Theme
What is theme?
The lesson in the story
What is main idea?
How do you make inferences
Use the clue the author gives
Caden and his brother Connor were playing Legos in their play room. Connor was getting mad when he couldn’t read the directions to make the Lego frog. Caden decided to help him and they built the frog together.
What is the theme?
A. Building Legos is fun.
B. Helping people build Legos is good.
C. You should help people if you see they need it.
C. You should help people if you see they need it.
Eric gripped the bat in his hands. His palms were sweaty but he took a deep breath as he stepped up to the plate. He had to score a run or his team would lose the game. When the pitcher threw a fastball, Eric’s reflexes took over and he heard the “Crack!” Of the bat hitting the ball. His heart raced with excitement as he ran to first base. He was safe!
A. Eric plays baseball
B. Eric overcomes his nerves and makes it to first base
c. How to play baseball
B. Eric overcomes his nerves and makes it to first base
Stacy was so excited for her lesson today. She knew her students would love learning about electricity.
What is Stacy’s profession?
Teacher
Kevin wasn’t worried about his book report. He had three whole weeks to get it done. There is no reason to get started right away, especially when he had gotten a new video game! The next day Kevin thought about going to the library to pick out a book for his report, but decided to play with his friends instead. He could go to the library on the weekend instead. The weekend came and rather than going to the library, Kevin spent the whole weekend at his cousins farm. He didn’t go to the library The next week either; there is always something fun to do instead. Two weeks past and Kevin still hadn’t picked out a book and by the time he finally got to the library, there wasn’t enough time to read the book and write the report. Kevin tried to write the report without reading the whole book, but he did not do very well. Kevin failed the assignment.
What is the theme?
Do not procrastinate.
Hurricanes are large, intense storms that begin over the ocean, where they gather heat and energy from the water. Hurricanes move slowly toward land, usually moving 10-20 miles per hour for more than 1 week. The dangerous part of the hurricane is the stome surge, when it reaches land and causes flooding. Wind and waves also contribute to the damage caused by these surges.
Hurricanes are very dangerous.
Outer Space—A Nice Place to Visit?
Where will you go on your next vacation? Disneyland? Sea World? Outer space?
That’s right; tourists are now paying big bucks to travel into space with astronauts! The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American businessman. In 2001, he paid about $20 million to ride on a Russian rocket to the International Space Station. The Space Station circles 220 miles above Earth. Tito stayed on the station for a week, hanging out with astronauts and eating space food.
Another space tourist was Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-born woman from the United States who went to the Space Station in mid-September 2006.
How safe is space travel? Apart from the risk of crashing, space tourists have some special things to worry about. Earth’s atmosphere protects us from dangerous radiation from the sun. Space travelers are exposed to more of the sun’s rays. But for tourists spending only a few days or weeks in space, the radiation probably isn’t harmful.
A bigger problem might be space sickness. Without Earth’s gravity to hold them down, visitors to the Space Station float around inside the craft. It may look like fun on TV, but it can make first-time space travelers dizzy and sick. Luckily, the sickness usually wears off quickly. Then space tourists can enjoy their trip—and the amazing view of Earth.
While in outer space it is likely that people will
4. experience motion sickness
Kara chose a difficult piece to play for the piano recital. Her teacher advised her to select an easier one, but Kara knew she could do it. Cara practice every day after school. When her friends called to see if she could play, Kara told them that’s she couldn’t and continued to practice. Even with all that practice, a week before the recital, Kara still could not play the piece without making a mistake. Kara though about giving up and switching to an easier piece, but instead she decided to double her practice time. The night of the recital arrived. Kara was the last student to play. As she walked into the stage to take her place at the piano, she remembered the long hours she has spent practicing. Kara began to play. Her hands danced across the keyboard. She knew the piece well! When the final note faded the room erupted in applause. She had played the piece perfectly.
Practice makes perfect
What is the main idea?
A bird comes down the walk but flies away when the speaker offers him a crumb.
I miss my cape. Sometimes I think
that boxes still could make cool forts.
But I have no time for make believe
I’m busy writing school reports.
What can you conclude based on this evidence?
A. The author finally listened to the siblings and learned how to grow up.
B. The author is happy to spend time doing schoolwork.
C. The author no longer likes to make believe.
D. The author has grown up and no longer imagines things like before.
D. The author has grown up and no longer imagines things like before.