Fables: Theme of a Story

We're working on theme of a story. Read the passage out loud first, then have your child read it back. Ask questions in your own words before they answer the worksheet. Underline together to find clues in the text — this is a real reader's habit.

• pencil
• paper
• highlighter (optional)

Tell each other one interesting thing you noticed today. That's a 'detail' — your brain is already working.

1. 1

   Read this passage: "In autumn, the days grow shorter and the air cools. Inside each leaf, a quiet change begins. The tree slows the flow of sap, and the green color we know — chlorophyll — fades away. Beneath the green, other colors have been there all along: yellows, oranges, and a few deep reds. As the green disappears, the hidden colors finally show through. After a few weeks, the wind tugs the dry leaves from their stems. They drift down to the ground, where they will quietly become next year's soil." Q: Why do leaves change color in autumn?

   Parent tip: Read aloud once, then ask your child to read it back. Underline answers together.
2. 2

   Using the same passage, answer: What is chlorophyll?

   Parent tip: Point back to the line in the text that proves the answer.

1. 1

   What three colors appear?
2. 2

   In which season does this happen?
3. 3

   Why does the author say the colors 'have been there all along'?
4. 4

   What happens to the leaves at the very end?
5. 5

   Find one verb in the passage. Write it here.
6. 6

   Draw a picture of one moment from the passage.
7. 7

   What is one detail you remember? Write it in a complete sentence.
8. 8

   What might happen next? Write one to two sentences.
9. 9

   Find one adjective (a describing word) in the passage. Write it here.
10. 10

    Underline one sentence you think is the most important. Why?

What is one thing you'll remember from this passage tomorrow?