Topic and Theme

Question 1

Topic

Answer 1

One or Two WORDS that sum up a story.
Ex. This story is about ______. <–the underlined word(s) will be your topic. (ex. love, war, friendship, good vs evil, etc.)

Question 2

Theme

Answer 2

A SENTENCE that tells the writer’s message about the topic. The real life lesson that is learned from the story.
Ex. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”, “Love conquers all.”, etc.

Question 3

Topic vs. Theme

Answer 3

Topic = 1-2 WORDS that sum up what the story is about.
Theme = a SENTENCE that tells a real life lesson that is learned from the story.

Question 4

Explicit vs. Implicit

Answer 4

Explicit = when something is directly stated.
Ex. When the moral/lesson of the story is given. (ex. “And the moral of this story is, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’”)
Implicit = when something is IMPLIED and requires the reader to infer the message being told.
Ex. In the story of Cinderella it is implied that when you are a good person good things will come to you, and if you are evil then bad things will happen to you. It is not directly stated, but it is implied by what happens to Cinderella and her step-family.

Question 5

Infer

Answer 5

To make an educated guess based on the clues that are in the text.

Question 6

Ways to infer what the THEME of a story is (things to look at for clues):

Answer 6

TITLE: The title may hint at a theme by highlighting an important idea, setting, image or character.
PLOT & CONFLICT: A story’s plot often focuses on a conflict that is important to theme.
CHARACTERS & ACTIONS: Characters can reflect theme through their actions, thoughts and words.
SETTING, IMAGES, STYLISTIC ELEMENTS: These can all suggest a theme.

Question 7

*Happiness
*Friendship
*Good vs Evil
*Love
These are all examples of what?

Answer 7

Topic

They are 1-2 words and sum up what a story could be about.

Question 8

• Good triumphs over evil.
• Evil is punished and good is rewarded.
• Bullies can be overcome.
These are all example of what?

Answer 8

Theme

They are told in a sentence and they tell a message about the topic of “Good vs Evil”. They tell a life lesson.

Question 9

Can a topic have more than one theme connected to it?

Answer 9

YES! Topics are very general (love, happiness, loyalty, good vs evil, courage, etc.). Because of this they can have many themes each (themes are more specific than topics).
Ex.
* Good triumphs over evil.
• Evil is punished and good is rewarded.
• Bullies can be overcome.
These are all themes that go with the topic of “good vs evil”.