Central Message

In order to find the central message/theme of a text, I first must...

• ...read the entire text.
• ...summarize the text.
• ...skim and scan the text.
• ...use the text features.

The central message/theme of a text should be...

• universal
• short
• long
• specific to that text only

Read the story below.  Then choose the message/theme that fits the story.
In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.  "Why not come and chat with me," said the grasshopper, "instead of toiling away with work?"  "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the ant, "and I recommend you do the same."  "Why bother about winter?" said the grasshopper; we have plenty of food right now."  But the ant went on its way and continued to gather food.  When winter came, the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while the ants had plenty of food to go around from what they collected in the summer.  Then the Grasshopper knew.

• Hard work now will pay off later.
• It is better to play than to work hard.
• Grasshoppers are smarter than ants.
• Ants work together better than Grasshoppers.

Read the story below. Then choose the message/theme that best fits the story.
A monkey put his hand into a jar of cookies. He grasped as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the cookie jar.  Unwilling to lose the cookies, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and was disappointed.  Now he couldn't eat any cookies.

• Don't be greedy.
• Make sure you keep cookies in a jar with a wide neck.
• Don't eat a lot of cookies.
• Monkeys shouldn't eat cookies.

Choose the best message/theme for the text below:
An old man summoned his arguing sons around him to give them some advice.  He ordered them to bring in a bundle of sticks, and said to his eldest son, "Break it."  The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts, was unable to break the sticks.  The other sons tried also, but none of them were successful.  "Untie the bundle," said the father, "and each of you take a stick."  When they had done so, he called out to them, "Now break," and each stick was easily broken.

• There is strength in unity.
• A stick is easier to break than a bundle.
• Fathers are smarter than sons.
• The sons shouldn't argue.