LT: Determine the main idea of a passage
Review how titles give the main idea of a story and evidence within should support that
main idea
Review how expository paragraphs give the topic typically in the first and last sentence
Review how nonfiction stories usually have a main idea that involves the main character
and what they did or what happened to them
Have kids read passage and point out evidence they think is important
Have them make inferences about what they think the passage is about
Give options for them to evaluate—have them keep coming back to the evidence in the
story
Review why the main idea is important (helps you to know what is important in the story,
see the big picture, makes you interested, keeps you focused so you have a way of
classifying the information in the paragraph
A newspaper is better than a magazine. A seashore or open field is a better place than the
street. At first it is better to run than to walk. You may have to try several times. It takes
some skill, but it’s easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful,
complications are minimal. Birds rarely get too close. Rain, however, soaks in very fast.
Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. You need lots of room.
If there are no problems it can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things
break loose from it, however, you will not get a second chance.
Which is the best title for this passage?
1) Relaxing on a Summer Day
2) Let’s Go Fly and Kite
3) Ahoy Matey! Sailing the Seven Seas
4) How High Can You Go? The Art of the High Jump
The procedure is quite simple. First, you arrange things into
different groups. Of course, one pile may be enough, depending on
how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to
lack of machinery, that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty
well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to
do too few things at once than too many. At first the whole
procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become
just another part of life. After the procedure is completed, one
arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can
be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used
once more, and the whole cycle will have to be repeated.
Which is the best main idea?
A) Re-duce, Re-use, RECYCE!
B) Get Up and Move: Exercise 101
C) Suds a dub dub: Doing Laundry
D) Show Me the Money! How to be a Cashier
Nicki Minaj, rap phenomenon hailing from Queens,
New York, has a new honor to add to her resume: top
searched Halloween costume based on a person for the
2011 season. Nicki edged out other popular costume
searches such as Charlie Sheen. Though no commercial
Nicki Minaj costume kit is available, there are a lot of
helpful hints available online that show people how to get
that “Nicki look.” The popularity of the Nicki Minaj
costume search was only edged out by the Angry Birds
costume search, which was the most searched for costume
this year.
What is the best main idea for this paragraph?
A) Nicki Minaj’s successes
B) Most Popular Halloween Costumes in 2011
C) How to look like Nicki Minaj
D) Popular Halloween Costume Searches in 2011
The Greek word “deinos” means terrible, powerful, or
wonderous. Combine this with the Greek word “sauros,”
which means lizard or reptile, and you might get
“dinosaur,” which refers to huge creatures that roamed the
earth millions of years ago. The term “dinosauria” was
coined by English paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842,
which was meant to express the idea that dinosaurs were
“terrible reptiles” or “fearfully great lizards.” Over the
years, “dinosauria” gradually became “dinosaur,” which is
the word we use today to describe those giant beasts from
the past.
What is the best fit for this paragraph’s main idea?
A) The history of dinosaurs
B) The horrors of dinosaurs
C) The history of the word “dinosaur”
D) Greek history
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and II took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
What is the best main idea?
A) A person who is reflecting on their life and is happy about their decision to try
new things and not always do what everyone else does
B) A person who is taking a hike and is trying to decide where to go so as not to get
lost
C) A person who is lost and can’t make up their mind
O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry:
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only Luve,
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it ware ten thousand mile.
What is the best main idea?
A) A kid who can’t spell
B) Spring time
C) A man saying goodbye forever to his girlfriend
D) The undying love a man has for a woman
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
What is the best main idea?
A) A person who has learned how to fly
B) Someone who is boastful and full of themselves
C) A person who is confident and can overcome any adversity
D) A person who is about to die