Determine the Theme

Grade 5 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the answer.

1. Read this first

   The Dropped Baton

   Dev had practiced the relay handoff all week. He was the third runner on his school's team, and his job was simple. He had to take the baton from Rosa and pass it to Marcus without slowing down.

   At the district meet, Rosa raced toward him with the baton held out. Dev started running at just the right moment. He reached back, felt the baton touch his palm, and closed his fingers too late. The baton bounced across the track.

   Dev froze. Runners from other schools flew past him. By the time he grabbed the baton and handed it to Marcus, his team was in last place. They finished sixth out of six.

   Dev walked off the track with his eyes on the ground. He expected his teammates to be angry. Instead, Rosa put a hand on his shoulder. "We all drop it sometimes," she said. "I dropped it twice last spring."

   Marcus nodded. "Let's practice the handoff together on Monday," he said. "Then it will feel automatic."

   On Monday, the three runners stayed after practice. They passed the baton again and again until the handoff felt smooth. Rosa called out "Stick!" at the same moment each time, so Dev knew exactly when to grab.

   Two weeks later, at the next meet, Dev heard Rosa shout "Stick!" His fingers closed tight around the baton. He sprinted his lap and handed off cleanly to Marcus. The team finished second.

   Afterward, Dev did not talk about his fast lap. He talked about the extra practice. "We fixed it together," he said.

2. 1.

   Which theme best fits this story?

   • Winning matters more than practicing hard.
   • Help from others can turn a mistake into success.
   • Relay races are the most exciting event at a meet.
3. 2.

   Which detail best supports the theme?

   • Rosa and Marcus stayed after practice to work with Dev.
   • Dev was the third runner on his school's team.
   • Runners from other schools flew past Dev.
4. 3.

   How did Dev feel right after the first race?

   • proud, because he ran his lap so quickly
   • relieved, because the long meet was finally over
   • ashamed, because he thought he let the team down
5. 4.

   How did Rosa respond to Dev's mistake?

   • She told him she had dropped it too.
   • She asked the coach for a new runner.
   • She said the team should skip the next meet.
6. 5.

   Which choice names the topic of the story, not its theme?

   • Mistakes can be fixed with help from others.
   • a relay race at a track meet
   • Teamwork can turn a loss into a win.
7. 6.

   "Then it will feel automatic." What does automatic mean here?

   • done by a machine instead of a person
   • done slowly and with great care
   • done easily without having to think