking neat! Inside forts Instead of sports Rainy day tears Can turn into cheers. A cheerful attitude can overcome obstacles. Can you find evidence to support this?

16. What have you learned? What is theme? Theme is the underlying message of a piece of text. Often the theme is not directly stated; we have to use clues (inference) to figure out the theme.

17. Your turn Think about the novels we have read. What themes can you think of? Do you see the same themes come up again and again? Be on the lookout for themes as you read!