Themes and messages · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Spotting themes across stories

English · Reading Comprehension · ages 7-10
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which question helps you work out the theme of a story?

    • How many pages does the story have?
    • What did the main character learn or get past?
    • What colour was the front door?

  2. What do we call the big idea or message hiding inside a story?

    • The setting
    • The theme
    • The character

  3. The theme of a story is the same thing as its plot, or what happens in it.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Which of these is a literary convention often found in fairy tales?

    • Once upon a time
    • The weather report
    • A shopping list

  5. Story 1: Rafi's kite string snapped and the kite stuck in a tree. He tried a stick, then a broom, then a long branch, and down it came. Story 2: Mina's bread came out flat three times. She changed one thing each time, and the fourth loaf rose up tall. What theme do both stories share?

    • Kites and bread are tricky things
    • Keeping on trying after it goes wrong gets you there
    • Long branches are useful tools

  6. A story has to say its theme out loud somewhere, or it does not have one.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Omar lost the class hamster on Monday. He looked in every cupboard and told his teacher the truth. They found the hamster asleep in a boot. Which one of these is the theme, and not just what happened?

    • Telling the truth helps you fix a mistake
    • Omar looked in every cupboard and found the hamster in a boot
    • The hamster got out on Monday

  8. Tess did not want to speak in assembly. She held her paper with both hands. She said her poem all the way to the end, even though her voice shook. Her friend gave her a thumbs up after. The theme of this story is courage. Which sentence shows it best?

    • Her friend gave her a thumbs up after
    • Tess did not want to speak in assembly
    • She said her poem all the way to the end, even though her voice shook

  9. Ada is the fastest runner in her class. On sports day she stopped to help Finn tie his lace, and she came fourth. Finn came first and gave her half his ribbon. Jonah says the theme is that Ada is a fast runner. Why is that not a theme?

    • It is a fact about one person, and a theme is a bigger idea the whole story shows
    • It is too short to be a theme
    • It is not true, because Ada came fourth

  10. At the school fair, Dev noticed the little kids could not reach the ring toss. He fetched two crates for them to stand on. He also spilled a whole cup of lemonade on his shoe. The theme is that being fair means everyone gets a turn. One of these details does not help show that theme. Which one?

    • The little kids could not reach the ring toss
    • Dev fetched two crates for them to stand on
    • Dev spilled lemonade on his shoe
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Spotting themes across stories W1-mt_yHQacItlhf-s1

  1. What did the main character learn or get past? · A theme is the big idea underneath, so you look at what the main character learns or gets past.
  2. The theme · The theme is the big idea underneath a story, like bravery or friendship.
  3. False · The plot is what happens. The theme is the deeper idea behind it, like courage or kindness.
  4. Once upon a time · Fairy tales often start with 'once upon a time' to signal a make-believe world.
  5. Keeping on trying after it goes wrong gets you there · One story is about a kite and one is about bread, but both characters keep going after it goes wrong. That is the theme they share.
  6. False · Most stories never write the theme down. You work it out from what the characters do and what changes.
  7. Telling the truth helps you fix a mistake · Omar looked in every cupboard and found the hamster in a boot says what happened. The theme is the idea underneath it: telling the truth helps you fix a mistake.
  8. She said her poem all the way to the end, even though her voice shook · Courage is doing the scary thing anyway. Saying the poem to the end with a shaky voice is Tess doing it.
  9. It is a fact about one person, and a theme is a bigger idea the whole story shows · A theme is an idea the whole story shows, not one fact about one character. This story shows that helping someone can matter more than coming first.
  10. Dev spilled lemonade on his shoe · The kids not reaching shows the unfair bit, and fetching crates shows Dev putting it right. Spilling lemonade on his shoe is just something else that happened to him.
Worksheet · LightMySky