Theme (7th grade)

Will loved when his homeroom teacher played music before class started. He liked hearing new kinds of music and dancing with the rest of his class. One morning, the teacher turned on a song that was his classmate, Kara, had requested, but Will hated the song. His little sister always played it at home, and it annoyed Will whenever he heard it.

Will marched to the front of the classroom and asked his teacher to change the song. His teacher asked him to wait until the song was over, and then promised he would change the song to one of Will’s favorites. Defeated, Will walked over to the stereo and grabbed a seat at a desk nearby. Will realized he couldn’t wait for the song to finish, so he reached over to the stereo and pressed the “next” button to skip the song.

Kara was upset by the sudden song change, and she ran up to the teacher and asked him what had happened to her favorite song. Will felt terrible that she was so upset, he never wanted to hurt his classmate. He wanted to fix his mistake, so he reached for the stereo again and switched back to Kara’s favorite song, and it started from the beginning. Will was bummed that he had to listen to the entire song again, but he was glad that Kara seemed much happier as she danced around the room.

How does Will’s decision to skip the song support the theme?

• Will skips the song so everyone else in his class will be happy that it is finished.

• Will skips the song so everyone else in his class will be happy that it is finished.

• Will skips the song so everyone else in his class will be happy that it is finished.

• Will skips the song so everyone else in his class will be happy that it is finished.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.3

Will loved when his homeroom teacher played music before class started. He liked hearing new kinds of music and dancing with the rest of his class. One morning, the teacher turned on a song that was his classmate, Kara, had requested, but Will hated the song. His little sister always played it at home, and it annoyed Will whenever he heard it.

Will marched to the front of the classroom and asked his teacher to change the song. His teacher asked him to wait until the song was over, and then promised he would change the song to one of Will’s favorites. Defeated, Will walked over to the stereo and grabbed a seat at a desk nearby. Will realized he couldn’t wait for the song to finish, so he reached over to the stereo and pressed the “next” button to skip the song.

Kara was upset by the sudden song change, and she ran up to the teacher and asked him what had happened to her favorite song. Will felt terrible that she was so upset, he never wanted to hurt his classmate. He wanted to fix his mistake, so he reached for the stereo again and switched back to Kara’s favorite song, and it started from the beginning. Will was bummed that he had to listen to the entire song again, but he was glad that Kara seemed much happier as she danced around the room.

Question: The main theme of this passage has to do with

• learning to like new music.

• finding true happiness.

• finding true happiness.

• learning to have patience

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

Robert the rabbit had a favorite toy carrot that he took everywhere with him. It was long, twisted, and kind of looked like a candy cane. It was his favorite carrot, so he took very good care of it.

One day, his younger brother, Rex, decided to play with Robert’s carrot. He hopped all around the garden with it, going up and down the rows of cabbage. Suddenly, the gardener was coming out his shed, and Rex didn’t know where to hide, so he bolted out of the garden, leaving Robert’s favorite carrot behind.

Rex was afraid to tell his brother because he knew how much the carrot meant to him. When Robert came home from playing with his friends, Rex told him the story of the gardener and the toy carrot.

Robert was furious. He loved that carrot, and he never gave Rex permission to play with it. After a minute of storming around the house, Robert remembered that just that morning, he himself had lost his dad’s favorite head of lettuce. Robert sighed, looked at Rex’s sad face, and forgave him.

“I know you didn’t mean to leave it,” Robert said. “Besides, you aren’t the only one who messed up today.”

• Everyone makes mistakes.

• Nothing lasts forever

• Things change over time

• Family is always there

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.7.6

Robert the rabbit had a favorite toy carrot that he took everywhere with him. It was long, twisted, and kind of looked like a candy cane. It was his favorite carrot, so he took very good care of it.

One day, his younger brother, Rex, decided to play with Robert’s carrot. He hopped all around the garden with it, going up and down the rows of cabbage. Suddenly, the gardener was coming out his shed, and Rex didn’t know where to hide, so he bolted out of the garden, leaving Robert’s favorite carrot behind.

Rex was afraid to tell his brother because he knew how much the carrot meant to him. When Robert came home from playing with his friends, Rex told him the story of the gardener and the toy carrot.

Robert was furious. He loved that carrot, and he never gave Rex permission to play with it. After a minute of storming around the house, Robert remembered that just that morning, he himself had lost his dad’s favorite head of lettuce. Robert sighed, looked at Rex’s sad face, and forgave him.

“I know you didn’t mean to leave it,” Robert said. “Besides, you aren’t the only one who messed up today.”

Question: How does the fourth paragraph help develop the theme?

• Robert sighs because he is tired of his little brother losing all of his favorite things.

• Robert realizes that his dad’s favorite socks also went missing earlier that morning.

• Robert is angry because he remembers that he never let Rex play with his things

• Robert understands that accidents happen because he loses his dad’s lettuce.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

For her last birthday, Cai received a porcelain tea set from her grandmother. It was cream and gold, and it looked beautiful when Cai set it up on the desk in her room. Cai was very careful with the gift her grandmother had given her. She feared the tea set might break if she wasn’t gentle enough. Each day after she played with the tea set, Cai wrapped up each piece and put it away in the box it came in, so the next time she played with the tea set, it was like brand new. Cai’s little sister, Kameko, loved to look at her tea set. Sometimes, Cai would let Kameko have tea with her, but she only let her touch the cups.

Kameko loved Cai’s tea set, so she asked her grandmother to get her one for her birthday. On Kameko’s birthday, sure enough, she opened her very own tea set from her grandmother. Kameko immediately ripped the dishes from the box and started setting up for a tea party. Kameko wasn’t as careful as Cai when it came to taking care of the tea set, and after 20 minutes of playing with the set, Kameko had already broken one of her cups by accident. Upset by the loss of one of her cups, Kameko cried to Cai.

“How am I supposed to keep this safe? It’s so delicate. How come you haven’t broken any pieces of yours?”

“I’m very careful. Just make sure you wrap them up when you’re done, and be gentle while you play. They are definitely fragile, so it just takes an extra bit of care to keep them nice,” said Cai.

Question: How does the second paragraph support the theme of the story?

• Kameko is rough on her new tea set, and she breaks one of the cups.

• Kameko likes the tea set her grandmother gave her on her birthday.

• Kameko is very excited and cannot wait to play with her new tea set.

• Kameko lets her sister play with her new tea set, and Cai breaks a cup.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

For her last birthday, Cai received a porcelain tea set from her grandmother. It was cream and gold, and it looked beautiful when Cai set it up on the desk in her room. Cai was very careful with the gift her grandmother had given her. She feared the tea set might break if she wasn’t gentle enough. Each day after she played with the tea set, Cai wrapped up each piece and put it away in the box it came in, so the next time she played with the tea set, it was like brand new. Cai’s little sister, Kameko, loved to look at her tea set. Sometimes, Cai would let Kameko have tea with her, but she only let her touch the cups.

Kameko loved Cai’s tea set, so she asked her grandmother to get her one for her birthday. On Kameko’s birthday, sure enough, she opened her very own tea set from her grandmother. Kameko immediately ripped the dishes from the box and started setting up for a tea party. Kameko wasn’t as careful as Cai when it came to taking care of the tea set, and after 20 minutes of playing with the set, Kameko had already broken one of her cups by accident. Upset by the loss of one of her cups, Kameko cried to Cai.

“How am I supposed to keep this safe? It’s so delicate. How come you haven’t broken any pieces of yours?”

“I’m very careful. Just make sure you wrap them up when you’re done, and be gentle while you play. They are definitely fragile, so it just takes an extra bit of care to keep them nice,” said Cai.

Question: The theme of this passage is about

• taking care of things.

• learning to listen

• giving people advice.

• wanting more things

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

After school, George received a call from his friend Vanessa asking him if he wanted to go on an adventure, and he was instantly nervous. He thought about how Vanessa was always hiking up large mountains, swimming in the ocean, and climbing giant rocks, doing all of the things that George was too scared to do. He asked her what kind of adventure she had in mind.

“My grandpa offered to take me fishing, and he said I could ask you to come with us.” George did not like the sound of that. His dad went fishing all the time, but George never went with because he didn’t like going to new places or trying new things. For a minute, he hesitated and then said, “I’m not sure I like to fish, Vanessa.”

“Don’t be scared, George, it’s going to be fun. Have you ever been fishing before? It’s awesome, and the fish are super slimy. Just come, and if you’re really not having fun, then we’ll take you home.”

About an hour later, Vanessa, her grandpa, and George were sitting in a boat on a small, clear lake. George and Vanessa were laughing about how wiggly and squishy the worms were.

Question: The theme of this passage is about

• being scared to try new things

• taking risks in life

• being open to new experiences

• waiting for the right time

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

Don’t forget to practice tonight,” Jeannie’s mother said when her daughter got home from school. “Your concert is in a week.”

Jeannie rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me.”

Later that evening, Jeannie’s dad came up behind her as she was practicing piano. In her lap, he saw an open book with a photo of a jet plane.

“Dad, you scared me,” Jeannie said as she stopped playing.

Her dad sat on the bench beside her and pointed to the book.

“Uncle Jake gave it to me,” Jeannie explained. “I want to be pilot like him, more than anything.”

Her dad scratched his head. “But your mom would be so proud if you became a pianist. It’s what she was never able to be.”

“I know, but I have to live my own life,” Jeannie said. Then she added, “There’s an evening flight class at the community college.”

“Well,” her dad said, “if you feel that strongly, I’ll talk to your mom.”

“You don’t have to,” Jeannie’s mom said from the doorway. “I heard everything.”

Jeannie took a deep breath. “Are you okay with it?”

Her mother sighed. “What about your piano lessons? We’ve already paid for them.”

Jeannie thought a moment, and then her eyes brightened. “You could use them!”

“Me? At my age?”

“It doesn’t matter what age you are,” Jeannie’s dad said. “I think it’s a splendid idea!”

Question: What is the theme of the passage?

• people need to follow their own dreams

• Always be respectful towards your parents

• Everyone has his or her own special talent

• Working is the way to reach one's goals

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2

Characters:

EMMA

CICI

[Emma reads issue #487 of Ghost Corona comic book]

CICI: (approaches) Working on your open book test?

EMMA: (surprised, tries to conceal the comic book) Um, I guess so. I mean, not really. I finished that yesterday after . . .

CICI: (squints) So, you’ve turned your scholarly mind to—Ghost Corolla?

EMMA: (annoyed) Corona. Ghost Corona.

CICI: (laughing dismissively, takes out test) It appears that you’ve read nearly 500 of them. Quite an accomplishment. It’s amazing that in a world that is almost barren of challenging reading material, you’ve found the one book that really rewards the intelligence of its readers.

EMMA: (frustrated) Look, can we, like, drop this?

CICI: (looking up from test, pretending to be offended) What, before you convince me that I, too, should adore reading about men who have x-ray vision and fly around in their underwear?

[Emma puts stuff in her back pack]

CICI: (serious) Okay, Okay! So serious! Read your . . . book, and I’ll say I’m sorry for real after I answer this question about the length of a housefly’s life cycle.

EMMA: (smiles) Two weeks to one month in the wild.

CICI: (confused) How do you know?

EMMA: (taps on comic book) Ghost Corona #237. Tad Ghost turns into a housefly.

CICI: (disgusted) I hate those things even more now!

***************************************************

Question: How does the description of comic books in CiCi’s seventh line (below) help develop the theme?

CICI: (looking up from test, pretending to be offended) What, before you convince me that I, too, should adore reading about men who have x-ray vision and fly around in their underwear?

• It proves that CiCi’s opinion about comic books, which is based on provable facts, is better than Emma’s silly opinion.

• It allows the reader to see that CiCi finally understands why Emma likes comic books after she has looked at them from Emma’s point of view.

• It presents comic book characters in a silly way, which shows the reader that people have wrong ideas about subjects they do not know well.

• It shows that CiCi is worried that Emma’s love of reading comic books keeps her from learning about many interesting and important things.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.2

Characters:

EMMA

CICI

[Emma reads issue #487 of Ghost Corona comic book]

CICI: (approaches) Working on your open book test?

EMMA: (surprised, tries to conceal the comic book) Um, I guess so. I mean, not really. I finished that yesterday after . . .

CICI: (squints) So, you’ve turned your scholarly mind to—Ghost Corolla?

EMMA: (annoyed) Corona. Ghost Corona.

CICI: (laughing dismissively, takes out test) It appears that you’ve read nearly 500 of them. Quite an accomplishment. It’s amazing that in a world that is almost barren of challenging reading material, you’ve found the one book that really rewards the intelligence of its readers.

EMMA: (frustrated) Look, can we, like, drop this?

CICI: (looking up from test, pretending to be offended) What, before you convince me that I, too, should adore reading about men who have x-ray vision and fly around in their underwear?

[Emma puts stuff in her back pack]

CICI: (serious) Okay, Okay! So serious! Read your . . . book, and I’ll say I’m sorry for real after I answer this question about the length of a housefly’s life cycle.

EMMA: (smiles) Two weeks to one month in the wild.

CICI: (confused) How do you know?

EMMA: (taps on comic book) Ghost Corona #237. Tad Ghost turns into a housefly.

CICI: (disgusted) I hate those things even more now!

Question: A theme of the play is that people can learn useful things from many sources. How does the author develop the theme over the course of the text?

• By helping the reader to better understand the reasons a smart girl like Emma likes to read comic books

• By telling the reader that CiCi would have answered her question incorrectly if it were not for Emma’s comic book knowledge

• By having CiCi ridicule the comic book as being dumb, only to get information from comic book at the end

• By showing that Emma, who reads comic books, is much smarter than her friend CiCi, who does not read comic books

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.2