A theme is the central message or meaning of a literary work. It is usually not stated directly but needs to be inferred by the reader. It is a general conclusion or lesson about human nature or society. An example of a theme might be, “Money can’t buy happiness.” Below you will find reading passages that can be used for instruction on themes.
In 2012, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed over 9,000 plant and animal species as either critica...
Reading Set: 11 Passages
An immediate bestseller, “Little Women” was published in two parts: one in 1868, and one in 1869. This coming-of-age story of t...
Reading Set: 9 Passages
It’s hard to believe that the same person who wrote “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” could write charming children’s poetry, but Rob...
Reading Set: 7 Passages
Women’s History Month is traditionally held in March, but the study of women’s history is valuable all twelve months of the yea...
Reading Set: 18 Passages
Is there any more magical phrase than “Once upon a time”? This beginning of so many classic fairy tales sends the reader into a...
Reading Set: 10 Passages
The United States and Canada observe Black History month in February; the United Kingdom observes it in October. While the co...
Reading Set: 13 Passages
With a little fairy dust, we can all fly to Neverland by reading J. M. Barrie’s wonderful fantasy “Peter Pan.” This Reading S...
Reading Set: 17 Passages
The French Revolution began in 1789 and took the idea of modern democracy from the fledgling United States to Europe. A perio...
Reading Set: 6 Passages
"For never was there a tale of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." The last lines of William Shakespeare's "Romeo an...
Reading Set: 4 Passages
A fable is a story with a moral, or lesson, at the end. Aesop, a Greek author in the 6th century B.C.E., is perhaps the most ...