1st - 4th Grade Theme Resources

Stories are a fantastic way to teach kids important life lessons. This reading comprehension worksheet uses the classic Aesop’s fable—The Fox and the Crow—to get your students thinking about the central lesson of a story.

Learners will practice identifying the theme of a story by reading a short passage and answering four comprehension questions.

Want to help your young readers learn to discern the central message or lesson of fictional stories? Have your students read this short version of the classic fable of the "Lion and the Mouse" by Aesop to practice determining the moral.

Story webs organize a story into one main idea and several details. Help your second grader read the story, then analyze it using the story web.

This short fictional text can be used to help students determine words and phrases the author uses to help the reader figure out the central message of the story.

In this exercise, students will work through a series of steps to identify the theme of a classic story.

Young readers practice identifying the theme of a story in this thoughtful fable about two friends who find gold in the forest.

Short stories, such as The Crow and the Jug, make great reading comprehension tools. Use this short Aesop’s fable to get your second graders thinking about central lessons and morals.

With this easy-to-use flowchart, your students will learn how to find the theme of a fictional story.

After completing R.J. Palacio’s novel Wonder, help students connect to the novel with this acts of kindness activity.

Use this resource to help your students familiarize themselves with the concept of literary themes.

The Ant and the Grasshopper is a fable that teaches kids the value of hard work. Kids will focus on comprehension and predictions in this worksheet.

Fairy tales are a great way to engage your students in reading! Help them determine the central message of the classic story, The Tortoise and the Hare, with this fun reading comprehension worksheet.

Children will read this Reader's Theater script, then answer questions designed to support their understanding of the characters, story, and message of the play.

Here's a Loki myth to satisfy fans of this sneaky god: Loki and the Builder, where he tries to outwit an equally sneaky human.

After reading The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen, complete this comprehension page to test your understanding of the story.

Help your beginning reader boost comprehension skills with this fun worksheet, where he'll map the events in a story.

Use this activity with your students to compare themes between fiction texts.

With this open-ended worksheet and graphic organizer students can practice locating events and connecting these events to a central idea.

Children will love this imaginative worksheet that invites them to identify the main idea of a movie plot by coming up with a title for it!

Use this writing response to test your little reader's understanding of "The Elves and the Shoemaker" by the Brothers Grimm.

Get your kids writing about their reading! When students note key observations as they read, they have a better chance at understanding a text's message.

Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson Plan: What's the Moral?

Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson: Sorting & Describing Books.

Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson: Figuring Out the Theme.

Use these vocabulary cards with the EL Support Lesson Plan: What's the Moral?

Put a personalized twist on the old-school bookmark and your young reader will make the experience more fun for themselves by reviewing the book as they go.

Use these vocabulary cards with the EL Support Lesson: Sorting & Describing Books.

Use these vocabulary cards with the EL Support Lesson: Figuring Out the Theme.