Main Idea and Theme

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Main Idea and Theme

• How do I determine the main idea and theme of a
  reading passage?

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Think about the last movie you watched

• Did you get a chance to tell someone what the
  movie is about?
• Take a moment and jot down what the movie is
  about in your notebook.
• You just gave the main idea of the movie.

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Main Idea

• Main Idea-What something is mostly about

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The King and the Shirta fable by Leo
Tolstoyadapted by J.M. Watson

• Read the story at your desk.
• As you read, think about how you would answer the
  question What are the main idea and theme of the
  story?

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Tip 1 Both fiction and nonfiction passages have
main ideas

• Fiction main idea- what happens in the story
  (fiction- a made-up story)?
• Example
• In the story The Tortoise and the
• Hare, the
• Main Idea is The tortoise beats the hare in a
  race.

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Tip 1 Continued

• Nonfiction main idea- the central point that the
  author wants the reader to know (nonfiction- any
  writing that is not made-up like articles,
  reports, instructions, and biographies)?
• Example In an article about horses in Kentucky
  the Main idea might be Kentucky is a great place
  to raise horses.

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Tip 2 As soon as you finish reading, tell
yourself what the passage is mostly about

• Main ideas are not always stated directly
• Most of the time, youll have to put them in your
  own words.

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Lets practice Tips 1 and 2

• In your notes, write one to two sentences that
  answer the following question
• What is the main idea of the story The King and
  the Shirt?

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Now, when answering multiple-choice questions
about main idea

• Tip 3 Find the answer choice that is closest to
  your statement of the main idea

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• When taking a reading test, you will almost
  always see a question about main idea, so be
  prepared to think about the main idea with
  everything you read.
• Then look for the answer that is the closest to
  the statement that you made about main idea.

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Lets practice Tip 3

• What is The King and the Shirt mostly about?
• A. A king's son offers to buy a man's shirt.
• B. A royal physician cannot cure his king.
• C. A great king lies in bed mysteriously ill.
• D. An ill king's men search for a happy man.

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Tip 4 Don't mistake a detail for a main idea.

• Detail- a small part of the larger, whole
  passage.
• Examples
• The king's stallion is black.
• The happy man lives in a tiny hut.
• Test questions about main idea usually include
  answer choices that are just details from the
  passage.

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Tip 4 Continued

• Which of the answers are just details from the
  story?
• A. A king's son offers to buy a man's shirt.
• B. A royal physician cannot cure his king.
• C. A great king lies in bed mysteriously ill.
• D. An ill king's men search for a happy man.

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Tip 5 Test questions about the title are
questions about the main idea.

• You may see questions such as, Why was the
  passage given this title? or What would be
  another good title for this passage?
• These are main idea questions in disguise.
• A good title gives you clues about the main idea.

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Lets Practice Tip 5

• Which of the following would be another good
  title for this passage?
• A. The Source of Happiness
• B. Potions, Pills, and Lotions
• C. A Fortune in Fashion
• D. All the King's Men

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Tip 6 Summarize what the author says.

• Summarize -- coming up with a shorter, simpler
  restatement of what you've read.
• Write a summary of the main idea of paragraph 5.
• Be careful not to include details such as the
  king's aching head or eyes fogged with fever.

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Tip 6 Continued

• Keeping paragraph five and the summary that you
  just wrote in mind, answer the following
  question
• What is the main idea of paragraph five?
• A. The king is so sick that he falls asleep.
• B. The king has a headache and a fever.
• C. The king agrees with his advisor's idea.
• D. The king can barely see who has spoken

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Tip 7 Think about the theme of the passage.

• Theme is the lesson or message that the writer
  wants to get across in his or her story.
• Themes usually relate to life or the way the
  world works.

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• To find the theme, ask yourself What lesson did
  the main character in the story learn or fail to
  learn?
• Theme questions may be worded these ways
• What is the theme of the passage?
• What is the moral of this story?
• What lesson is the author trying to teach?

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• Common themes
• Too much pride can destroy a person
• Crime does not pay
• Dont judge people until you have seen life from
  their point of view
• It is better to tell the truth than to lie

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Lets Practice Tip 7

• Which sentence best states the theme of The King
  and the Shirt?
• A. Planning ahead can save a lot of work later.
• B. True friends are with you even in the worst
  times.
• C. The things you own can never make you happy.
• D. Stay loyal to those people who are loyal to
  you.

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Summing Up

• Fiction and non-fiction passages have main ideas.
• As soon as you finish reading, tell yourself what
  the passage is mostly about.
• Find the answer choice that is closest to your
  statement of the main idea.

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• Dont mistake a detail for a main idea.
• Test questions about the title are questions
  about the main idea.
• Summarize what the author says.
• Think about the theme of the passage.

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The End!!