THEME

Katie Clean invited Messy Missy to her house to work on their biology project, but Katie Clean had no idea what a visit from Messy Missy entailed.  First of all, it was raining and Messy Missy neither bothered to take her boots off nor thoroughly wiped them on the doormat.  Then Messy Missy ate a bag of hot chips on Katie Clean's white bedspread without asking, and Messy Missy is a sloppy eater, so hot chip powder got all over the bedspread.  Katie Clean tried to be polite and ignore Messy Missy's sloppy behavior, but then Messy Missy threw her chip wrapper on the floor.  Offended, Katie Clean pretended that she was sick and asked Messy Missy to leave.  The next day Katie Clean asked the teacher if she could work by herself.  After explaining her situation, the teacher allowed Katie to work alone.  Messy Missy would have finished the assignment by herself, but she spilled grape soda all over her assignment. 
What is the theme of the story?

• Respect other peoples' property. Choose your partners carefully.
• Money doesn't buy happiness. You don't appreciate the things for which you don't work.
• It is better to do things right the first time. Work hard, play hard.
• Never give up. Persistence pays off.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Mr. Pig and Mr. Dog were hanging out at the food court of the animal shopping mall.  Mr. Pig was eating a huge feast of pizza and drinking a large jug of fruit punch and Mr. Dog was watching him eat.  "Hey, Mr. Pig.  If you give me a slice of your pizza, I'll let you have the next bone I find."  Mr. Pig declined, even though it hurt his stomach to eat the last three slices of pizza.  "I'm sorry, Mr. Dog," Mr. Pig said, "but I paid for this pizza and it's all mine."  Mr. Dog sighed and waited for Mr. Pig to finish, and then they left the animal mall together.  On the way out, a hunter spotted them and gave chase.  Mr. Pig normally could have escaped the hunter but since he was weighed down by such a large meal, Mr. Pig collapsed and the hunter killed him.  Mr. Dog easily escaped.  Later that night while returning to the scene, Mr. Dog caught the scent of something delicious and began digging around a trash can.  He found a large ham bone with lots of meat and marrow still stuck to the bone.  Mr. Dog happily ate.
What is the theme of the story?

• Money doesn't buy happiness. You don't appreciate the things for which you don't work.
• Never give up. Persistence pays off. 
• It is better to share. Don't be greedy.
• Respect other peoples' property. Choose your partners carefully.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Tammy and Sammy were both students in Mr. Morton's reading class.  Mr. Morton wasn't too strict about deadlines, and Sammy took advantage of that.  He did all of his homework in his other classes but never bothered to complete Mr. Morton's reading assignments, figuring that he could complete them later.  Tammy, on the other hand, completed each assignment Mr. Morton assigned the night that he assigned it.  She had to stay up a little later, but she didn't want to get a penalty for turning in her reading work late.  Tammy knew reading was a core subject and that she had to keep "C" average for the entire year or she would have to go to summer school.  When the end of the quarter came, Tammy and Sammy had both planned on going to the Enchanted Castle amusement park, but Mr. Morton called Sammy's mother, and she grounded Sammy until he turned in all of his work.  That weekend was horrible for Sammy.  He stayed up until 2:00 AM each night and still couldn't complete all of the assignments.  The whole while, Tammy had a great time eating pizza at Enchanted Castle, watching movies late at night, and enjoying her weekend free of stress and pressure.  At the end of the quarter, Sammy was lucky to squeak by with a "C" minus in reading while Tammy earned an "A."  Sammy still hasn't learned his lesson and probably won't complete this activity either.
What is the theme of the story? 

• It is better to share. Don't be greedy.
• Respect other peoples' property. Choose your partners carefully. 
• Never give up. Persistence pays off. 
• It is better to do things right the first time. Work hard, play hard.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Even though they were sisters, Suzie and June were nothing alike.  If Suzie wanted to jump rope, June wanted to play hopscotch.  If June wanted to watch soap operas, Suzie wanted to watch talk shows.  Tensions rose to the point that the girls could no longer stand one another's company.  It seemed that they had nothing in common, until the day that progress reports came out.  While riding the bus home from school, the girls startled by how upset the other looked realized that they were both failing a subject.  Suzie was failing math and June was failing reading.  Since both girls wanted to pass their classes, they got to talking and agreed to help one another.  So everyday after school for the next few weeks, Suzie tutored June in reading and then June tutored Suzie in math.  By the time report cards came were distributed, Suzie and June were passing all of their classes.  The girls were delighted, but their mother was happiest of all.  Not just because her daughters passed their classes, but because they had learned to be good sisters.
What is the theme of this story?

• have a back up plan, don't put all of your eggs in one basket, sometimes you should listen to other's advice
• Share your true feelings, if you like someone then tell them, every action has a reaction
• it's better to work together, everyone can learn something from someone else, two heads are better than one
• You can sheer a sheep many times but you can only skin it once, don't be greedy, don't be sloppy, clean up after yourself

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

The little grey mouse that lived in my wall prospered for many days on nibbles of my lunch.  I'd pack a meal before bed and, while I slept, he would take small bites of my lunch, which I left on the counter.  He'd take a cracker crumble here, and a bread crumb there, but he wouldn't take too much and he'd always clean up after himself.  Things were going quite well for him and I didn't even know he existed, until he got sloppy.  One night while I slept, he ate all of my chips and left behind a big mess.  When I awoke to this sight, I knew what had happened to my chips.  So the next night when he returned for another snack, he found a nice, delicious piece of cheese... lightly balanced on a mouse trap.  Now I don't have to share my chips anymore.
What is the theme of this story?

• You can sheer a sheep many times but you can only skin it once, don't be greedy, don't be sloppy, clean up after yourself
• learning from books is no substitute for real life experience
• Share your true feelings, if you like someone then tell them, every action has a reaction
• it's better to work together, everyone can learn something from someone else, two heads are better than one

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

All Victor ever wanted to do with his life was be a singer.  He didn't pay attention in school and he spent all of his time at home watching music videos online and impersonating his idols.  His mother tried to teach him the value of getting an education and having a backup plan, but Victor would respond the same way every time, "Mom, I won't need to know any of that boring old stuff when I'm famous.  You'll see."  But there was one major problem with Victor's plan: he wasn't any good at singing.  Victor wanted to be a singer so badly, that he didn't notice the pained look on the faces of those who endured his singing.  Because he wanted to be a singer so badly, when honest people told him to find something else to do with his life, he accused them of being "jealous haters" and ignored their advice.  After Victor dropped out of high school to focus on his music career, the years passed and the doors never opened. 
What is the theme of this story?

• it's better to work together, everyone can learn something from someone else, two heads are better than one
• have a back up plan, don't put all of your eggs in one basket, sometimes you should listen to other's advice
• Share your true feelings, if you like someone then tell them, every action has a reaction,
• learning from books is no substitute for real life experience

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Barry liked playing board games, but he hated losing. He hated losing so much that he would do whatever it took to win, even bending or breaking the rules. He'd steal money from the bank and hide it under the couch cushions. He'd skip spaces while he was moving around the board. He'd shortchange others money that they were owed and argue with them about it. Barry's techniques were effective. He did win most of the games that he played, but the people whom he played with were his friends and family, and it didn't take too long until they caught on to Barry's tricks. They tried to tell Barry to stop cheating. They said that the game wasn't any fun when he cheated, but he didn't listen. He continued with his treacherous style of gameplay, until nobody would play with him anymore. Barry may have won a lot of games, but at what cost? 
What is the theme of the story?

• Do not judge a book by its cover; appearances can be deceiving; size isn't everything.
• Be thankful for the things that you receive.
• You get more bees with honey than with vinegar; it's more fun to share.
  
• Winning isn't everything; cheaters never prosper.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Genevieve was obsessed with details. She felt that everything that she submitted to her teacher had to be perfect. For the final project in reading class, students were given one week to use their art skills to bring a scene from a novel to life. Genevieve decided that she would build a shoebox diorama. She spent the first two nights creating an intricately detailed scene far superior to anything that her classmates would produce, but she ended up throwing it away because she didn't like how tape was visible at the bottom of the diorama. The next two nights she worked on a similar diorama, but this time she used glue. Again, Genevieve produced a beautiful product, but she was troubled by how the glue looked when it dried, so she discarded her work again. Over the weekend and into the next week, Genevieve recreated the project a third time. This time she used a special adhesive putty to construct the diorama and was completely satisfied with the appearance. Unfortunately, her project was now several days late and her grade on the assignment was lowered to a C.
What is the theme of the story?

• Don't let the details distract you from the bigger picture; don't sweat the small stuff; done is better than perfect.
• You get more bees with honey than with vinegar; it's more fun to share.
• Do not judge a book by its cover; appearances can be deceiving; size isn't everything.
  
• Be thankful for the things that you receive.
  

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

 Derek was doing his homework on his computer one night when he saw an ad banner for a free Gamebox 9000. He clicked on the ad with great interest and was taken to a webpage with details about the offer. It seemed simple enough. All he had to do was post some content to his social networking pages and complete a few offers. Derek didn't really approve of the content that he was required to share, but he really wanted the new Gamebox, so he shared the required links with all of his friends and family. Then Derek began completing the offers. The offers were organized into three tiers. According to the website, he had to complete three offers in each tier and then he would get his Gamebox for free. So Derek started completing the offers in the first tier, which required him to create accounts on a bunch of websites that he had no interest in joining. He completed the first tier in a couple of hours and he was really getting excited about getting a free Gamebox9000. The second tier required Derek to become a member at more websites and to get three of his friends to sign up to the program. Signing up to the websites was pretty easy (though time consuming), but getting his friends to participate in the program was much harder. Most of them warned Derek that he was falling for a scam, but Derek finally found three freshman who agreed to participate. Derek was pumped. Unfortunately, the third tier required him to sign up for satellite television service, change his phone service provider, and get approved for several credit cards. Derek finally did what he should have done from the beginning and walked away from these offers. 
What is the theme of the story?

• Honesty is the best policy; treat other people's property with respect; money isn't everything.
• You can hurt people if you help them too much.
• There's no such thing as a free lunch; if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Good things don't just happen to you unless you make them happen; anything worth achievingrequires a lot of hard work.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

Justin was jealous when his cousin Cassie was named valedictorian of her class. "Some people are just born smart," he told himself later as he watched TV on the couch. He had not been with Cassie all of those times when she studied late into the night. Justin was also jealous when his cousin Victor was elected class president. "Some people are just more popular than others," Justin told himself while playing video games on the couch. He had not been with Victor while he tirelessly campaigned, listened sympathetically to the problems of others, and treated everyone he knew with kindness and respect. When Justin's cousin Matthew became the quarterback for the varsity squad, Justin was envious. "Some people are just more athletic than others," he told himself as he played around on his computer. Justin had not been with Matthew while Matthew trained relentlessly to develop his athletic abilities. "One day something lucky will happen to me too," Justin told himself as he snacked on junk food. 
What is the theme of the story?

• There's no such thing as a free lunch; if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Good things don't just happen to you unless you make them happen; anything worth achievingrequires a lot of hard work.
  Answer Explanation: Justin spe
•  You can hurt people if you help them too much.
  
• If something seems too good to be true, it probably is;

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.9

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9