Determine a Theme is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on working a theme out from details rather than being told it, aligned to Common Core standard RL.4.2. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 19 of them with different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
19 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.
Determine a Theme
RL.4.2
NameDate
Read the text, then answer the questions.
1.Read the text, then answer the questions.
Arachne
Arachne could weave. Shepherds left their flocks to watch her hands.
She was asked once whether the goddess Athene had taught her. "Nobody taught me," she said. "Let Athene weave against me and we shall see who learned from whom."
An old woman at the edge of the crowd advised her to take it back. Arachne laughed at her. The old woman straightened up and was Athene.
They wove for a day. Athene's cloth showed the gods in glory. Arachne's showed the gods behaving badly, and it was — everyone could see it — the better work.
Athene tore it to pieces. Then she touched Arachne's forehead and made her into a spider, so that she could go on weaving for ever and nobody would ever look.
1. Determine a theme of this myth and support it from the text.
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.
The Lost Ledger
Mr Kaur ran the shop on the corner for forty-one years and never used a till roll. He kept a ledger.
Every debt in the village was in it, in pencil, and every settlement crossed out. Nobody ever asked to see it. Nobody ever queried it.
When he retired he handed the ledger to his daughter, who was taking over.
She found eleven debts outstanding, some six years old, totalling more than she took in a fortnight.
She thought about it for a week. Then she went through the book, tore out those pages, and started a new one with a card machine on the counter.
She never told him. He never asked.
1. Determine a theme of this story and support it from the text.
LessonPrint · RL.4.2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Determine a Theme
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Being right is not protection against power — Arachne's work was better and she was punished for it.
2.1. Ending something kindly can mean saying nothing — she tore out the pages and "never told him".
Questions about Determine a Theme
What does the Determine a Theme worksheet cover?
It practises working a theme out from details rather than being told it — 2 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core RL.4.2: Work out the theme from the details, then summarise the text. The instruction to pupils is “Read the text, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Determine a Theme practise?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2 — RL.4.2, in the Reading: Literature domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Determine a Theme is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on RL.4.2, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Determine a Theme come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Determine a Theme can I print?
25 versions, of which 19 ask genuinely different questions — this skill does not have 25 distinct questions to give, so the rest reorder them and no two pupils still share a paper. Set 1 downloads all 25 as one PDF.
Is Determine a Theme free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Determine a Theme, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach RL.4.2?
Yes — “Theme and How to Summarise” is a 40-minute Grade 4 plan for RL.4.2, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Determine a Theme is the practice that follows it.
More practice for RL.4.2
Work out the theme from the details, then summarise the text.
Teaching this next? Theme and How to Summarise is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.