In the story of Anansi, the spider, what did Anansi learn?

Anansi learned that even if he had all the wisdom in the world, a child could still have a better idea than him.

What was Anansi trying to do with all the wisdom in the world?

Anansi wanted to gather all the wisdom in the world and keep it to himself inside a clay pot.

Discovering Theme

4th Grade•40 minutes•CCSS CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.2

Learning Objective

I can determine a theme of a story, poem, or drama from details in the text.

Key Concepts

A theme is an important idea that is woven throughout a story and links a big idea about our world with the action of a text.

The theme of the story about Anansi could be that anyone can have a good idea or that wisdom is inside all of us.

To help uncover the theme of a story, ask yourself: What did the characters learn? How did they grow and change? Why did the characters act the way they did?

Practice Questions

This lesson includes 7 practice questions to reinforce learning.

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1. What is a theme of a story?

2. How is a theme different from the main idea of a story?

3. The video mentions asking big questions to help uncover the theme. List two of those questions.

...and 4 more questions

Educational Video

Understanding theme | Reading | Khan Academy

Khan Academy

Learning Objective

Key Concepts

Practice Questions

Educational Video

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