Quiz: Theme-Mrs. Boone

Quiz: Theme

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From Topic to Theme

A good first step towards understanding, theme, is to identify the topic or key word that a story deals with. For example, a story might be about courage, friendship, or bravery. But a theme cannot be expressed in a single word. The topic or key word of a story might be friendship, but the theme is something particular about friendship that can be expressed in a complete sentence.

Multiple Choice

What topic/key word best describes what the passage is about?

Kim’s diet was terrible. All she ate was chips and sweets and jelly sandwiches on white bread. She was overweight and she was always tired. When her doctor told her that she felt bad because of what she was eating, Kim was amazed. She didn’t realize that she had so much power to make herself feel better. Kim stopped eating junk food and started eating fruits and vegetables. In a few weeks she felt like a new person.

• a) Courage

• b) Responsibility

• c) Health

Multiple Choice

Think about the passage and choose the theme that includes the topic/key word (health), which the author wants the reader to learn. Remember, theme, is bigger than just the story itself; it is a lesson or a message the reader can relate to the real world.

• Everyone should stop eating junk food.

• Good health is within everyone’s reach.

• Junk food is bad for you.

• Never eat junk food.

What topic/key word best describes what the passage is about?

Wendy enjoyed spending time with her grandmother. Her grandmother told her stories about what the world was like when she was a little girl, a very long time ago. Wendy also liked her grandmother’s caramel cake and blackberry cobbler. There was only one problem. Wendy’s grandmother always made casseroles for dinner. Wendy didn’t want to hurt her grandmother’s feelings. But she hated casseroles, and she couldn’t help hesitating before taking a bite. But she did take a bite, because she loved the way that her grandmother’s eyes lit up when she saw Wendy eating her home‐cooked food. When Wendy’s grandmother smiled, suddenly the casserole didn’t taste so bad.

Multiple Choice

What topic/key word best describes what the passage is about?

• a) Loyalty

• b) Love

• c) Duplicity

Multiple Choice

Think about the passage and choose the theme that includes the topic or key word (Love), which the author wants the reader to learn. Remember, theme, is bigger than just the story itself; it is a lesson or a message the reader can relate to the real world.

• My grandma loves to make me happy by cooking for me too.

• Grandmas always make casserole because they love it.

• People will do anything for love.

Think About It:

Theme, is the central message that stretches through an entire story, drama or a poem. You can think of the theme of a story as being like the lesson, or the real world application of the story. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas. Themes can be stated outright, or they can be just implied.

The Donkey, the Fox and the Lion

A donkey and a fox decided to team up to find food together. They were travelling in the forest when they crossed paths with a lion. They were both scared. But the fox hoped to save himself. He approached the lion and offered to help him get the donkey, if the lion would let him escape unharmed. The theme of this story is: The lion agreed. So the fox and the donkey walked on, with the lion trailing behind them. The fox led the donkey to a hidden pit, left by some long‐ago hunter as a trap for wild animals, and the donkey fell in. As soon as the donkey was in the pit, the lion came out of hiding and ate the fox. Then he ate the donkey.

Multiple Choice

What does the fox try to do?

• Go on a hunting trip with the lion.

• Make friends with the lion.

• Attack the donkey since she did not have dinner.

• Help the lion get the donkey instead of him.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the fox's character?

• Brave for approaching the lion

• Smart for making sure that he would be safe

• Disloyal for betraying the donkey

• Peaceful for trying to compromise

Multiple Choice

PART A: Which of the following best describes a major theme of the text?

• Betraying a friend can have terrible consequences.

• The desire to survive is strong, but it is not as strong as friendship.

• Being clever can be more useful than being strong.

• Friendships made between cowards never last.

Multiple Choice

PART B: Which quote from the text best supports, the answer to Part A?

• The fox led the donkey to a hidden pit.

• He approached the lion and offered to help him get the donkey, if the lion would let him escape unharmed.

• A donkey and a fox decided to team up to find food together.

• As soon as the donkey was in the pit, the lion came out of hiding and ate the fox.

Multiple Choice

How does the fox react to the arrival of the lion?

• The fox tries to trick the lion into falling into a pit so that he and the donkey can escape.

• The fox tries to make friends with the lion.

• The fox is quick to betray the donkey by offering to get him for the lion.

• The fox becomes frightened, and he tries to save them both from the lion.

Multiple Choice

How does the ending of the story contribute to its overall meaning?

• The fox’s betrayal at the end of the story contributes to the idea that people cannot stop themselves from being what they are, like the cowardly fox.

• The fox’s betrayal at the end of the story contributes to the moral: do not trust other people to help you and instead help yourself, as the donkey should have done.

• The lion’s betrayal of the fox contributes to the idea that betraying a friend can have terrible consequences, just as the fox’s betrayal led to his own death.

• The deaths of the fox and the donkey contribute to the moral of the story: it is better to be united against an enemy rather than divided by our differences.

Multiple Choice

How would you describe the ant?

• Lazy

• Hard working

• Funny

• Tired

Multiple Choice

Why didn’t the grasshopper help the ant collect food?

• He wanted to flit around and he thought there was plenty of food.

• He was sleeping.

• He had to help his grasshopper family.

• He did want to help the ant collect food, but the ant would not let him.

Multiple Choice

What advice did the ant give the grasshopper?

• The ant told him, “There is enough food for today. But there will come a day when it won’t be true.”

• The ant told him that it was fine to play all day.

• The ant told him that his family was lucky to have his help.

• The ant told him that he should wait for winter and then collect food.

Multiple Choice

What lesson did the grasshopper learn?

• It is better to prepare what you will need for tomorrow.

• It is best to play and not work.

• It is better to take food from others.

• It is better to flit around all day if it makes you happy.