IDENTIFY THE THEME

The Presentation

For the final exam, instead of a written test, everyone will be required to give a ten-minute presentation on one of the science topics we covered this year, Mr. Marx announced.

Angela felt her stomach twist into anxious knots. When Mr. Marx passed around a sign-up sheet, Angela chose the topic of tadpoles, but also made sure she picked the very last time slot for presentation days. She wanted to put as much distance as possible between now and the moment she would have to speak in front of the class.

Angela began having trouble sleeping at night. She dreamed of failing the final exam not because she didn't know the material, but because she froze and forgot her speech. Every classmate's presentation she watched meant she was one step closer to having to present herself.

When the day arrived, Angela couldn't eat breakfast, and she had to get through math and history before science. She couldn't concentrate at all.

Her heart pounded as Mr. Marx called her name. She gathered her notecards with shaking hands and slowly walked to the front of the room.

"Tadpoles," she began, "are frogs or toads at the beginning of their life cycle."

Whew, she thought. The first sentence came out.

Then, something happened that she did not expect at all. She relaxed. Once she began, the words flowed out. She could see Mr. Marx start to smile and nod encouragingly. After weeks of dreading this moment, she couldn't believe how quickly the presentation passed.

"So," she said brightly, after her presentation concluded. "Does anyone have any questions about tadpoles?"

Which of the following best describes the main theme or lesson of the story?

• Waiting to do something can be worse than actually doing it.

• Preparing well for a challenge can make it seem less scary.

The Lead Role

Travaris had always loved singing, but he was still stunned when he landed the lead role in the school musical. He could barely wait to tell his parents the news. But when he made his announcement over dinner, they looked at each other and frowned.

"You said the performance was the week of May 13?" his dad asked.

Travaris's heart sank. Of course. His older sister was getting married in Hawaii that week.

"I'm sorry, but you'll just have to tell them that you can't do it," his mom said.

The next day at school, Travaris planned to tell Ms. Phelps, the theater director, that she should give his part to someone else because he wouldn't be in town during the performance. But all day he was bombarded with congratulations from his classmates for getting the lead role. He didn't have the heart to tell them that it was all for nothing because he couldn't even be in the play.

Travaris told his mom that he was staying after school to help out with set design, but really he was reading his lines, singing the songs, learning the dance numbers, and even getting fitted for costumes. It couldn't hurt to enjoy being the star of the play for a little bit, could it?

But as the weeks went by, Travaris started to feel guiltier and guiltier. He knew that the longer he put off dropping out of the play, the more he would hurt the rest of the cast and crew.

Finally, Travaris told Ms. Phelps how he couldn't be in the musical.

Ms. Phelps thanked him for letting her know. "But don't forget to audition again next year," she added with a wink.

Which of the following best describes the main theme or lesson of the story?

• Be honest, even if it doesn't benefit you.

• Not everyone is meant to be a star.

• We all have different talents.

Too Much Fun

Darryl thought his friend Julia had such a cool mother. She would drive Julia and Darryl anywhere they wanted to go: movie theaters, swimming pools, ice cream shops. Darryl's own mother worked in a laboratory all day, doing research. Even on weekends, she buried her nose in science books. Darryl loved the way his mom could explain mysterious things about the universe and always had interesting trivia to share. But sometimes he wished he had a mom who was a little more . . . well, fun.

One Saturday, Julia and her mom picked up Darryl at his house. They were all going to a big amusement park. Darryl said goodbye to his mom, who was reading.

"Isn't your science project due Monday?" she asked him.

"It's almost done," Darryl said, walking out the door.

At the amusement park, Julia's mom treated them to popcorn and fried dough. They all dared each other to go on the fastest, most dizzying rides in the park. They laughed and screamed all day long. Darryl had a blast.

Darryl woke up with a splitting headache Sunday morning. He groaned at the thought of finishing his science project. He heard his mother making breakfast, the same breakfast she made every Sunday: a vegetable omelet and fresh fruit. Usually Darryl wanted a doughnut for breakfast, but the thought of more junk food made him queasy. His mother's healthy cooking and quiet, studious ways were just what he needed after such a loud and busy day.

After he ate, his mother helped him finish his science project. When Julia called later, asking Darryl if he wanted to come by, he said no. Maybe next weekend he would be ready for more fun, but not now.

Which of the following best describes the main theme or lesson of the story?

• Every person has something important to offer.

• Procrastination leads to stress and second-rate work.

• Focus on your studies first, then have fun.

The Cupcake Contest

Neal was so excited. His high school was having a bake-off, and the owners of a local cupcake shop were going to judge. Neal had always had a knack for cooking and baking, and he was pretty sure he could win this contest. He'd perfected his classic vanilla cupcake recipe.

On the way to biology class, he asked his friend Liza what she was baking for the contest.

"I'm going to make my grandmother's red velvet cupcakes, topped with cream cheese frosting and cinnamon," Liza replied.

Neal groaned. Liza's cupcakes sounded so much more creative. Suddenly, his simple vanilla cupcakes seemed lame.

Determined to impress the judges, Neal changed his cupcake recipe. He added a marshmallow filling to each cupcake. To liven up his buttercream frosting, he added purple food dye, lavender oil, and licorice extract. The cupcakes still looked boring, so he garnished them with gold dust, rice paper birds, and edible flower petals.

In spite of all these adventurous touches, his cupcakes turned out lopsided and goopy, and the frosting tasted strongly like licorice. But he was sure the cupcake judges would look highly on how fancy his cupcakes were.

Neal could hardly wait for the contest results to be posted after school. But when he saw the list on the wall, his mouth fell open. He didn't win any prizes, not even as a runner-up. And first place had gone to one of his classmates, Drew Feldman. The description by Drew's cupcakes read, "Classic Vanilla."

Which of the following best describes the main theme or lesson of the story?

• It's often better to do a good job on something simple than attempt too many things at once.

• Even when you work hard at something, you might fail a number of times before you succeed.

• Sometimes we are not good at the things we like to be good at.

Self-Portrait

Alia was dismayed to find herself in the drawing studio. She had been sick with the flu during the week when everyone else got to pick their classes. She had hoped for Astronomy or Marine Biology, but they were full by the time she got to choose. She loved everything about science, from the way it used facts and formulas to how it revealed the basic nature of things. But art was so . . .un-scientific.

The first class project was self-portraits. Some students were drawing self-portraits using mirrors. Others were working from photographs. Alia glanced at the incomplete sketches, feeling like a cat in a dog show.

The teacher came up to Alia's easel and sat next to her.

"Every portrait begins with a circle," he said. "Then you create a series of lines."

To demonstrate, he drew a group of small, quick portraits. He began each one with a circle, some straight lines, and a triangle to determine where the eyes, nose, and chin should go. Alia had never thought about it, but the features of everyone's face were in the same spots.

Hesitantly, Alia began her own self-portrait. She drew the basic form of a head, the way she had been shown. From there, she used lines to plot the features of her face. The process took patience and precision. She had to take note of each detail. One wrong measurement could throw off the whole portrait.

Alia was surprised by the structure and discipline involved in drawing a portrait. Measuring, studying details, revealing the basic nature of something—it reminded her of what she loved about science.

Which of the following best describes the main theme or lesson of the story?

• Don't assume you won't like something until you try it.

• Keep trying even if you fail the first time.

• Art gets better with with time.