Recognizing Themes and Topics

Fill in TH for theme and TO for topic:

_____	Bald eagles are the symbol of our nation.

_____	Endangered bald eagles

_____	I wish I was a Stellar sea lion.

_____	Elephant seals mating rituals and other erotic stuff

_____	Of pelicans, puffins and pelagic cormorants

_____	The stories of the stars talk through the night skies.

_____	Inupiats, people of the north

_____	Athabascan mysteries and the creation of the earth

_____	Seals and their blubber

_____	The water is green for a reason.

_____	Modern agriculture is based on the good work of worms.

_____	Trains, planes and automobiles

_____	Transportation brings the world to your doorstep.

_____	This old house

_____	Historic houses reflect the life and times of their owners.

_____	The Old West wasn’t so wild after all.

_____	Famous cowboys and their horses

_____	Desert people of the past

_____	Killer bees are coming to get us.



Writing Themes

Here’s a simple three-step process described by Dr. Sam Ham in Environmental 
Interpretation for developing a theme:

1.  Select a general topic and use it to complete the following sentence:

“Generally, my presentation is about____________________________.”


2.  State your topic in more specific tersm and complete this sentence:

“Specifically, however, I want to tell my audience about  

___________________________________________________________________”


3.  Now, express your theme by completing the following sentence:

“After hearing my presentation, I want my audience to understand that

_______________________________________________________________________”



Example

1.  Alcatraz
2.  The type of inmates at Alcatraz
3.  …the inmates at Alcatraz were not the most dangerous criminals in the system.

Theme:  Contrary to popular belief, America’s most notorious prison did not house its most dangerous criminals.
*   Alcatraz inmates were considered “incorrigible.”
*   At most, the prison housed a population 200 inmates, all in separate cells.
*   Some inmates, such as Al Capone or Julius Rosen were really political prisoners.