South Dakota ELA 1.RL.9
The Standard
Describe what a theme is and identify common themes in stories (e.g., honesty, bravery).
South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain that a theme is a big idea a story shows. They name themes such as honesty or bravery and use story events to support their choices.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can name honesty as a theme in The Boy Who Cried Wolf and point to what happens after the boy lies. They can name kindness in The Lion and the Mouse and explain how the mouse shows it.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may name a story detail, such as wolves, instead of a theme like honesty. They may choose a theme from the title without checking what the characters do.
How to Assess It
- After reading The Boy Who Cried Wolf aloud, ask: “Is honesty or bravery a theme in this story? Draw or write one event that shows your choice.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs three picture cards from The Boy Who Cried Wolf to put in order, then ask them to place an honesty label beside the event that best shows the theme.
After reading The Lion and the Mouse aloud, ask, “How does the mouse show kindness? What does the story teach about helping others?”
Give pairs short stories about a returned wallet, a scary first swim, and a shared lunch; have them match each story to a theme card.
Tell a short classroom story about admitting to a spilled paint cup; ask students to name its theme and the event that shows it.
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Printable 1.RL.9 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 1.RL.9, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 2.RL.2
Retell stories, those from various cultures and genres, and determine their central message/theme, lesson, or moral.
- 6.RL.2
Determine a theme or central idea(s) of a text.
- 3.RL.9
Compare and contrast the central message, themes, settings, and plots of stories about the same or similar topics.
- 8.RL.2
Determine a theme or central idea(s) of a text.
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