2. In the summer before I started high school, my grandpa picked me up every Sunday afternoon. We would coast down the blooming hills, valleys, and countryside along the lake in his 1968 convertible. My best memories are of listening to old Elvis songs and stories of my grandfather's high school days.

3. Theme Think About the Following... 1. What was the story about? 2. Did the main character learn something? 3. Could you relate to the story?

4. Strategies for Determining Theme Think about the title — how does it relate to ideas in the story?1. Identify repeated ideas or concepts in the story.2. Determine if the story teaches a lesson or has a moral.3. Connect the events and ideas in the story to your own experience. How does the story relate to real life? 4.

5. Guided Practice with Theme Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. Every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlour watching the door across the street for Mangan’s sister. The blind was pulled down to within an inch of the sash so that I could not be seen. When she came out on the doorstep my heart leaped. I ran to the hall, seized my books and followed her. This happened morning after morning. I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood. Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires. “Araby” from Dubliners by James Joyce abridged version

6. Guided Practice with Theme A. the heartache of love B. beauty is only skin deep C. coming of age is difficult 1. What is the theme of this passage? D. it is difficult to know oneself Every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlour watching the door across the street for Mangan’s sister. The blind was pulled down to within an inch of the sash so that I could not be seen. When she came out on the doorstep my heart leaped. I ran to the hall, seized my books and followed her. This happened morning after morning. I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood. Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.

7. Guided Practice with Theme A. the heartache of love B. beauty is only skin deep C. coming of age is difficult 1. What is the theme of this passage? D. it is difficult to know oneself Every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlour watching the door across the street for Mangan’s sister. The blind was pulled down to within an inch of the sash so that I could not be seen. When she came out on the doorstep my heart leaped. I ran to the hall, seized my books and followed her. This happened morning after morning. I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood. Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.

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