K12 Lessons

Open Ended

Keith was stressed about his research paper. He had to write five pages about something that interested him, but he couldn't think of anything interesting. He decided that he would play basketball instead. The next night Keith sat down to work again, but he still couldn't think of anything interesting. So he listened to music and played video games instead. The next few days went much the same. He told himself that he wasn't interested in anything, and then he read comic books. He watched movies. He read about classic cars. Still, he couldn't think of any interesting topics for his paper. Keith was worried now because it was due very soon, and he didn't even have a topic. He tried to think of something that he found interesting, but again he couldn't. He played his guitar and cooked a meal for his family instead. He loved to cook. At last the due date was here and Keith still didn't even have a topic. By now he had accepted that he would fail. "If only I could have found a topic that interested me," he told himself.

What is the theme of the story? support response with textual evidence

Open Ended

It was Sean's first day at a new high school. Most of the students had been nice to him, until he got into gym class. The coach had assigned two captains, Mike and Malik, and they were picking teams from the boys in Sean's class. As Mike and Malik made their picks, it became pretty clear to Sean who was popular and who was not. Since Sean was short for his age, Mike and Malik just assumed that Sean could not play basketball. As Mike and Malik's choices dwindled, Sean still remained amongst an ever-slimming pool of struggling athletes. Now there were only two students left: Sean and another kid who seemed nice but was reading a book. Mike and Malik joked about who was going to get stuck with whom, and then Mike made his last pick. It was not Sean. Sean sighed and reluctantly joined Malik's team. As soon as the game began, Mike became aware of the error that he had made. Sean quickly stole the ball from him and ran it back for a layup. "The new kid got lucky," Mike remarked, but it soon became clear that Sean had more going for him than luck. What Sean lacked in height, he made up for in speed, and he continued to dominate the action on the court for the remainder of the game. With Sean's blazing speed and crazy crossovers, Malik's team devastated Mike's, and that was the only time that Sean would be last pick at that high school.

What is the theme of the story? support your response with textual evidence

Open Ended

Blaine opened up the present and began pouting. He screamed in a high-pitched voice, "This is Captain Thunder! I wanted Captain Lightning!" His mother looked at him with dismay and handed him another present, which he greedily opened. "Why did you get me a red hat? You know I like blue more," Blaine whined as he threw the hat across the room. His mother straightened her expression and squinted at him. Earlier she had hoped to take some pictures of this moment, but by now she had put away her camera. She sighed and handed him one more present in hopes that this year wouldn't be a total bust. Blaine huffed and opened it. "A Game Box 4000… wow. Where's the Game Box 5000 that I asked for?" His mother could bear his ingratitude no longer. The next time that Blaine returned from his father's house, he was shocked to find that all of these toys and gifts, along with many other of his things, had been generously donated to needy children.

What is the theme of the story? support with textual evidence.