The theme of a story is the main message, lesson, or moral the author wants the reader to understand. It is the deeper meaning behind the events and characters.
The theme is not the same as the plot. The plot tells what happens. The theme explains the bigger idea or lesson.
To identify the theme, think about what the characters learn, how they change, and what message the author is sharing through the story.
The theme is usually not stated directly. Readers must use clues from the text to figure it out.
Many stories share themes that appear again and again across different books and cultures.
When you notice similar lessons in different stories, you are recognizing universal themes.
The theme is the lesson or message, while the main idea is what the story is mostly about. Both are important, but they are not the same.
Ask yourself: is this sentence telling me what happened (main idea) or what lesson it teaches (theme)?
Good readers use strategies like rereading, making predictions, and connecting the story to real life to uncover the theme.
The more you practice, the easier it will be to recognize themes in all kinds of stories.