Random theme questions
What is an inference?
an educated guess someone makes using context clues and what they know.
Mrs. Smith was doing a unit on healthy living with her students. All week she taught her students about eating the correct foods like fruits and vegetables. Over the weekend, some of Mrs. Smith's students were at the mall and saw her eating pizza, a milkshake, and candy. Mrs. Smith's student Molly was going to order a salad, but now decided to order junk food too. What is the theme?
A. Actions speak louder than words
B. Never eat pizza at the mall
C. Vegetables are good for you
A. Actions speak louder than words
Money Mark was born rich. He never had to work a day in his life and he got everything handed to him on a silver platter. When he was six, Money Mark wanted to go to a basketball game. His father paid the starting five of the Bulls and Celtics to play a private game of Nerf-ball in Money Mark's bedroom. When Money Mark turned thirteen, he wanted to start a band. His father hired the Rolling Stones to play with him every Saturday at the family's private concert hall, though his family was never there. By the time he was twenty-one, Money Mark was bored with life. He was surrounded by a bunch of possessions that he didn't appreciate and Money Mark could find nothing new or exciting in his life. Despite his vast wealth, Money Mark was never satisfied.
What is the theme?
a. money is everything
b. money can't buy happiness
c. happiness is about how wealthy you are
b. money can't buy happiness.
Which of the following lines is an example of a metaphor?
A. Fire away, fire away
B. You shoot me down but I won’t fall
C. I am titanium
C. I am Titanium
Unlike her grandmother, who was very generous to her, Sarah’s parents were MISERS who never bought her anything.
Cheap / Saver
True or False - A theme is a central message
True
Julia wanted to become a doctor for as long as she could remember. In college when her friends were out at the mall or going out with friends, Julia spent all of her time studying. At graduation, Julia graduated with high honors and was offered a job shortly after. What is the theme?
A. Studying is important.
B. It is important to go to college.
C. Hard work pays off.
C. Hard work pays off.
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. What is the theme?
a. Do the best you can in school
b. Work hard, play hard.
c. Complete all your assignments to achieve success.
b. Work hard, play hard.
Which is an example of a simile?
A. Shine bright like a diamond
B. Find light in the beautiful sea, I choose to be happy
A. Shine bright LIKE a diamond
Roberta could not get over how ELEGANT the cruise ship was. The walls were paneled in beautiful wood, there were fresh flowers on every table, and the floors were made of gleaming stone
Stylish / Fancy / Pretty
True or False?
A synonym for "theme" would be "life lesson".
True
Growing up, Sally was always in the shadow of her older sister Mary. Mary always got better grades, was better at sports, and seemed to even be prettier. Sally spent a lot of time in the family's garden feeling sorry for herself. Then one day Mary needed help on a science project about plants. Due to all of her time in the garden, Sally knew a lot about plants and was able help Mary with the project. Sally was shocked that she was better at something than her sister. What is the theme?
A. You can learn a lot from plants.
B. Sports are not important
C. Accept yourself for who you are.
C. Accept yourself for who you are.
Mr. Pig and Mr. Dog were hanging out at the food court of the animal shopping mall. Mr. Pig was eating a huge feast of pizza and drinking a large jug of fruit punch and Mr. Dog was watching him eat. "Hey, Mr. Pig. If you give me a slice of your pizza, I'll let you have the next bone I find." Mr. Pig declined, even though it hurt his stomach to eat the last three slices of pizza. "I'm sorry, Mr. Dog," Mr. Pig said, "but I paid for this pizza and it's all mine." Mr. Dog sighed and waited for Mr. Pig to finish, and then they left the animal mall together. On the way out, a hunter spotted them and gave chase. Mr. Pig normally could have escaped the hunter but since he was weighed down by such a large meal, Mr. Pig collapsed and the hunter killed him. Mr. Dog easily escaped. Later that night while returning to the scene, Mr. Dog caught the scent of something delicious and began digging around a trash can. He found a large ham bone with lots of meat and marrow still stuck to the bone. Mr. Dog happily ate. What is the theme?
a. Watch out for danger
b. Treat others the way you want to be treated
c. It is better to share than to be greedy.
c. It is better to share than to be greedy.
I'm gonna swing from the chandelier
From the chandelier
I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist
Like it doesn't exist
Name a type of figurative language that is used in this song.
Simile-
I'm gonna live LIKE tomorrow doesn't exist
Liam was a good basketball player who YEARNED for the chance to play professionally. He practiced every day and called coaches at all the professional teams asking for a try-out.
Wanted / Desired
True or False?
"Big idea" would be a synonym for "Theme."
True
The Monkey and the Cookies A monkey put his hand into the jar of cookies. He grasped as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the cookie jar. Unwilling to lose the cookies, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and cried bitterly. What is the theme?
A. Eating cookies can be dangerous.
B. If you are greedy, you might get nothing.
C. Don't put your hand in a jar.
B. If you are greedy, you might get nothing.
Blaine opened up the present and began pouting. He screamed in a high-pitched voice, "This is Captain Thunder! I wanted Captain Lightning!" His mother looked at him with dismay and handed him another present, which he greedily opened. "Why did you get me a red hat? You know I like blue more," Blaine whined as he threw the hat across the room. His mother straightened her expression and squinted at him. Earlier she had hoped to take some pictures of this moment, but by now she had put away her camera. She sighed and handed him one more present in hopes that this year wouldn't be a total bust. Blaine huffed and opened it. "A Game Box 4000� wow. Where's the Game Box 5000 that I asked for?" His mother could bear his ingratitude no longer. The next time that Blaine returned from his father's house, he was shocked to find that all of these toys and gifts, along with many other of his things, had been generously donated to needy children. What is the theme?
be thankful for what you have in life.
Spring break will never come.
What type of figurative. language is this an example of?
HYPERBOLE
The little boy was FASCINATED by the model train set. Even when the rest of his family moved on, he remained staring intently at the tiny tracks.
Interested
What is the difference between the Main Idea of a story and the Theme of a story?
The main idea is mostly what the story is about (a short summary).
The theme is the life lesson, moral, or something the author wants us to know.
One winter, a monkey found a snake stiff and frozen. The monkey felt sorry for the snake and so he picked the snake up and held it to his chest to try to warm it. The snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and because of its instincts, bit the monkey with all its might. What is the theme?
A. Even though you have good intentions, others may not
B. Don't hold snakes close to your chest.
C. Snakes are dangerous.
A. Even though you have good intentions, others may not
Alan had very few responsibilities, but one of them was to clean his room. It did not take long, but Alan still didn't like doing it. One day Alan thought of a way to save some time. Rather than putting everything neatly back in its place, he decided to just throw all the stuff on the floor into his closet. His mom would think that he had cleaned his room, and it would only take a fraction of the time. Alan was pleased with himself for thinking of this brilliant idea. He figured that this would save a lot of time and energy. The next time his room got messy, he piled everything up in the closet and the pile grew. It grew and grew. Then Alan's friend Steve called. "Alan, everyone is playing baseball at the park. Do you want to play too?" Alan loved baseball. "That sounds great, Steve. I'll be right there." Alan went to grab his baseball mitt when he realized that it wasn't in its usual place. Alan thought to himself, I guess it's in the closet. When he opened up the closet door, he was faced with a huge, unnavigable mess, some of which poured out as he opened the door. Alan began digging through the pile in a frantic attempt to find his mitt. He dug and dug, and as he dug his room got messier and messier. Soon his room was the messiest that it had ever been, and he still hadn't found his mitt. Alan sighed in despair. By the time he found his mitt, the boys had long concluded their game and Alan had hours of cleaning ahead of him before he'd be allowed to leave. What is the theme?
a. Cutting corners comes at a cost; do things right the first time.
b. Take shortcuts in life.
c. Do things right the first time to enjoy your friends and family.
a. cutting corners comes at a cost; do things right the first time.
She is a seagull that soars smoothly across the sky.
What is this an example of?
Metaphor
When she was young, my grandmother was a MILLINER who made caps, berets, and bonnets for wealthy women.
hat maker / a person who makes different kinds of hats