Main Idea/Theme
Main Idea
Nonfiction/Informational Texts
What a passage is mainly about
Questions to help you identify the main idea:
What is the “big picture” in this passage?
What is the main point of it?
Supporting details are the sentences that help to support or explain the main idea
Questions to help you identify supporting details:
What other information is given?
How does it help me understand the main point?
Theme
- Fiction
The most important idea or message in a story
Theme is often a lesson or message about life.
Questions to consider when trying to identify theme:
What was the conflict/problem?
How does the main character resolve it?
What did the main character learn?
How did the main character grow or change?
Using the above questions – you should be able to figure out what the author wants the reader to learn, which is the THEME.
Below are a variety of activities to practice main idea and/or theme: