Name: ______________________________
Theme Worksheet 5

Directions: Determine what the theme is for each story and explain your answer. Remember, a theme is a lesson or message in the story. Write in complete sentences.

1. After setting his alarm clock for PM instead of AM, Eric woke up late for school. In his haste, he forgot to pack a lunch or bring lunch money. Eric did not mind much at first because he figured that he could eat some of his friends' food. During lunchtime, Eric explained his situation to the people at his lunch table. His friends were sympathetic to his cause. But they had only packed lunches for themselves, not Eric. Katie offered Eric a small bag of carrots. "Yuck! I hate carrots. Thanks anyway," Eric said as he declined Katie's offer. Chuck offered Eric his milk, to which Eric responded, "Is that skim milk? Ewww... I hate skim milk. Does anyone have any chocolate milk?" Some people at the table did have chocolate milk, but they did not want to give their milk to Eric. To break the silence, Ben offered Eric half of his egg salad sandwich. Again Eric refused quite rudely, "Egg salad is gross. Doesn't anyone have anything good for me?" But that was the last offer that Eric would receive that day. 

What is the theme of the story? __________________________________________________________

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What happens in the story that leads you to believe this? ______________________________________

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2. Tommy wanted a skateboard badly. Sometimes he would stay after school just to watch the older boys do tricks on the stairs. Tommy thought that it looked like so much fun to grind down rails and kickflip over gaps. He imagined performing jaw-dropping tricks on the landmarks he passed on his way home. After months of saving money and begging his grandma, Tommy finally got a skateboard. With a beaming grin across his face, Tommy ran to his driveway and tried one of the tricks that he had imagined. As Tommy put his first foot on his skateboard, the skateboard slid out from under him and he fell on his butt. Tommy broke out into tears. That was the last time that Tommy rode a skateboard.

What is the theme of the story? __________________________________________________________

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What happens in the story that leads you to believe this? ______________________________________

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3. Keith was stressed about his research paper. He had to write five pages about something that interested him, but he couldn't think of anything interesting. He decided that he would play basketball instead. The next night Keith sat down to work again, but he still couldn't think of anything interesting. So he listened to music and played video games instead. The next few days went much the same. He told himself that he wasn't interested in anything, and then he read comic books. He watched movies. He read about classic cars. Still, he couldn't think of any interesting topics for his paper. Keith was worried now because it was due very soon, and he didn't even have a topic. He tried to think of something that he found interesting, but again he couldn't. He played his guitar and cooked a meal for his family instead. He loved to cook. At last the due date was here and Keith still didn't even have a topic. By now he had accepted that he would fail. "If only I could have found a topic that interested me," he told himself. 

What is the theme of the story? __________________________________________________________

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What happens in the story that leads you to believe this? ______________________________________

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4. "Mike, could you please fix the leak in the roof?" Katie asked her husband politely, but he was sick of what felt like his wife nagging him. "I'll get to it when I get to it," he replied brusquely. A small dripdrop of water collected in a cooking pot on the living room floor. The next time it rained, Katie had to use a large bucket. The leak was growing in size. "Mike, I really need you to patch the roof. It is getting worse," Katie warned her husband, but again he was in no mood to take direction. "Do I really need to keep saying this, Katie? I'm tired from working. I want to watch the game. I will patch the leak later," but Mike did not patch the leak and it continued expanding. A few weeks later a torrential rainstorm hit. The water poured through the roof. Some of it damaged the floor. But Mike didn't even seem to notice until the rain fell on his widescreen television.

What is the theme of the story? __________________________________________________________

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What happens in the story that leads you to believe this? ______________________________________

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5. Kristin had a good reputation. She was known as a bright student who made honor roll and did volunteer work in her community. Nikki and Simone had reputations too. They were known for causing trouble, fighting, and being dishonest. One day Kristin was walking to the store to get some healthy snacks when she bumped into Nikki and Simone. Much to Kristin's surprise, Nikki and Simone were being really nice to her. "How come we never hang out with Kristin? She cool," Simone said. Kristin had always quietly admired Nikki and Simone as girls who didn't take any stuff. So she enjoyed the compliments and the attention. Soon they were all walking into the little store together. The girls were playing around and having a good time while Kristin shopped. She picked out a few snacks and paid for her purchases, but on the way out the storeowner stopped them. "Let me see what you've got there, little lady," he said as he reached into Nikki's pocket. The storeowner pulled out several candy bars. "Now you," he said as he went into Simone's backpack and retrieved several bags of chips and packs of gum. He searched Kristin too, but didn't find anything. Kristin begged and pleaded with him as he called the police, "Please, sir, I'm a good girl." To which the man replied, "If you are such a good girl, then why are you hanging out with these two?" Kristin did not have a good answer for him.

What is the theme of the story? __________________________________________________________

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What happens in the story that leads you to believe this? ______________________________________

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