Leo tries to paint a barn to win the Spring Art Show, hates it, and draws a robot on Mars instead. The four pages walk 4th grade students from story details, to the difference between topic and theme, to a 4 to 5 sentence summary. Along the way they copy Maya's advice as a quote and check off two minor details that do not belong in a summary. The questions line up with RL.4.2 and RL.4.1. An answer key with a model summary is included.
RL.4.2
“Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.”
Questions 3 and 4 separate the topic from the theme, and questions 7 and 8 build the summary by leaving out minor details.
RL.4.1
“Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.”
Question 5 asks for Maya's exact words, "The best art comes from the heart," and question 6 asks for evidence from Leo's feelings at the end.
Students read "The Art Contest," in which Sarah Higgins wins again, but Leo earns a "Most Creative" ribbon for his detailed robot drawing and feels proud of it.
Two short questions ask what Leo first tried to paint and one thing he really loves to draw, such as space stations, alien creatures, or robots with laser eyes.
Students choose the topic (an art contest) and the theme ("Be true to yourself") from three options each, copy the quote where Maya gives advice, and explain how Leo's feelings at the end support the theme.
Students check the two minor details that do not belong in a summary, such as tossing the brush into a cup of water, then write their own summary in 4 to 5 sentences.
Theme lesson
Stop after questions 3 and 4 and put both answers side by side. "An art contest" is the topic and "Be true to yourself" is the theme, which shows that a topic is a few words and a theme is a lesson.
Summary practice
Students often skip straight to question 8. Have them check the two minor details in question 7 first, then compare their summary to the model in the key.
Two class periods
Slower readers need a full lesson for Parts 1 and 2. Save the summary for the next day, after a quick reread.
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