Theme (Main Idea) vs. Summary

Theme: The theme of a story is the moral message or lesson of the storyIt is an overarching idea

• Hard work pays off• Education• Friendship• Family• Cultural legacies• Societies affect change• Similarities vs. Differences

Summary: The summary of the story tells what it is mostly about (Usually one sentence and can be the thesis)• Ponyboy knew that fighting was

wrong.• Darry wanted to keep the family

together.• Steve Jobs had a vision about

the future of computers.• Cities have local dialects and

local vocabularies.

Items from HomeMake a list of items in, or around,

your home

• An everyday item in your home• A product that you or your family

used every day• A description of something

special in or around your house• A detail about your house using

smell, taste, or feel• A plant that is in your yard

• A family tradition and a family trait• Special family members• A habit of someone in your family• Sayings your mom would say• A song that you learned as a child• Favorite food • Where your family is from

• I am from Gain from the laundry room, the lemony scent of Pledge on Saturday mornings, and White Rain in my mother’s hair.