Theme and Drawing Inferences Assessment

Determine the Theme

Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy

Charlotte stopped at her brother's bedroom door. "Jemmy, could you—"

"Stop calling me that!" Jeremy groaned, his face buried in a book.

"Sorry, sorry," Charlotte said quickly. "Jeremy, will you help me get my bike down from the rack?"

"Sure," Jeremy said, putting down his book. "But no more of this 'Jemmy' business, all right?"

"I promise," Charlotte said.

Soon Charlotte was riding her bike. She was going to ask her big brother to come with her, but she decided against it. He was annoyed with her again. He really wanted her to stop calling him Jemmy.

She had started calling him that when she was little and couldn't pronounce her r's. As she got older, "Jemmy" just became the name she used. Jeremy used to think it was cute. Now that he was sixteen, though, he didn't like it. Once, his friend Ethan was over and started calling him Jemmy. Then the nickname began to spread like a cold through his circle of friends. "Hey, Jemmy," they would tease.

Charlotte sighed. "Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy," she muttered to herself. She was determined to use his real name from now on.

During dinner that evening, Charlotte asked her brother to pass the salt. "Thank you, Jemmy," she said. She slapped her forehead. "Jer-e-my. Sorry."

"Come on, Charlotte! It's not that hard!" her brother said.

One night, Charlotte was falling asleep on the couch. Her brother put a blanket over her. "Thanks, Jemeremy," she said sleepily.

"Better than 'Jemmy,'" her brother said.

• Respecting people's wishes show that you care.

• It's not worth getting upset over things you can't control.

• Believe in yourself always

• Honesty is the best policy

Determine the Theme

The Donkey, the Fox and the Lion A donkey and a fox decided to team up to find food together. They were travelling in the forest when they crossed paths with a lion. They were both scared. But the fox hoped to save himself. He approached the lion and offered to help him get the donkey, if the lion would let him escape unharmed. The theme of this story is: The lion agreed. So the fox and the donkey walked on, with the lion trailing behind them. The fox led the donkey to a hidden pit, left by some long‐ago hunter as a trap for wild animals, and the donkey fell in. As soon as the donkey was in the pit, the lion came out of hiding and ate the fox. Then he ate the donkey.

• Be prepared

• Betraying a friend also hurts you.

• Revenge hurts the avenger

• Be loyal to your friends

What is the theme? Jenny Puchovier was so excited. She had a pack of Starburst in her lunch and she had been looking forward to eating them all morning. Lunch finally came and Jenny sat down to eat her Starbursts when her friend Yudy sat next to her. “Let me get the pink ones,” asked Yudy. Jenny liked the pink ones best, but she thought Yudy was funny and Jenny wanted Yudy to like her, so Jenny gave Yudy all of her pink Starbursts. Before Jenny was done giving Yudy the pink ones, Carrie sat on the other side of Jenny. “Let me get the red and the orange ones, Jenny. Remember when I gave you that Snickers?” Jenny didn’t remember that, though she did remember when Carrie ate a whole Snickers in front of her, but Jenny thought Carrie was cool, so she gave her the red and the orange Starbursts. Now that she only had the yellow ones, Jenny wasn ’t so excited about eating starbursts anymore.

• You can’t buy friends.

• You have to take care of yourself.

• Honesty goes a long way.

• Not everybody is your friend.

Respond to the essential question below. Please write using sentences, correct capitalization, and punctuation.

How can readers determine the theme of a 
story?

List 3 ways you can determine the theme.

Evaluate responses using AI:

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As you read the story, think about what you already know in addition to what the story says. Try to figure out what the story means by thinking about what makes the most sense.. The Kingly Lion The animals of the field and forest had a Lion as their King. When anyone had a problem, he took it to the Lion King, and the Lion King helped to solve it. When anyone had an argument, they took it to the Lion King, and he helped to settle it. The Lion King never made demands that were in his own interest. He wanted only what was best for each and every animal. Day after day, the Lion King thought about nothing but the animals who were his subjects. Then he sat down and wrote out a Royal Order. He called all the animals to come before him. He stood on a hilltop and watched the animals come together from far and near. He waited for them to settle. “Hear ye, hear ye!” the Lion began, in his deep and rumbling voice. “I have written out my orders for a new way of doing things that will be better for all. From this day forward, the Wolf and the Lamb shall agree to live in peace. The Panther and the Goat shall live in peace. The Tiger and the Deer, and the Dog and the Rabbit— all shall live together in perfect peace and harmony. The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.

Use what you already know and what the story says to make inferences:

Why did the animals bring their problems to the Lion?

• The animals knew the Lion was powerful.

• The animals knew the Lion was fair.

• The animals feared that the Lion would punish them.

The Kingly Lion The animals of the field and forest had a Lion as their King. When anyone had a problem, he took it to the Lion King, and the Lion King helped to solve it. When anyone had an argument, they took it to the Lion King, and he helped to settle it. The Lion King never made demands that were in his own interest. He wanted only what was best for each and every animal. Day after day, the Lion King thought about nothing but the animals who were his subjects. Then he sat down and wrote out a Royal Order. He called all the animals to come before him. He stood on a hilltop and watched the animals come together from far and near. He waited for them to settle. “Hear ye, hear ye!” the Lion began, in his deep and rumbling voice. “I have written out my orders for a new way of doing things that will be better for all. From this day forward, the Wolf and the Lamb shall agree to live in peace. The Panther and the Goat shall live in peace. The Tiger and the Deer, and the Dog and the Rabbit— all shall live together in perfect peace and harmony. The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.

Why did the Lion write a Royal Order?

• The Lion wanted the best for each and every animal.

• The Lion was tired of the animals bringing their problems to him.

• The Lion wanted to be King of the field and forest.

Think about what makes the most sense, to draw a conclusion:

The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.

This is probably because:

• The Rabbit was afraid that the Lion was trying to trick all the creatures.

• The Rabbit did not think the Lion’s new rules would work.

• The Rabbit did not want to be friends with the Dog.

As you read the story, think about what you already know in addition to what the story says. Try to figure out what the story means by thinking about what makes the most sense.

The Elderly Lion A very Elderly Lion, weakened by old age and old injuries, could no longer hunt for his food. He lived for a while on grass and berries, but this made him grow still weaker. He decided to use his brain to take what he could not get by force. The Elderly Lion lay down in his den. He told every animal and bird who passed by that he was very sick. The animals all got the news of Elderly Lion’s illness, and came one by one to visit him. Squirrel came, bringing fresh grasses and berries. Squirrel was not seen after that. Dove came, bringing more fresh grasses and berries. Dove was not seen after that. More animals went to visit the Elderly Lion, and it became clear that animals were disappearing. Fox thought about the situation. He decided to go and visit the Elderly Lion. He went to the Elderly Lion’s den and stood outside at a respectful distance. “How are you feeling today?” Fox asked. “Not well, not at all well,” said the Elderly Lion. “But why do you stand there outside? Please—come inside and visit with me for a while.” “No thank you,” said Fox. “I notice that there are many footprints leading into your den, but I see no trace of any leading out.”

Use what you already know and what the story says to make inferences: How did the Elderly Lion use his brain instead of force?

• The Elderly Lion tricked the animals into coming into his den.

• The Elderly Lion stored up grass and berries for the winter.

• The Elderly Lion moved to a different den, where better foods grew.

As you read the story, think about what you already know in addition to what the story says. Try to figure out what the story means by thinking about what makes the most sense.

The Elderly Lion A very Elderly Lion, weakened by old age and old injuries, could no longer hunt for his food. He lived for a while on grass and berries, but this made him grow still weaker. He decided to use his brain to take what he could not get by force. The Elderly Lion lay down in his den. He told every animal and bird who passed by that he was very sick. The animals all got the news of Elderly Lion’s illness, and came one by one to visit him. Squirrel came, bringing fresh grasses and berries. Squirrel was not seen after that. Dove came, bringing more fresh grasses and berries. Dove was not seen after that. More animals went to visit the Elderly Lion, and it became clear that animals were disappearing. Fox thought about the situation. He decided to go and visit the Elderly Lion. He went to the Elderly Lion’s den and stood outside at a respectful distance. “How are you feeling today?” Fox asked. “Not well, not at all well,” said the Elderly Lion. “But why do you stand there outside? Please—come inside and visit with me for a while.” “No thank you,” said Fox. “I notice that there are many footprints leading into your den, but I see no trace of any leading out.”

Use what you already know and what the story says to make inferences: Why did the animals come to visit the Elderly Lion when they heard about his illness?

• The animals were afraid of the Elderly Lion.

• The animals hoped the Elderly Lion would move somewhere else.

• The animals felt sorry for the Elderly Lion.

As you read the story, think about what you already know in addition to what the story says. Try to figure out what the story means by thinking about what makes the most sense.

The Kingly Lion The animals of the field and forest had a Lion as their King. When anyone had a problem, he took it to the Lion King, and the Lion King helped to solve it. When anyone had an argument, they took it to the Lion King, and he helped to settle it. The Lion King never made demands that were in his own interest. He wanted only what was best for each and every animal. Day after day, the Lion King thought about nothing but the animals who were his subjects. Then he sat down and wrote out a Royal Order. He called all the animals to come before him. He stood on a hilltop and watched the animals come together from far and near. He waited for them to settle. “Hear ye, hear ye!” the Lion began, in his deep and rumbling voice. “I have written out my orders for a new way of doing things that will be better for all. From this day forward, the Wolf and the Lamb shall agree to live in peace. The Panther and the Goat shall live in peace. The Tiger and the Deer, and the Dog and the Rabbit— all shall live together in perfect peace and harmony. The Rabbit said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place without fear, by the side of the strong." And after the Rabbit said this, he ran for his life.

What was the purpose of the Lion’s Royal Order?

• Natural enemies would live together in peace.

• Natural enemies would live in different places of the forest.

• Natural enemies would have to settle their own differences.