Big Ideas

So what's the Big Idea?

Theme Worksheet

Theme List

Students often ask, "How can I find the theme of a story?"

Definition

Themes are BIG Ideas, like friendship, love and courage. Themes are NOT the events, or actions in the story; however, you can infer the theme from the actions.

Example

When a friend stands up for another friend in a story, we can infer from their actions that two themes in the story are friendship and courage.

Your Turn

A good place to look for themes is the actions of the main character. See if you can complete the Theme Worksheet.

Students also ask, "Is there a list of common themes?"

While there are as many themes in children's literature as there are BIG Ideas, some common themes are:

	friendship
	love
	cooperation
	courage/bravery
	loyalty
	family
	determination
	anger
	loneliness
	teamwork/working together
	fairness/unfairness
	self-respect
	self-control
	racism/sexism
	achieving your full potential
	keeping traditions alive
	importance of imagination
	being different
	conformity
	taking a stand

Challenge: See how many more themes you can add to the list!

Last update: July, 2003
Created by Sharon Grimes

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