What is a theme in a story?

A theme is an important idea or message that is woven throughout a story and can be applied to life.

How is a theme different from the main idea of a story?

The main idea is what the story is about, while the theme is the underlying message or lesson that can be applied to life.

1. What did the characters learn? 2. How did the characters grow and change? 3. Why did the characters act the way they acted?

Anansi was trying to gather all the wisdom in the world into a clay pot.

I can develop a thesis statement that identifies a theme in a literary work.

1
A theme is an important idea that is woven throughout a story; it is not the plot or the summary, but something deeper.
2
Themes are universal, meaning anyone can relate to them, and they often answer a question the story is trying to explore.
3
A theme of the Anansi story could be that anyone can have a good idea or that wisdom is inside all of us.