Theme Quiz

The theme is a lesson learned; the moral of the story.

• True
• False

We often learn the theme of the story through how the character reacts to conflict, what is conflict?

• The beginning of the story

• the problem in the story

• how the problem is solved in the story

During a baseball game, Tanner tried to tag a player leaving first base. When the umpire called the player out, Tanner immediately informed the umpire that he in fact did not tag the runner. Two weeks later, the very same umpire was at another one of Tanner’s baseball games. Tanner was playing short stop and tagged a runner as they approached third base. When the umpire called the player safe, Tanner didn’t say a word, but the umpire noticed the surprised look on Tanner’s face. “Did you tag the runner?” she asked Tanner. When Tanner told her that he did tag the runner, the umpire changed her decision and called the player out. The coaches and parents were furious, but the umpire stood by her decision.

What is the theme?

• You should cheat to win.

• Always work hard.

• It pays to be honest.

• Teamwork is best.

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.

Alan had very few responsibilities, but one of them was to clean his room. It did not take long, but Alan still didn't like doing it. One day Alan thought of a way to save some time. Rather than putting everything neatly back in its place, he decided to just throw all the stuff on the floor into his closet. His mom would think that he had cleaned his room, and it would only take a fraction of the time. Alan was pleased with himself for thinking of this brilliant idea. He figured that this would save a lot of time and energy. The next time his room got messy, he piled everything up in the closet and the pile grew. It grew and grew. Then Alan's friend Steve called. "Alan, everyone is playing baseball at the park. Do you want to play too?" Alan loved baseball. "That sounds great, Steve. I'll be right there." Alan went to grab his baseball mitt when he realized that it wasn't in its usual place. Alan thought to himself, I guess it's in the closet. When he opened up the closet door, he was faced with a huge, unnavigable mess, some of which poured out as he opened the door. Alan began digging through the pile in a frantic attempt to find his mitt. He dug and dug, and as he dug his room got messier and messier. Soon his room was the messiest that it had ever been, and he still hadn't found his mitt. Alan sighed in despair. By the time he found his mitt, the boys had long concluded their game and Alan had hours of cleaning ahead of him before he'd be allowed to leave.

What is the theme of the story?

• Treat others as you wish to be treated; what goes around, comes around.

• A thing worth doing is worth doing correctly; cutting corners comes at a cost; it is better to do a thing once the right way then many times the wrong way.

• Give credit where credit is due; a good relationship has to have some give and take.

• Do not criticize things that are dear to others, particularly if they are not seeking your criticism

The best definition of theme is...

• The lesson the author is teaching. 
• The message the author is sending.
• A word that summarizes the story.
• The character's main problem.

What is the main difference between THEME and MAIN IDEA. 

• Theme is a universal lesson, and main idea is what a story is about.
• Theme is what a story is about, and main idea is the universal lesson it teaches.
  

The theme of a story is the

• main character.
• message about life that the author expresses.
• sequence of events
• short summary of what the story is about. 

What is the main idea?

• the main character in a story
• the message about life that an author expresses
• the sequence of events in a story
• a description of what the story is mostly about

Which of the following could be the 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."