Find the Theme

Grade 4 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Read the story. Circle the detail from the story that shows what each question says.

1. Read this first

   Leilani's Trail Map

   Leilani had hiked the Ridge Trail near her home in Hawaii so many times that she knew every turn. So when the community center asked for a new trail map, she volunteered. She spent a whole weekend drawing it with colored pencils. She marked the waterfall, the lookout, and the big banyan tree where the path split in two.

   On Monday, she pinned the map on the community center wall. By Wednesday, three sticky notes were stuck beside it. One said the waterfall was drawn on the wrong side of the stream. Another asked how long the hike took. The third simply said, "Where is the restroom?"

   Leilani's first thought was to pull the notes off. She had worked hard, and the notes made her map look messy. Her cousin Keoni read them over her shoulder. "People are picky," he said. "Just ignore them."

   Leilani nodded, but she did not pull the notes down. She told herself she would deal with them later, once she was no longer annoyed.

   That evening, though, Leilani kept thinking about the waterfall note. She opened her hiking journal and found a photo from last summer. The stream really did run on the other side. She had drawn it from memory, and her memory was wrong.

   On Saturday, Leilani hiked the trail again, this time with a notebook and a watch. She timed each section. She counted the switchbacks on the steep part. At the banyan tree, she wrote down which fork led to the lookout and which one led back to the road. At the trailhead, she found a small restroom hidden behind a row of ferns. She had walked past it a hundred times without noticing.

   Her second map took two more weekends. It showed the stream in the right place, the time for each section, and a tiny symbol for the restroom. She added a box at the bottom: "See something wrong? Leave a note!"

   A month later, a family visiting from Ohio stopped her at the trailhead. The father was holding a photo of her map on his phone. "We almost turned back at the banyan tree," he said. "Your map told us the lookout was only fifteen minutes more." His daughter showed Leilani a picture of the view.

   That afternoon, Leilani found a new sticky note beside her map. It said that a fallen branch was blocking the path near the lookout. Keoni rolled his eyes. "Another complaint," he said.

   Leilani was already reaching for her pencil. "No," she said. "Another clue."

2. 1.

   Which words best show the theme in Leilani's own voice?

   • "Another clue."
   • "Another complaint."
   • "Just ignore them."
   • "Where is the restroom?"
3. 2.

   Which detail shows that Leilani's first reaction to the notes was defensive?

   • She marked the waterfall, the lookout, and the big banyan tree.
   • Her first thought was to pull the notes off.
   • She added a box at the bottom for notes.
   • She spent a whole weekend drawing it with colored pencils.
4. 3.

   Which detail shows that Leilani started to take the feedback seriously?

   • She checked her hiking journal and found a photo from last summer.
   • She pinned the map on the community center wall on Monday.
   • She nodded when Keoni told her to ignore the notes.
   • Her cousin Keoni read the notes over her shoulder.
5. 4.

   Which detail shows that the notes made the map better?

   • Keoni rolled his eyes and called the new note a complaint.
   • Her second map showed the stream in the right place.
   • She drew the first map with colored pencils over a whole weekend.
   • Leilani had hiked the Ridge Trail so many times that she knew every turn.