https://www.khanacademy.org/ela/new-6th-grade-reading-and-vocabulary/x8ddea1200317e822:key-ideas-and-details-6/x8ddea1200317e822:determining-theme-6/a/literary-theme-seeking-the-message 2026-05-21T11:40:40.471298507Z Determining the theme of a story | Guided practice Learn how to determine the theme of a story, novel, or poem. article https://www.khanacademy.org/ela/cc-3rd-reading-vocab/xaf0c1b5d7010608e:cc-3rd-extreme-environments/xaf0c1b5d7010608e:extreme-environments-close-reading-fiction/v/understanding-theme-reading 2026-05-21T11:40:40.471298507Z Understanding theme A story's theme is the message woven throughout it, often about important topics such as human nature, life, or society. It is deeper than the plot or summary and it can answer questions such as "What does it mean to be a family?" or "What are we afraid of?". Want to take notes on this video? Use this [Notes Organizer](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vt5uGrpM75qaKVotjdKPpu5hjjPDb5UgkZu8eqENhbs/copy)! video https://cdn.kastatic.org/googleusercontent/TDtlTP1uI4NyoU4ZZQ6jkvyWnw76CaAZeHQmUIQIbCLeU_nqv1GfzAIMfYd800KMjHKLXFFauo7TtjOolwa_baR9Yg Understanding theme A story's theme is the message woven throughout it, often about important topics such as human nature, life, or society. It is deeper than the plot or summary and it can answer questions such as "What does it mean to be a family?" or "What are we afraid of?". Want to take notes on this video? Use this [Notes Organizer](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vt5uGrpM75qaKVotjdKPpu5hjjPDb5UgkZu8eqENhbs/copy)! https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-youtube-converted/MAu3e5GZo4k.mp4/MAu3e5GZo4k.mp4 378 Determining theme https://www.khanacademy.org/ela/new-6th-grade-reading-and-vocabulary/x8ddea1200317e822:key-ideas-and-details-6/x8ddea1200317e822:determining-theme-6/e/theme-and-summary-6 2026-04-10T20:10:36.32681891Z Theme and summary Practice identifying themes and summarizing literary texts. Hannah Chorley exercise