Finding and Tracing Theme Development

What is theme?

• The subject an author writes about in the story

• The life lesson a reader can learn from reading the story

• The main symbol the author uses in the story

• The changes the character goes through in the story

Select all of the ways to identify a story's theme. Choose three right answers.

• Look for a statement of theme

• Think about changes in the character's behavior

• Look at the first paragraph only

• Think about the title

Which of the following is an example of theme?

• Love

• Don't forget to feed your gerbil.

• If you stay up all night playing video games, you will be tired.

• Sometimes you have to face your fears in order to conquer them.

A story can have more than one theme.

• True

• False

The theme only applies to the characters in the story. It means nothing to the reader.

• True

• False

A literary work is a model of

• The character's life

• The reader's opinion

• The real world

• A real book

You and your friend found two different themes. You can both be right if

• Your teacher is nice

• Bothe themes have the same subject

• The author agrees with you

• You both have evidence to support them

Which of the following is an example of THEME?

• Carry your laptops with two hands at all times.
• Cereal is the healthiest food you can eat.
• How much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
• Life is short; make the most of it.

"You should respect your elders" is NOT a good theme because:

• It is not true

• It is too obvious

• It mentions the characters in the story

• It cannot be supported by evidence

"Simba has to face his past" is NOT a good theme because

• It does not apply to everyone

• It is too random

• It is a subject

• It is an opinion