1. Theme
What does the story want you to remember?

2. Learning Objective
Today I can identify themes in a story, drama, or poem.

3. Essential Questions
What is theme? How can you identify the theme of a text?
What is a universal theme? How does it apply to people throughout time?

4. What is Theme?
Theme is a life lesson, meaning, moral, or message about life or human nature that is communicated by a literary work.
Think! What is the author trying to get you to learn from the reading?

5. Don’t be fooled!
Theme shouldn’t be a one word answer, it should be a sentence!
EXAMPLES:
Slow and steady win the race.
Showing kindness to others may help you in the end.
Take responsibility for your actions.

6. Let’s try one together!
Sam was so excited. She had a pack of Starburst in her lunch and she had been looking forward to eating them all morning. Lunch finally came and Jenny sat down to eat her Starbursts when her friend Jill sat next to her. “Let me get the pink ones,” asked Jill. Jenny liked the pink ones best, but she thought Jill was funny and Jenny wanted Jill to like her, so Jenny gave Jill all of her pink Starbursts. Before Jenny was done giving Jill the pink ones, Carrie sat on the other side of Jenny. “Let me get the red and the orange ones, Jenny. Remember when I gave you that Snickers?” Jenny didn't remember that, though she did remember when Carrie ate a whole Snickers in front of her, but Jenny thought Carrie was cool, so she gave her the red and the orange Starbursts. Now that she only had the yellow ones, Jenny wasn't so excited about eating Starbursts anymore.

7. What do you think?
Can you think of any key words that help with finding the theme?
Sam was excited about her Starbursts.
She wanted Jill and Carrie to like her.
She wasn’t excited about eating her candy anymore.
What do you think the author is telling me?
Friendship can’t be bought.
Not everyone is your friend.
Making others happy may make you unhappy.

8. Themes are about the BIG picture
Try finding the “real-world” advice
Themes are usually NOT stated in the text, but implied.
The theme of this story shouldn’t be:
Yellow Starbursts taste bad.
Jill and Carrie are not good friends.
Don’t share your Starbursts.

9. Let’s Practice! We will read the story together.
You write down on your whiteboard what you think the theme is.
Be ready to PROVE it with examples from the text!

10. Once there was a mean little boy who lived in a small village
Once there was a mean little boy who lived in a small village. This mean little boy loved to mess with people, so one day he ran up to a sheep herder and shouted, “WOLF! WOLF! A wolf is attacking the town!” The sheep herder grabbed his staff and ran to defend the town, but realized he had been fooled when the boy started pointing and laughing at him. “Ha ha! I made you jump,” said the boy. Then the boy ran up to a farmer and shouted, “WOLF! WOLF! A wolf is attacking the town!” The farmer grabbed his pitchfork and ran to defend the town, but when the boy started pointing and laughing at him, he realized he had been tricked. As the boy went back to his family’s farm laughing about the funny trick he played, he saw a real wolf in his father’s chicken coop. As the wolf ate all of his father’s chickens, the boy screamed over and over again, “WOLF! WOLF! Please help us!” But nobody came to help him.

11. What is the Theme? Some examples of theme could be:
Don’t play tricks on those around you.
Don’t ask for help unless you really need it.
Share with your partner what your theme was. Does it match with mine?

12. Closure Think about something you learned about theme today.
Write down in your notes something important about theme.
Share with your group what you wrote down.