Theme Practice

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.

• School stresses people out.

• Kids know more than their parents.

• It is better to do things right the first time.

• Staying up late can have negative health consequences.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.W.8.9A

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.

• Size can be a true indicator of ability.

• Popularity doesn't always lead to happiness.

• Just because you're a captain of a team doesn't mean you are always right.

• Appearances can be deceiving.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.8.3

What is the theme of the story below?

A fly bit a bald man on the head. The man tried to shoo the fly away. But the fly landed on the man’s head and bit him again. This made the man furious. He slapped his head to squash the fly, but the fly few away just before the man delivered a stinging slap to his own head. The fly landed on the man’s head a third time and laughed at him. “You would hurt yourself just to get back at me?” he taunted. The man was so enraged that he tried to hit the fly with a rock. Instead he knocked himself, senseless, to the ground.

• Make sure you have a fly swatter handy at all times.

• Get out of the way of pests.

• Don't put yourself in the pathway of fools.

• Don't always let your anger control what you do.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

The theme of the story is the

• main character

• message about life that the author expresses

• sequence of events

• short summary of what the story is about

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

Which of the following could be a theme of a story?

• Fear is more dangerous than any beast.

• A brave young girl pretends to be a man and takes her father's place in the army.

• A fear of heights.

• "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too."

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

Which of the following could be a theme of a story?

• A 35-year-old woman named Essie and her brother.

• A small apartment in Marfa, Texas.

• Telling the truth may cause you pain, but in the end, it's better than lying.

• Essie lied to her brother about her identity for two years, but she finally decided to tell him the truth.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

Unlike the topic of literature, a theme ...

• can be expressed in one word

• always shows the setting

• is always stated directly in the text

• cannot be just one word

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

You can often infer the theme of a piece of literature by ...

• evaluating how a character has changed
• sharing a character's experience
• determining how the conflict has resolved
• ALL of the above

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

Which of the following statements about theme is TRUE?

• Authors NEVER use the same theme twice

• Themes only repeat in short stories

• All poems have the same theme

• The same themes can occur in different stories/different authors

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2

Themes are universal because ...

• all humans share common experiences
• authors add them to make the writing meaningful
• the entire universe enjoys them
• the stories go on forever

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.2