1. 6th Grade Advanced Language Arts Ms. Currie
Theme In Literature
6th Grade Advanced Language Arts
Ms. Currie

2. The message about life that can be found in literature
The way an author approaches the topic
A part of the whole story
What is a theme?

3. There are all kinds of themes in stories and poems, but here are some of the big ones you’ll see over and over again.
Love
Friendship
Death
Family
Heroes
Growing Up
Good vs. Evil
Classic Themes

4. Where do you find the theme?
In the details:
The theme doesn’t show up in just one place; it’ll come back up again and again in the details of the story
Where do you find the theme?
In sentences and in scenes:
A single sentence can bring up a theme. A whole scene can be about it, too.

5. Where do you find the theme?
In the characters:
A theme can appear in how a character changes. The way a main character evolves in response to a conflict often points to the theme.
Where do you find the theme?
All the way through:
A theme will appear throughout a story, everywhere from the beginning to the end – sometimes in large ways, like a scene with a plot twist, and sometimes in detailed ways like in the language used in a sentence.

6. Use your notes to answer these questons.
You may use your notes to answer these questions:
What is a theme in a story?
Can you find evidence of a theme in something as small as a sentence?
Can a whole scene be about a theme?
True or false: A character will sometimes be described based on their relationship to a theme.
True or false: The setting of a story can contribute to the theme.
True or false: You can’t find the theme by looking at the details.
True or false: A theme doesn’t affect the plot.
Use your notes to answer these questons.

7. The message about life that can be found in literature.
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. True
5. True
6. False
7. False
Check your answers