Year 7 · English · Modern novel study · Lesson 4

Themes

Themes in a novel: theme vs plot vs message, finding themes through a character's change, and the themes of loneliness, belonging and stories in the original ‘The Night Library’.

17-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

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What your child will learn

Define theme and message
Tell theme from plot
Find themes through character change
Write a PEE paragraph about a theme

The method

Name theme.
Message.
Quotation.
Change.

Key words: theme, message, plot, belonging, loneliness, character change.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

What is a theme?

Step 1: Big idea

Answer: a big idea a story explores

Question 2

Is ‘Nia goes to the library at midnight’ a theme or plot?

Step 1: Happens

Answer: plot

Question 3

Name three common themes in stories.

Step 1: Ideas

Answer: e.g. friendship, courage, loneliness