Themes of My Father's Dragon

Several themes are present in the story. Students can pick a theme to explore and should support their choice with specific details or events from the text. One prominent theme is "bravery". To rescue the dragon, Elmer has to be brave, and throughout the story he shows many ways that he acted this way.

Example 1

A fisherman, shaking while talking, tells Elmer that people have tried to explore Wild Island but never returned. Elmer is brave because he did not let this bother him, and he kept on his journey to the dragon.

Example 2

Elmer gets surrounded by seven tigers. He is not scared, instead he uses his quick thinking and gives the tigers 'special' chewing gum. This distracts the tigers so Elmer can escape.

Other themes that can be examined are: cleverness, resourcefulness, and heroism.

Student Instructions

Create a storyboard that identifies themes in My Father's Dragon. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.

1. Click "Start Assignment".
2. Identify the theme(s) from My Father's Dragon you wish to include and replace the "Theme 1" text.
3. Create an image for an example that represents this theme.
4. Write a description of each of the examples.