Name: _______________________________________ Date: ___________________________ Period: ______

Short Story Theme Assignment

Due: Friday the 8th or Monday the 11th

As decided by you and Wordle on Tuesday, theme is a message, moral, universal statement, or idea present in society. Fictional
stories have themes. There are usually many themes in one piece of fiction.
Directions:
With a partner, identify a theme from “Licked,” “Eleven,” or “Dragon, Dragon.” Convey the theme in a comic or in a paragraph.
Staple this assignment sheet to your work!
Comic: You can keep the same characters and plot and recreate a scene that conveys the theme. Or, you can recreate
the same theme with new characters in a new situation. Your comic should be at least six panels long and should
include thought bubbles, speech bubbles, or captions (use words, not just pictures).
Example:

Paragraph: Explicitly state the theme and give support from the story as to how you know this theme is present in
the text. Justify whether the theme is true to life or idealistic with examples from other texts, movies, or your life.
Example:
One theme in the Pixar shortfilm “For the Birds” is the presence of peer pressure in our society.
There are several instances in the film where one blue bird does something and the other blue birds chime
in. At the beginning, one blue bird makes fun of the large blue bird by ruffling his feathers and sticking out
his tongue. The other birds on the line quickly follow. Also, when the two blue birds start pecking at the
toes of the large blue bird, one bird starts a chant and the others join in, egging on the peckers. I think this
theme is true to life because peer pressure is something that is present in schools. When I was in fifth
grade, I was the new girl at a school. Jennifer, a girl who was not liked by my new friends, invited me to
her birthday party. When she handed the invitations to me and my new friends, the other girls ripped them
in half. They encouraged me to do the same. Because I still wanted them to like me, I felt pressured to rip
up my invitation (and sadly, I did).

If you need help, refer to Tuesday’s lesson on Theme using Pixar Shortfilms or the Theme handout with common themes listed.

Created by Heather Taxis Greene, 2010