Themes in Rules

A theme is a central idea, subject, or message in a story. Many stories have more than one important theme. For this activity, students will identify and illustrate 2 of the themes in Rules. Teachers may want the students to identify and illustrate 2 themes, one for each cell, or identify one theme and show two examples of it, one example per cell.

Examples of Themes in Rules

Friendship

Catherine dreams of the perfect friendship with her cool new neighbor, Kristi. However, the friendship doesn’t seem to blossom, as the girls are more different than Catherine had hoped. On the other hand, Catherine forms a strong friendship with Jason, who is the last person she ever thought she’d be friends with. Friendship often comes in the most surprising places.

Acceptance

It is often very difficult for Catherine to accept David as he is; he can be embarrassing and very difficult. Catherine desperately wants to be accepted and liked by Kristi, until she realizes that accepting herself and who she is is far more important.

Communication

Catherine communicates with the other characters in the book in different ways. With her brother David, she communicates with him through a set of rules, and through dialogue from the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel. She communicates with Jason using word cards, and she struggles to communicate with Kristi, for fear that Kristi won’t be her friend if she knows all about her.

Due Date:

Objective: Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in Rules. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.

Student Instructions:

1. Click "Start Assignment".
2. Identify the themes from Rules you wish to include and write them in the headings.
3. Create an image for an example that represents this theme using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
4. Write a short description of each of the examples.
5. Save and exit when you're finished.