Story Themes - Lessons and Exercises

The theme in a story is of great importance. It is the central idea or message in literary work. The writer wants to be able to express his/her opinion to the audience about a specific topic. Topics may include war, family, friendship, and other examples that we hear about in our lives or in the media.

Sometimes, the author already has an idea of what his or her theme is, but sometimes it can be a tad difficult, and does not manifest until later on during the writer’s rough draft.

In this section, we will talk about a few examples of themes and how one can incorporate a theme in their story. Each lesson will be approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Questions will also follow after each lesson. Also, exercises will help student writers practice identifying themes, learn definitions, and more.

This lesson will teach what are themes in a story

Theme Definition & Identification
- Lesson -

Lesson duration: About 20 Minutes

This lesson will define what a theme is and why is it important to have one in a story. Student writers will read examples and practice identifying themes in a story.

It is important for writers to share their idea or ideas to the reader so that the writer can share his or her point of view on a specific topic.

A writer may already have an idea of what theme or themes they want to write about, but it is possible to think of it along the way in their writing.

Worksheet for Practice and Exercise the first lesson

Theme Definition & Identification
- Exercise -

Here are exercises to practice the first theme lesson.

The activities include: Matching words with their descriptions, identifying themes of well known stories, and filling in the missing blanks in passages.

Learn how to create a theme with these easy practical steps

How to Develop a Theme
- Lesson -

Lesson duration: 15-20 Minutes

The purpose of this lesson is to teach student writers how to think of a theme to use in their story, as well as making sure it develops properly from start to finish.

Sometimes the theme is stated plain and simple for a reader while other stories have a theme that can take time figuring out along the way.

Descriptions on how to successfully form a theme and some thorough examples can be used to help student writers with their own literary works.

A worksheet to practice what you learned in the 2nd lesson

How to Develop a Theme
- Exercise -

In these exercises you get some more practice on the theme concept.

It includes open-ended questions, a matching drill, and finding how themes are expressed in tow example passages.