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Theme, Central Idea, & Summary

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 40mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
What is the best question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the central idea?
a)
Who is the main character?
b)
What is the main event?
c)
What is one important detail?
d)
What point is the author trying to make?
2.
What does the central idea of a story tell the reader?
a)
a specific detail from the story
b)
The conflict of the story
c)
What the story is about 
d)
The universal truth, moral, or idea the author wants to express
3.
What is the main difference between THEME and CENTRAL IDEA. 
a)
Theme is a universal lesson and main idea is what a story is about.
b)
Theme is what a story is about and main idea is the universal lesson it teaches.
4.
Mark wanted to be a great skater. But he didn't want to spend the hours practicing. He wished he could just do the tricks easily. Mark's dream was to have everyone stop and stare when he entered the skate park. He  wanted them to say, "Mark is the best skater in the whole world."
What is the objective summary?
a)
Mark wants everyone to think he's a great skater without doing the hard work.
b)
Mark practices very hard to become a great skater.
c)
Mark is the best skater at the park.
d)
Mark wants to learn how to skate so he can compete.
5.
If you are feeling sad, you can make yourself feel better by doing a few simple things. You can take a walk (or get another form of exercise), you can talk to a friend, or you can write down your feelings. Writing down the good things in your life will help too. Doing something good for someone else will also help you feel better. If you still feel a little sad, act happy. It works like magic to make you feel better!
What is the central idea?
a)
Sometimes people feel sad.
b)
You should do good things for others.
c)
We're not always happy.
d)
There are many ways to make yourself feel better. 
6.
A theme should always be written as...
a)
A sentence or statement
b)
A phrase
c)
One or two words
d)
A brief summary of 5-8 sentences. 
7.
When determining a theme, the reader should first consider...
a)
the illustrations
b)
the subject or topic
c)
the title
d)
the length of the story 
8.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil. It will be the 20th year of the World Cup. Brazil was chosen in October of 2007 to host the 2014 competition. Earlier in the year, South America had been chosen as the continent for the contest. Brazil was the only country to put in a bid. This is the second time Brazil will host the World Cup. The country hosted it in 1950. It is the first World Cup to be held in South America since 1978, when Argentina hosted. No other South American country has hosted the World Cup more than once.


The summary of this passage is:

a)

The 20th World Cup will take place in 2014. In 2007, it was decided that the competition would be held in South America. It is the first World Cup in South America since 1978.

b)

In October 2007, Brazil was chosen to host the 20th World Cup. Brazil has already hosted the World Cup before. 1978 was the last time a South American country hosted the World Cup.

c)

The 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil. It is the second time Brazil has been chosen to host the World Cup. Brazil is the only South American country to host the World Cup twice.

d)

Early in 2007, South America was chosen as the continent for the 20th World Cup. Brazil was the only country that put in a bid. Brazil hosted the World Cup before in 1950.

9.

GameFAQs is a Web site that hosts walkthroughs for video games. It also has answers to many frequently asked questions to popular video games. The website was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey. The site has a lot of video game information. It is a place where gamers can get almost any information about games. It covers systems from the Atari to the Xbox 360. The Web site also covers computer games. The information on the Web site is given by volunteer gamers. Then, it is reviewed by the site's two editors, Jeff Veasey and Allen Tyner. The Web site also has a large message board community. Every game listed on the site has a board for discussion or game help.


The summary of this passage is:

a)

GameFAQs has a lot of information about video games. It helps people with questions they have about games. It also gives them information on how to play the games well. Users can post messages on the message boards.

b)

GameFAQs is a good Web site that allows gamers to discuss all kinds of video and computer games. It was started in November 1995. Allen Tyner is one of the two editors who checks the information volunteers put on the Web site.

c)

GameFAQs is a Web site that helps video gamers with their games. It was created in 1995 and covers old and new video and computer games. The site is run by two editors, who check volunteer information before putting it on the site.

d)

GameFAQs has information on old and new video games. It has information for Xbox 360 games like Halo. It also has several message boards where gamers can discuss their favorite computer games. It was created by Jeff Veasey.

10.

Turn over a bag of potato chips. Is the label interesting? A simple food recipe may use several ingredients. These come from the soil and from chemistry labs around the world. Surprises also show up in the labels on clothing and other products. Look at the label on a package of lipstick. The tube seems small and shiny, but inside lipstick there is soap, oil, fish scales, and wax!


Which is the best way to summarize this passage?

a)

A bag of potato chips seems like a simple recipe. There are many ingredients from the soil and from chemistry labs.

b)

Clothes and other products have many ingredients as well. Lipstick alone has soap, oil, wax, and fish scales.

c)

Labels show what goes into food, clothing, and other products. A simple product may have many ingredients.

d)

Lipstick seems small and shiny. Look at the label sometime. It has at least four different ingredients.

11.
A Dog, to whom the butcher had thrown a bone, was hurrying home with his prize as fast as he could go. As he crossed a narrow bridge, he looked down and saw his reflection in the quiet water as if in a mirror. But the greedy Dog thought he saw a real Dog carrying a bone much bigger than his own. If he had stopped to think he would have known better. But instead of thinking, he dropped his bone and sprang at the Dog in the river, only to find himself swimming for dear life to reach the shore. At last he managed to scramble out, and as he stood sadly thinking about the good bone he had lost, he realized what a foolish Dog he had been.
What is the theme?
a)
Be honest.
b)
Don't be greedy.
c)
Always share your things with others.
d)
Be respectful to others.
12.
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?
a)
You should cheat to win.
b)
Always work hard.
c)
It pays to be honest.
d)
Teamwork is best.
13.
What is the central idea here
A penny for your thoughts?  If it's a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars.  In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra-rare.  Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny.  These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters.  If it's uncirculated, it'd easily fetch $25,000 at an auction.  Now that's a pretty penny.  
a)
The 1943 penny is worth 50 thousand dollars.
b)
the 1943 penny is more rare than the 1955 penny.
c)
Some pennies are rare and worth a lot of money.
d)
None of these options
14.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Excerpt
By Roald Dahl
Charlie Bucket stared around the gigantic room in which he now found himself. The place was like a witch’s kitchen! All about him black metal pots were boiling and bubbling on huge stoves, and kettles were hissing and pans were sizzling,and strange iron machines were clanking and spluttering, and there were pipes running all over the ceiling and walls, and the whole place was filled with smoke and steam and delicious rich smells. Mr. Wonka himself had suddenly become even more excited than usual, and anyone could see that this was the room he loved best of all. He was hopping about among the saucepans and the machines like a child among his Christmas presents, not knowing which thing to look at first. He lifted the lid from a huge pot and took a sniff; then he rushed over and dipped a finger into a barrel of sticky yellow stuff and had a taste; then he skipped across to one of the machine sand turned half a dozen knobs this way and that; then he peered anxiously through the glass door of a gigantic oven,rubbing his hands and cackling with delight at what he saw inside. Then he ran over to another machine, a small shiny affair that kept going phut-phut-phut-phut-phut, and every time it went phut, a large green marble dropped out of it into a basket on the floor.
What is the main idea?
a)
Charlie’s discovery of the gigantic room
b)
the boiling pots and kettles
c)
seeing the machine that makes green candy
d)
to learn about the room through Mr.Wonka’s excitement and discoveries
15.
Matilda Excerpt
By Roald Dahl
By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house. At the age of four, she could read fast and well and she naturally began hankering after books. The only book in the whole of this enlightened household was something called Easy Cooking belonging to her mother, and when she had read this from cover to cover and had learnt all the recipes by heart, she decided she wanted something more interesting. "Daddy," she said, "do you think you could buy me a book?" "A book,” he said. "Whatd' you want a flaming book for?" "To read, Daddy." "What's wrong with the telly, for heaven's sake? We've got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen and now you come asking for a book! You're getting spoiled, my girl!"
What is the main idea?
a)
Matilda can read fast.
b)
Matilda is eager to learn and read more.
c)
Matilda is interested in cookbooks.
d)
Matilda’s dad won’t buy her a new book.