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Main idea. Theme. Central idea. Topic. Summary. These are all words we use when teaching literacy skills and talking about texts.
And let’s face it, with so many similar terms, it can be confusing for students (and sometimes even teachers!) to remember what each one means or how and when to use it. But understanding the difference in theme vs. main idea, especially, is crucial for boosting reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Today, we’re comparing these often-confused terms and looking at how other related terms fit into the conversation so your students can learn them, use them, and keep them straight.
[The definitions: What are the theme and the main idea?](id-definition)
The main idea and theme are both key elements to understanding a text, but they serve different purposes. Check out these student-friendly definitions and examples to help you explain these differences to your class:
What is the main idea?
The main idea of a text is a one-sentence summary of the key details of a story. It answers the question, What is the story mostly about? The main idea is sometimes confused with other terms like central idea, purpose, summary, and theme.
You can usually write the one-sentence main idea of a literary text by including the name of the main character, what problem they’re having, and how they solved or planned to solve it.
How is the main idea related to the central idea, purpose, and summary?
Central idea, purpose, and summary are terms students might confuse with the main idea. Here are some easy definitions to help them understand the differences:
Main idea vs. Central idea: The central idea is a synonym for main idea, most often used when reading informational texts.
Main idea vs. Purpose: The purpose of a text is why an author writes it, and may or may not be stated explicitly in the text.
Main idea vs. summary: The biggest difference between a summary and the main idea of a text is the length. The main idea gives a top-level summary of the most important information, whereas a traditional summary may be much longer and include more details.
[What is a theme?](id-theme)
The theme of a text is a one-sentence recap of the general commonalities that appear throughout the text. It answers the question, What is the message, lesson, or moral of the story? Themes often appear multiple times throughout a text and run through the entire plot or structure of the story.
Themes reveal the deeper message, moral, or lesson of a text. They’re not about the sequence of events, but the underlying meaning the author wants to share. Students can often make text connections to themes because they may represent patterns or lessons that occur in real life.
How are themes related to topics and thematic statements?
Like the main idea, the theme also has related terms that might trip up students when trying to learn their nuances. Here are some definitions to help your students make the distinctions:
Theme vs. Topic: The biggest difference between theme and topic is length. Themes are full sentences that describe a one- or two-word topic in more depth. Common topics for texts may include acceptance, courage, honesty, kindness, and loyalty.
Theme vs. Thematic statement: A thematic statement gives the author’s viewpoint on an opinion or topic. For example, if the topic was summer vacation, the thematic statement may be “Summer vacation is necessary for students to relax after nine months of consistent learning.”
[Key differences between theme vs. main idea](id-differences)
Multiple characteristics highlight the differences between the theme and the main idea of a text. They include:
Literary vs. informational text
According to literacy expert and author Timothy Shanahan, theme is primarily a literary term. It applies to fictional works like novels, picture books, and short stories. In contrast, you can use the term main idea with fiction and informational texts. Even when people use the term central idea for informational texts, they’re still talking about the same concept.
Specificity vs. generality
The main idea always shares specifics from a story. It only applies to one specific text and uses the characters’ or subjects’ names and unique plot points. Themes are general, universal statements. The same theme could apply to different texts with different characters or plots.
For example, the Disney stories “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Little Mermaid” could all share a theme like “You can find love in unexpected situations,” but each story would have its own main idea.
Complexity of the skill
Most students learn how to find the main idea of a text earlier in their education, before they learn about themes. Finding the theme requires higher-order thinking.
Explicit vs. implied meaning
Finding themes requires higher-order thinking because most aren’t explicit. Students have to read between the lines to find them. They’re shown through characters’ actions and words, and the plot. As we just mentioned, finding the theme requires higher-order thinking.
The main idea is more explicit, especially in nonfiction or informational texts. Students may be able to find the main idea in the topic sentence, a heading, or the title of the text.
Number of answers
A text will always have just one main idea. Students may write or phrase it differently, but the concept will always be the same. In contrast, one text could have multiple themes, especially if it’s longer. Some themes may be more obvious or more developed than others throughout a text, but that doesn’t mean others can’t exist.
Identifying questions
Students ask different questions to uncover themes and the main idea of a text. They can ask these questions before, during, or after reading. Questions to ask to find the main idea include:
What is the text about?
What happens in the story?
What are the most important details in the plot?
Questions to ask to find the theme include:
What is/are the topic(s) of the story?
What is the author implying about the topic?
What obstacles did the characters face?
What important decisions did the characters make?
How did the characters grow or change throughout the text?
[Examples of theme vs. main idea in well-known stories](id-examples)
Need mentor text to help your students understand the difference between these two concepts? Try some of these well-known tales:
“Aladdin”
Main idea: Aladdin, a commoner, uses a magical lamp to become a prince and marry the princess.
Themes: “Love can be found in unexpected places” and “Never underestimate someone.”
“Cinderella”
Main idea: A mistreated young woman receives magical help to attend a royal ball, where her kindness and inner beauty lead her to a better life.
Theme: Kindness and patience get rewarded while cruelty and envy fail.
Main idea: A mermaid longs to become human to find love, and her sacrifices lead to heartbreak.
Theme: “Love often requires sacrifice”
“The Three Little Pigs”
Main idea: Three pig brothers build houses of different materials: Straw, sticks, and bricks. When the Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two houses, the brick house stays standing, saving the brothers.
Themes: “Hard work pays off” and “If you don’t have time to do something right, you won’t have time to do it over.”
Main idea: A bird that looks different is mocked and rejected until it becomes a beautiful swan.
Themes: “True beauty and worth take time to be revealed” and “Identity and self-acceptance come with growth and patience.”
[8 classroom strategies to help you clarify theme vs. main idea](id-strategies)
Teaching the distinctions between theme and main idea can be challenging. Try some of these strategies paired with popular anchor texts to help your students grasp the concepts:
1. Model best practices
Guided practice and reinforcement can help tour students understand the differences between themes and the main idea. Use the “gradual release of responsibility” approach. First, model how to find the main idea and theme, then move to guided practice. Finally, you can have students complete a task independently to show what they know.
You can use checks for understanding throughout a lesson to make sure students understand each step before moving on. You can also reinforce these skills with every reading activity. Encourage students to record the main idea and theme of every text they read in a dedicated notebook or on bookmarks as a visual to refer to later.
2. Start with pre-reading activities
Before jumping into the text, try these pre-reading activities with your students:
Topic warm-up: Review the concept of topic as a bridge to the main idea and theme.
Text scans: Have students scan the title, first sentence, and last sentence to predict what the text might be about.
3. Leverage the right stories
Shorter, less complex texts can be more accessible when learning about the theme and main idea. Well-known stories, such as fables and fairy tales, are popular choices, as seen in the examples we shared above. Students are likely already familiar with the plots of these stories, which allows them to focus on identifying the main idea and theme.
4. Introduce close reading
Introduce close reading in stages. Students can read and reread a text multiple times to better understand the story before trying to identify the main idea and themes. First, have students read to gain a general understanding and identify the main idea. Have them read the same text a second and third time to analyze it more critically and find the theme.
5. Rely on graphic organizers
Graphic organizers can help students keep track of details in the story that help them find the main idea and themes. A flowchart, web chart, or plot diagram can help students note key details, such as a text’s title, recurring statements, character names, or other information that helps them identify the theme and main idea.
You can also co-create an anchor chart that lists the characteristics and examples of a theme on one side and the characteristics and examples of the main idea on the other. Hang it up in the classroom for reference as you teach and for students to review and practice.
6. Try sorting and matching activities
Sorting and matching activities help students understand the nuance of specificity and generality in themes and the main idea.
Use flashcards that include definitions of the main idea and theme, along with relevant examples for each. Have students sort the examples into the correct categories and explain their reasoning. You can use a digital tool like Formative to create activities students can access anywhere.
7. Explore song lyrics
Lines and verses of songs are often shorter—and sometimes clearer—than a paragraph of text. Analyzing the lyrics of student-friendly songs can help reinforce the concept of themes and the main idea.
Use printable lyrics sheets for nursery rhymes, Disney songs, or other school-appropriate tunes for this activity. Have students read, annotate, and then identify the main idea and at least one theme.
You can extend the lesson to have them analyze two songs and compare how the themes and main ideas for each song are similar to and different from each other.
If students are unfamiliar with the context of some of the songs you choose, such as the plots of the Disney movies they belong to, provide background knowledge on the story before you begin. If the songs have appropriate music or lyric videos, you can also show those before the lesson to introduce the students to the music, not just the lyrics.
8. Use task cards
Task cards can help you differentiate instruction by tailoring the complexity of the same task for students at different ability levels. Use task cards as part of your group activity learning stations or as individual free-time activities to help students practice and reinforce themes and the main idea. Try:
Multiple-choice cards: Include a short passage and a multiple-choice question with answer options of theme, main idea, and key details. Students can select which option the provided information shares.
Fill-in-the-blank prompts: Include a short passage and sentence starters to help students share the main idea and a theme from what they read.
Writing prompts: Scaffold up the complexity by including just a passage and asking students to write the main idea, theme, and a key detail in their own words.
[Help students learn the main idea with Newsela ELA](id-newsela)
Finding the main idea in a text takes practice with a variety of texts of different genres and complexity levels. It’s more effective to teach this literacy skill with relevant, real-world, engaging content rather than out-of-touch basal readers. That’s why teaching about the main idea with Newsela ELA is easy! You get access to a variety of helpful resources and scaffolds to help you teach literacy skills, like:
A library of over 18,000 pieces of literary and informational texts you can use to help students find the main idea and theme.
Annotations that let you highlight key details to help determine the main idea and themes of a passage.
Texts at five reading levels, which can help you show students how to find the main idea and themes in the same text as the complexity increases.
Interactive graphic organizers for articles that you can customize with Luna, your AI-powered assistant.
Checks for understanding embedded within texts that allow students to slow down and make sure they understand what they’ve read before moving forward in a text.
Not a Newsela customer yet? You can sign up for your free Newsela Lite account and start your 45-day trial to get access to the content and skill-building scaffolds you need to teach students how to differentiate between themes and the main idea.
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