Theme - 9th

All texts have a topic and can have more than one.

The topic is thing or idea that a text is about

Topics are usually pretty clear and are one or two word answers

Identifying the topic is the first step in reading a text

Text features like the title, graphics, headings, and sub headings will help you to quickly identify a topic

The main idea is what the author says about the topic

A main idea is explained in a sentence

The main idea can be DIRECTLY stated or you may need to make INFERENCES to decide what it is

The main idea is text dependent -- it only applies to the text you are working with

The theme is the overall message the author is sending about the topic

A theme is explained in a sentence

The theme in NOT directly stated. You will need to make INFERENCES based on what the characters do and say

Themes are usually universal -- you will see similar themes in texts

There can be more than one theme in a text