ELA Theme

Which below is the beginning of a theme?

• Love

• Plot

• Characters

• Evidence

Find the theme:

Eric and Mai were walking down the road one day. Eric was bragging about all the new things he was going to buy with his $20 bill. Along the way, Mai sees it fall out of his pocket. She picks it up and returns it to him. He is grateful and splits the money with her so they both have $20.

• Honesty is the best policy

• Honesty pays off

• Be kind to your friends

• Greed is bad

What sentences is the lesson or theme sentence below

• The boy rode his bike.

• A girl loved red flowers.

• The family worked hard.

• It's important to appreciate what you have.

a theme is. . .

Marcos and Juan were cousins and the best of friends. Their mothers were sisters and since times were tough, they shared a home. The boys had grown up together and they were similar in many ways. They shared the same interests, and even the same chores. They were quite different however in the way the handled their money that they earned for these chores. Marcos liked to save most of his allowance each week and he would only spend a little of it here and there. The rest of the money would go straight into a bank account that his grandfather help set up for him. Marcos was saving up for a Go-kart that he had wanted forever (so it seemed). Juan, on the other hand, spent his allowance like it was burning a hole in his pocket. He was constantly buying soda pop, candy, comic books, and anything he could get a hold of. Juan did not have any money left over to put in the bank. His bank account was bare. Months went by, and the time came when Marcos had finally saved enough money for the Go-kart that he had been dreaming about. On the big day, his mother drove him to the bank to withdraw the money for the long awaited prize. Excitement overcame Marcos as he entered the sporting goods store, and pointed out the “lemon twist-yellow hot rod (o.k. it was just a Go-kart) that he was about to buy. His mother helped him purchase the rest of the safety gear he needed for his new rig. Marcos had a blast riding his new Go-Kart at his uncle’s property. Meanwhile, Juan watched as his cousin enjoyed the payoff of his frugality. Juan regretted his silly spending choices and agreed to follow Marcos’ money management advice. He vowed that some day they would ride, side by side, enjoying the same “fruits of their labor.” What is the theme of this passage?

• Saving your money pays off!

• Money will buy you things that make you happy.

• You shouldn't work hard.

• You need lots of money.

What is a theme?

• a word to describe the book

• life lesson or message in a literary work

• teaching you about the characters

• When a character changes over time.

What is the best definition of theme?

• The lesson the author is teaching.

• The message the author is sending.

• A word that summarizes the story.

• The character's main problem.

Layla and her family lived in a large house in a neighborhood full of kids. She made friends easily and Layla would often have friends over to play in her backyard. They’d play “Kick-the-Can” and “Hide and Seek” and run and laugh until dark. Next door lived a grouchy old man named Harry Smith. He would often grumble about Layla’s dog barking or if anyone stepped on his lawn. The kids in the neighborhood referred to Layla’s neighbor as “Scary Harry”. He would often shake his fist and yell at the children through the window to stop making so much noise. One day Layla was feeling guilty for all the names that she and the neighborhood kids called the old man next door. She told her mom about the way she was feeling. Her mom asked her what she was going to do about it? Her mom told her that she would support her in her decision. Layla knew that meant that her mom wanted her to start solving her own problems. After some thought, Layla decided to bake some of her homemade oatmeal and raisin cookies and bring them over to Mr. Smith. Nervously, she rang the doorbell and waited on Mr. Smith’s front steps. When Mr. Smith finally arrived at the door, he couldn’t help but smile at Layla as she handed him the platter of cookies. They became friends of an unlikely sort. “Scary Mr. Harry” was actually a war veteran full of fascinating stories and a great listener. Layla would share her own “war stories” of growing up, and Mr. Smith would give a comforting smile and tell her it would all be o.k.

• Always be kind.

• Money makes you happy.

• You shouldn't judge people before you know them.

• Tell the truth.

“Yah, that would be awesome…Let me call you right back!” Jesse hung up the phone excitedly. Blake, one of the popular kids in his class, had invited him to his birthday party. The party was going to be at Skate Central Roller Rink, his favorite place to hang out. There were cool “old-school” video games there, laser light shows, and the best pizza in town. Jesse was staying with his grandma because his parents were out of town, and he was sure that she would agree to take him to the party. Jesse ran down stairs to ask for his grandma’s permission. As he entered the kitchen, he saw his grandma sitting at the table with a board game set up and a big bright smile on her face. “You don’t think you’ll beat me twice do you?” she said, with a twinkle in her eye. Jesse had forgotten that he had told her that they would play board games and order Chinese food, like they often did together. Despite his guilty feeling, he couldn’t resist asking her if he could go to Blake’s birthday party instead. His grandma, trying to hide her disappointment, gave Jesse a gentle smile and agreed to take him to the party. At Skate Central they played video games, skated, and ate pizza. Everyone was having a blast. Everyone that is, except for Jesse. He felt horrible for leaving his grandma home alone and breaking their plans together. Jesse’s friends even commented and asked him what was up with his bad mood. Jesse finally couldn’t stand his guilty conscience any longer, and staying at the party just wasn’t worth it. He asked to use the phone at the front desk to call his grandma to see if she could pick him up early. “Of course honey…I’ll come to get you. Is everything alright?” his grandma replied worriedly. Even though Jesse’s grandmother was not mad at him for going to the party, he was angry with himself for being selfish. He made himself a promise that night.

• Grandmas are awesome.

• Parties are not important.

• A guilty conscience has no accuser.

• Live for the moment.

Adam had never learned to snowboard or ski. When he moved to a mountain town called Winter Gulch, he met a group of kids from school who went snowboarding almost every weekend. Winter sports were such a big deal that the kids had a longer school day Mondays through Thursdays and didn’t attend school on Fridays so they could go snowboarding or skiing. This I could get used to, Adam thought, and besides, how hard can snowboarding really be? The kids from school finally asked Adam if he wanted to go with them to “take a couple laps through the terrain park and stomp some big jumps." Everyone just assumed that Adam could snowboard or ski. Adam was too prideful to tell them that he couldn’t, and that he had never even been in the mountains until he and his family moved to Winter Gulch. Adam couldn’t believe that he had just let them believe that he was a snowboarder. He agreed to meet them at the resort. When Adam arrived at the park, all the kids had their own boards and gear. He told the kids that he needed to rent some gear for the day and made some excuse as to why he didn’t have his own. He went on to say that he would meet up with them later. Adam went up the ski lift and fell immediately as he unloaded. He prayed that none of the kids had seen him. He knew right away that the sport was much harder than he first thought. Adam fell on his face; he fell on his back; he fell on his side, then he almost ran into someone. He was totally out of control! An instructor saw Adam struggling and approached him to help. Together they got down the mountain. Adam was visibly shaken and exhausted from his first run. Just then, Drake, one of the kids that he was supposed to meet, rode up to him and sprayed him with snow. Drake pushed his goggles up and said, “Dude….I saw what happened,…that was gnarly!” “Why didn’t you just tell us you didn’t know how to shred?” “We can help you bro…that’s what friends do. What is the theme of this passage?

• You should do what your friends want.

• Lying isn't okay.

• You should keep secrets.

• Tell the truth, even when it is hard.