Theme Passages

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.”

• Saving your money pays off!

• Money will buy you things that make you happy.

• You shouldn't work hard.

• You need lots of money.

Tammy and Sammy were both students in Mr. Morton's reading class. Mr. Morton wasn't too strict about deadlines, and Sammy took advantage of that. He did all of his homework in his other classes but never bothered to complete Mr. Morton's reading assignments, figuring that he could complete them later. Tammy, on the other hand, completed each assignment Mr. Morton assigned the night that he assigned it. She had to stay up a little later, but she didn't want to get a penalty for turning in her reading work late. Tammy knew reading was a core subject and that she had to keep "C" average for the entire year or she would have to go to summer school. When the end of the quarter came, Tammy and Sammy had both planned on going to the Enchanted Castle Amusement Park, but Mr. Morton called Sammy's mother, and she grounded Sammy until he turned in all of his work. That weekend was horrible for Sammy. He stayed up until 2:00 AM each night and still couldn't complete all of the assignments. The whole while, Tammy had a great time eating pizza at Enchanted Castle, watching movies late at night, and enjoying her weekend free of stress and pressure. At the end of the quarter, Sammy was lucky to squeak by with a "C" minus in reading while Tammy earned an "A." Sammy still hasn't learned his lesson and probably won't complete this activity either.

• Deadlines are for losers.

• Mr. Morton liked Tammy better than Sammy.

• Reading class is too hard.

• It is better to do things right the first time.

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.

Themes will not be clearly stated, but rather __________.

• implied throughout the book.

• explained through the main character.

• explained in the title.

• stated in the beginning.

She sobbed for hours trying to think of a way out of having to tell her father she wrecked her new car. After stewing over it for quite some time, she called her father on his cell phone. "Thank you," he said.

Choose the best theme for this passage?

• Sometimes crying is good for you.

• It's important to be honest.

• Driving a car is a big responsibility.

• Don't lie.

Read the following passage from a story. As Tai strummed the guitar, Charlesa looked at her with pride. For so long, Tai's fingers had clumsily tripped over the strings, but now she played the song with ease. Getting to this point hadn't been easy for Charlesa, either. She sighed, trying to bury the memories of all the screaming tantrums Tai had thrown. Once, she nearly threw her guitar against a wall. But now when Tai smiled, and the tune of "Sweet Home Alabama" floated out of the instrument, Charlesa smiled, too. It had been worth it. Which of the following is most likely a theme of the story?

• Playing a musical instrument is too much work.

• Hard work can bring great rewards.

• Friends shouldn't try to teach each other new things.

• It's OK to give up on yourself.

always writing stories. In fifth grade his school had a short story contest. Sam worked on his entry for weeks. When he won first prize, which came with a check for $100, his classmates kept saying how lucky he was. Sam continued to write through middle school. In high school he took every English and writing class that he could. He even took a special writing class over the summer. Sam applied for three writing scholarships for college and got two of them! His brother, who had not applied for any scholarships, said that he was really lucky. Sam worked hard in college. He became the editor of the college newspaper and started posting his stories on the internet. Toward the end of his senior year, one of his writing instructors told his class about well-known magazine that was looking to hire a junior writer. Hundreds of students applied for the job, including Sam. Sam worked for hours on his application letter. When he was selected for an interview, he spent days getting ready. Sam impressed the editors and got the job. “Man, how did you get so lucky?" asked one of his classmates. “Luck has nothing to do with it." replied Sam.

• Sam got the job because he worked hard.

• You make your own luck.

• Some people are lucky and others aren't.

Which statement gives a theme of both passages (The Cave and The Climb)?

• Difficult problems often have easy solutions.t

• Family members should take care of one another during challenging times.

• Good listening is the key to successful teamwork.

• People should follow their dreams even if others fail to support them.

Answer explanation

Theme is the lesson or message that can be learned. When finding theme, review how the conflict is resolved and how the character(s) have changed.

Read the following passage. What is the theme the author is conveying?

~ “Bend It” ~ Izaac always wanted to be on the “Benders” soccer team. When Izaac was very little, he would watch his older brother Zach play on the team and over time become a local hero. The Benders were undefeated and had won countless championships. Zach was on track for a scholarship to the state university. Izaac was always envious of Zach and wanted to be just like his brother. Izaac’s father was the coach of the team and he begged his dad to let him on the team, even though he was a year younger than the rest of the boys. His father agreed but told Izaac that he would have to work twice as hard to keep up with the older boys. His dad also told him that he would be even harder on Izaac so the other boys on the team wouldn’t think he was playing favorites. Soccer practice was tough! Every day, the team practiced long and hard. Weeks of practice were endured and many times Izaac felt like quitting. He was sore and tired and often wondered why he had wanted this so badly. Often, he knelt down on the soccer field feeling like he was going to throw up. Of course, the other boys didn’t feel too badly for him, since they had been through the same thing. The Benders trained hard for the state championship and they knew they would face some “nasty” competition. The big day of the championship arrived, and Izaac watched with nervous excitement as his team won the first game of the competition. The second game, Izaac got to play for a few minutes and even made an epic block, but was benched for most of the time because he just wasn’t as good as the other boys ~ yet. Izaac didn’t get to play much but felt really proud to be part of the team. The Benders went on to win the championship and Zach was the hero again. For the first time though, Izaac didn’t feel jealous of Zach. He wondered why… 1 2

• Don't judge people before you get to know them

• Hard work is it's own reward.

• Be kind, always.

• Money is important

My best friend was having a party Friday night, but I also had a baseball game. This was going to be a tough decision. If I do not go to the game, I will let my team down.

Choose the best theme for this passage?

• Friendship

• Your friends are the most important things in life

• Being good at sports is the best way to get friends

• Fulfilling your commitments is an important life lesson to learn.