Theme
Warm Up:
What is theme?
How do you find it?
Understanding Theme
 The
theme of a story is its central
message, a discovery of truth about life
and the human experience.
 Theme is a full statement, not just one
word.
 Theme is usually not stated directly. It is
inferred or discovered through reading.
 Theme is not a summary of the plot or a
statement of the topic.
 Every story could have multiple themes,
but there is usually one main theme.
Finding Theme
 How
has the main character changed
over the course of the story?
 What plot events are most important?
Why?
 What is the main conflict? How is it
resolved?
Examples of Theme
Statements
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Friends are not always trustworthy.
Appearances can be deceiving.
Happiness is only real when shared.
Love, when taken to extremes, can be either
positive or negative.
In sports, winning is not the only thing that
matters.
Greed causes problems that leave us with less
than we had.
Be happy with what you have; don’t
compare yourself to others.
Topic, Plot Summary, or
Theme?
A
family travels to
Alabama and
faces hardships
along the way.
 Prejudice.
 Facing your fears is
the only way to
overcome them.
 Plot
Summary
 Topic
 Theme
Topic, Plot Summary, or
Theme?
 Love
 Topic
A
 Plot
boy and girl fall
in love even
though their
parents are
enemies.
 Unresolved conflict
leads to disaster.
Summary
 Theme
The Oak and the Reeds
A very large oak was uprooted by the
wind and thrown across a stream. It fell
among some reeds, which it thus
addressed: “I wonder how you, who are so
light and weak, are not entirely crushed by
these strong winds.”
They replied, “You fight and contend
with the win, and consequently you are
destroyed; while we on the contrary bend
before the least breath of air, and therefore
remain unbroken, and escape.”
The Oak and the Reeds
 Topic?
Summary?
 Theme?
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 Plot
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Resistance, Strength
vs. Weakness
An oak tree is
surprised the weeds
aren’t hurt by the
wind like him.
Be flexible to
succeed.
Theme Activity
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Read the excerpt from Touching Spirit Bear
While reading, complete a double entry journal:
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On one side, list important quotes or events from the text.
On the other, list possible themes related to those
moments.
For full credit there should be at least ten original
entries.
On the back, write a summary (5+ sentences) of the
chapters read.
Answer the following ERQ question:

Analyze the theme of Touching Spirit Bear. Justify your
answer by providing at least TWO supporting details from
the text. Explain how these details support your analysis of
the theme.
Theme in Touching Spirit Bear
Quote/Event
Possible Themes
Lit Circle Theme Journal
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Fold three pieces of paper in half hamburger style and
staple the folded edge to form a journal.
On each of the first four sets of pages, label the top
with the chapters due each week.
For each of the four sets of pages, label one sides
“Quotes/Specific Evidence” and the other side
“Possible Themes”.
For each week of reading, include FIVE NOTEWORTHY
quotes/specific evidence and determine a possible
theme for each. Also in this section, explain how the
evidence shows your possible theme.
If you come in and you have not completed the
section of the journal, you will work independently and
not participate in the more active theme activities.
Bearstone
Theme
Journal
Jessica Clark
Week 1: April 9
Quotes/Evidence
Chapters 1-?
Possible Themes
1. BEARSTONE: “He didn’t know he was
climbing toward a treasure and a turning
point. He wanted only to reach that piece
of desert in the sky.”
1. BEARSTONE: Even when we are running away, life
can take us where we’re supposed to be. Cloyd is
trying to run away from the farm, but he finds the
bearstone that changes his whole life.
2. ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS: “I wanted to
drop the stick and run too, but I went on
digging roots because they were needed in the
village.”
2. ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS: We don’t always get
to do what we want because duty calls. In this
passage, Karana doesn’t go see the boat because
she has to finish her chores.
3. SACAJAWEA: “Deer do not attack a
mountain lion, even though they outnumber it.”
3. SACAJAWEA: If you are weak, do not attack
something/someone stronger than you, even if you
have back up. Sacajawea was not rescued
because her people were weaker than the tribe that
kidnapped her.
4. HATCHET: “It was as if the water were more
than water, as if the water had become all of
life, and he could not stop.”
5. BRIAN’S WINTER: “He had learned this:
Nothing that lived, nothing that walked or
crawled or flew or swam or slithered or oozed –
nothing, not one thing on God’s earth wanted
to die.”
6. CALL OF THE WILD: “His eyes turned
bloodshot, and he was metamorphosed
(changed) into a raging fiend.”
4. HATCHET: When you lose everything, even simple
things become precious. Because Brian had nothing,
the water was more important than ever.
5. BRIAN’S WINTER: Everything in nature will fight to
survive. Brian learns this when he has to hunt to
survive.
6. CALL OF THE WILD: Bad situations can change us
towards evil. Because Buck was being abused, he
was filled with hate and wrath.
Literature Circle Theme Strips
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Discuss quotes and themes from Theme Journal. Each
person should explain at least three.
Debate these themes and, together, decide on the
best theme for the first quarter of your survival novel.
Discuss the theme with Ms. Clark; once your theme is
approved, gather art supplies to create theme strip.
Write this theme statement on a sentence strip.
Decorate the theme strip with symbols or illustrations
that support this theme in the story.
On the back, give two pieces of evidence from the
text to support this theme.
Include your group’s names and the survival novel
your group is reading.
Week 2: April 16
Quotes/Evidence
Chapters # - #
Theme
Choose TWO PIECES OF
EVIDENCE for each theme;
FOUR QUOTES TOTAL
Find TWO THEMES based on the
list of topics below:
1. Quote for Theme #1
1. Quote #1
2. Quote #2
2. Quote for Theme #2
1. Quote #1
2. Quote #2
•
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Home
Family/Friends
Identity
Survival
Growing Up
1. Theme:
2. Theme:
Literature Circle Theme Songs
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Meet with literature circle and share themes/quotes.
Decide on an overall theme – one that represents the
book as a whole. Share it with the teacher for approval.
Write a “theme song” for your novel based on this
theme.
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The chorus should be the theme statement/explanation
itself; work on this portion together.
Each verse (one written by each member) should be
based on a different quote or event from the novel that
supports the theme you have chosen.
Choose music that has the same mood as the theme you
are talking about.
Make it easier by setting it to a simple song that you are
already familiar with (Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, etc.)