The document explains the concept of theme in literature, highlighting it as the underlying message or big idea of a story or poem. It discusses methods for identifying themes, such as looking for stated themes or making inferences from clues within the text. It also provides examples of common themes and encourages readers to explore themes in their own readings.

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 themes
Sometimes, an author will come right out
and state the theme of a story or poem
I looked at all the candy I could buy. I had the
dollar, right here in my hand, but suddenly I didn’t feel
hungry. I wished that I hadn’t stolen the dollar. I
wished that I hadn’t taken the money from my brother’s
bank.
“I don’t think I want to buy anything today,” I
muttered quickly to the clerk. Then I ran from the
store. I had learned something important—it’s better to
be honest than to have money.

4. Finding themes
Sometimes, an author will come right out
and state the theme of a story or poem
I looked at all the candy I could buy. I had the
dollar, right here in my hand, but suddenly I didn’t feel
hungry. I wished that I hadn’t stolen the dollar. I
wished that I hadn’t taken the money from my brother’s
bank.
“I don’t think I want to buy anything today,” I
muttered quickly to the clerk. Then I ran from the
store. I had learned something important—it’s better to
be honest than to have money.

5. Finding theme
Authors usually tell readers the theme
toward the end of a story
Reading hint: Look at
the last page of a story
to see if you can find a
stated theme

6. Finding theme
Sometimes, though, the theme is not stated.
Then, you need to make an inference.
We knew that it was time to set the butterfly
free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge.
Then 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?

7. Finding theme
Sometimes, though, the theme is not stated.
Then, you need to make an inference.
We knew that it was time to set the butterfly
free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge.
Then 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?

8. Finding theme
Sometimes, though, the theme is not stated.
Then, you need to make an inference.
We knew that it was time to set the butterfly
free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge.
Then 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?

9. Finding theme
Sometimes, though, the theme is not stated.
Then, you need to make an inference.
We knew that it was time to set the butterfly
free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge.
Then 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?
Wild
creatures
should be
free

10. Finding theme
You’ve probably read something with this theme
before. And that’s one of the neat things about
theme—the same ideas are repeated over and over.
We knew that it was time to set the butterfly
free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge.
Then 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?
Wild
creatures
should be
free

11. 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

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.
How does the speaker feel
about the beginning of the
poem?
How do the speaker’s
feelings change?

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.
Choices
Persistence pays off.
Good can come from bad.
A cheerful attitude can
overcome obstacles.
Love conquers all

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.

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.

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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?

19. What have you learned?
What is theme?

20. What have you learned?
What is theme?
Theme is the underlying message of a
piece of text

21. What have you learned?
How can I find the theme?

22. What have you learned?
How can I find the theme?
Sometimes, the author will state the
theme, usually somewhere near the end
Sometimes, we have to use clues to figure
out the theme

23. Your turn
• Think about book you have read and
movies you have watched
• What themes did you notice? Do you see
the same themes come up again and
again?
• Now it’s time for you to find some
themes in your reading!

24. More on theme
For more on finding theme and a list of universal themes, see
my book Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling: Skills for
Reading, Writing, and Test-Taking, available from Heinemann.