Finding the Main Idea: the author's message about the topic.
Where are the main ideas found
It is easy to identify a main idea that is directly expressed in the text.
Main ideas are often found at the
beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often explains the subject being discussed in the passage.
Main ideas are also found in the
concluding sentences of a paragraph. The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the information in the next paragraph.
The main idea is not always clearly stated. It is more difficult to identify a main idea when it is inferred or implied. It can be implied through other words in the paragraph. An implied main idea can be found in several ways.
Several sentences in a paragraph can
imply the main idea by introducing facts about the topic before actually stating the topic.
Implied ideas can be drawn from facts,
reasons, or examples that give hints or suggestions concerning the main idea. These hints will be clues leading you to discover the main idea in the selected text.
Try the passage below to see if you can
pick out the main idea.
\"To many parents, the infant's crying
may be mainly an irritation, especially if it continues for long periods. But crying serves important functions for the child as well as for the parents. For the child, crying helps improve lung capacity and the respiratory system. Perhaps more important, the cry serves as a signal of distress. When babies cry, they
indicate that they are hungry or in pain, and
this is important information for parents.\"
Use the hints below to determine the correct
main idea of this paragraph.
After reading a paragraph ask, \"What point is the author making in this passage\" Ask the following questions:
Who - Does this passage discuss a
person or group of people
When - Does the information contain a
reference to time
Where - Does the text name a place Why - Do you find a reason or
explanation for something that happened
How - Does this information indicate
a method or a theory
How can I determine if I have selected the correct main idea of a paragraph
If you are able to summarize the information in the passage in your own words,you have absorbed the correct main idea. To accomplish this goal, try the steps listed below after reading a short section of your textbook.
Write a short summary in your own words
about what you have read.
Does your summary agree with this
general topic
Does your summary contain the same
ideas being expressed by the author
Could you write a headline (or
textbook subheading) that would express your summary in less than five words
If you are able to rephrase your choice of a topic sentence into a question and then determine if the passage answers your question, you have been successful at selecting a main idea.
Answers: 1 The clouds were dark purple. 2 Thunder becamelouder and louder. 3 The raindrops fellone after another.
The main idea sentence of a paragraph tells what the paragraph is about. The other sentences are details. Read the story and find the main idea. 1. When you take a multiple-choice test, do you ever change your answers Some scientists think that it is a smart thing to do. They found out that most students who change their answers make the right decision and make better scores on their tests. The story mainly tells _______ how to study for tests
what scientists think about answers
how to score better on a multiple-choice test
which answers to change on a test 2. Because lambs are sometimes eaten by coyotes, ranchers may hunt or trap the coyotes. However, killing coyotes may upset nature's balance. Scientists have found a way to protect sheep without killing coyotes. Coyotes are fed lamb meat treated with a drug. When they eat the meat, they get sick. Later, coyotes won't even go near lambs. They'll hunt rabbits instead. This story mainly tells _______ why coyotes prefer rabbits to lambs why killing coyotes upsets nature's balance
how scientists protect sheep and coyotes
what kind of people don't like coyotes
3. Dolly Madison was the wife of
President James Madison. She was quite a brave First Lady. When the White House burned down, Dolly rescued important government papers. She also saved the portrait of George Washington that hangs in the East Room today.
This story mainly tells _______
who Dolly Madison's husband was how the White House burned down about Dolley Madison's courageous acts
where the portrait of George Washington hangs
4. Every year hungry deer do millions of dollars' worth of damage to young pine trees. Scientists in Washington have found a way to protect the trees. They use a substance called selenium. Selenium produces a bad smell when dissolved. A bit of this element is put in the ground near trees. Rain dissolves the selenium, and the trees absorb it. The bad smell keeps the deer away until the trees are fully grown.
This story mainly tells _______
how much damage deer do to trees how trees can be protected from deer
what selenium is
why deer eat pine trees
5. In real life, rattlesnakes try to avoid people and seldom attack. Most people are bitten only after they step on these snakes. A rattlesnake may not even inject its poison when it bites. In fact, more Americans die from insect
stings than from snakebites!
This story mainly tells _______
how rattlesnakes aren't as dangerous as everyone believes why insects kill people
when rattlesnakes use their poison how snakes bite
6. Imagine testing glass by throwing chickens at it Sometimes fast moving airplanes fly through flocks of birds. If the birds hit the windshield of a plane, the glass could shatter and cause a crash. Airplane manufacturers have made a chicken cannon that fires rubber chickens at glass windshields. If the windshield doesn't break when the rubber chicken hits it, the designers know that the glass can withstand the force of a real crash.
This story mainly tells _______
why birds can be dangerous to airplanes
how a chick cannon tests glass how big a bird has to be to damage an airplane
how the chicken cannon works
7. The diamond is a hard element that can cut through almost any metal. That is why it is often used for industrial purposes. Whole diamond stones are set into tools. Dust from crushed diamond stones is used for coating the edges of tools. Care must be taken when exposing diamonds to extreme heat because heat can turn them into graphite. Graphite is the soft material
used in the manufacture of lead for pencils.
This story mainly tells _______
how to turn a diamond into a graphite
how diamonds are used in industry how diamond dust coats tool edges when diamonds are used in pencils
8. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite to help builders, but it was used for war, which made him feel very guilty about the misuse of his invention. He was a rich man, so he set up a $9 million fund. Today the fund is used to reward people who have improved human life. Nobel Prizes are awarded in six fields, including peace, medicine, and chemistry.
This story mainly tells _______
what the Nobel Prizes are awarded for
why Nobel founded the Nobel Prize fund
how much money was set aside for rewards
what invention Alfred Nobel created
9. The temperature of Antartica once fell to 128 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. In the summertime, temperatures average well below freezing. Most of the land is covered with ice that is up to 2 miles thick. Only a few strong mosses and sturdy spiders can live on this big block of ice. Since very little snow or rain falls there, Antartica is a desert.
This story mainly tells _______
about a desert with extremely cold temperatures
which plants and insects live in Antartica
how much snow and rain fall there how low the temperature once fell
10. The Marines had a problem in World War II. Orders were sent in code, but the enemy kept learning the code. Nothing could be kept secret. Then someone thought the Navajo soldiers could help the Marines. Since very few other people could speak Navajo, this language was used as a code. No one on the enemy side knew Navajo, so the messages stayed secret.
This story mainly tells _______
how Navajo people kept secrets when the secret code was used
how the Marines used Navajo as a code
why the original code had to be changed
11. Sharks have a keen sense of hearing and can smell blood from almost 2,000 yards away. Sharks also have a special system of channels in their skin that helps them feel the vibrations of a splashing swimmer. We know that in clear water, sharks can see dinner from about 50 feet away. If you ever spot a shark, always swim away smoothly!
This story mainly tells _______
how well sharks hear
why sharks have poor vision how sharks sense food
when to swim away smoothly
12. Trousers are a recent style in the history of fashion. Men wore tights under short, loose pants until the early 1800s when the first real pants for men appeared. Until the 1940s few women wore long pants. During World War II, women factory workers started wearing long pants. The fashion caught on.
The story mainly tells _______
that long pants are a somewhat new fashion
when men stopped wearing pantaloons
who wore tights
why women don't wear trousers
13. A scientist believes that millions of animals have died every 26 million years. He thinks that comets are responsible for those deaths. Comets would explode on impact as they slammed into Earth. Dust from the explosions blocked light and heat from the Sun. Plants and animals on Earth could not withstand such conditions, so they died.
This story mainly tells _______
how often animals died
why comets may come near Earth where the dust comes from
about a possible cause of animal deaths in the past 14. The rare Chinese panda lives on tender, young bamboo shoots. Most bamboo
plants die right after flowering. Without the bamboo the pandas starve. Because some people fear that the rare pandas may die out, in some places food is given to the hungry animals. Some pandas are airlifted to places where bamboo is still plentiful.
This story mainly tells _______
what the Chinese pandas usually eat how the bamboo plants flower how people are keeping pandas alive why pandas sometimes starve to death
15. Bob Geldof talked to the top musical talents of the world and asked them to sing at a concert to raise moeny. The stars agreed. Geldof found a stadium, arranged for TV coverage, and set up a trust fund. He said that none of the stars would get special treatment. Everyone would work together. In 1985, the Live Aid concert raised more than $100 million for starving children.
This story mainly tells _______
how Geldof found a stadium
how many musical stars agreed to sing
why people are hungry in Africa how a concert benefited starving children
16. Can fish climb trees It sounds like a fishy story, but mudskippers living in the swamps of Asia really can climb trees. After filling their gills with air and water, they climb onto land. Mudskippers use their front fins to move
along the ground. Suckers on their fins
help them climb trees.
This story mainly tells _______
where mudskippers live how they fill their gills
how mudskippers can climb trees where mudskippers have suckers
17. Probably the best-known rodeo cowboy in the world is Larry Mahan. Mahan was the national champion six times before he was 30. He was good at every event and was so successful that he had his own plane. When he got too old to be in the rodeo, he didn't stop doing rodeo work. He started a rodeo school.
The story mainly tells _______
where to ride bulls and rope calves about the most famous rodeo cowboy in the world
how to get rich in the rodeo where to go to rodeo school
18. The peanut is a humble plant with hundreds of functions. Most peanuts are roasted in their shells and lightly salted. About half the peanuts eaten in the United States are ground into a thick paste called peanut butter. The rich oil made from peanuts is good for frying foods and is used for oiling machines and making soaps and paint. Even peanut shells are used to make plastics and to fertilize soil.
This story mainly tells _______
why peanut oil is used for frying
how much peanut butter is eaten in the United States
about the many uses of the peanut why peanut shells make good fertilizer
19. Tap dancing started in America. It began as folk dancing that had much kicking and stamping. Over time two kinds of dancing developed. In one kind the dancers wore hard shoes and danced very fast. In the other they wore soft shoes and danced slowly and easily. There wasn't really any tap in tap dancing until 1925. That's when someone put metal pieces on the toes and heels of tap shoes.
The story mainly tells _______
how there are two kinds of tap dancing
how tap shoes are made
where some folk dances came from how tap dancing developed
20. Native Americans dried strips of meat, pounded it into a paste, and then mixed it with fat. Sometimes they added berries and sugar. Then they pressed itinto small cakes. They called thse cakes pemmmican. Pemmican didn't spoil, and it provided lots of energy for people traveling or goint hunting. Today explorers still carry and eat this food.
This story mainly tells _______
who uses pemmican today
what can be put into pemmican how pemmican was prepared by Native Americans
why people eat pemmican today
21. Dogs have been called our best friends, but they are also good helpers. They can be used in many ways. Some dogs hunt while others guard animals and property. Boxers and German sheperds are trained to lead people who are blind. A dog named Laika was the first animal in space.
This story mainly tells _______
how many types of dogs there are what the name of the space dog was what kind of dogs can lead people who are blind
how dogs are useful
22. Kitty O'Neil wanted to become a stunt person. She performed incredible stunts, such as 100-foot falls. O'Neill has been deaf since birth. She says she can concentrate better than most people who can hear. She is not bothered by the sounds around her.
This story mainly tells _______
when O'Neill fell 100 feet how long O'Neill has been deaf how O'Neil's disability has helped her career
how to become a stunt person
23. For years food chemists have tasted hot peppers used for chili sauce, catsup, and pizza, but people had a hard time figuring out the spiciness of the peppers. After eating two or three, their taste buds were burning. Now a
machine can test different kinds of hot peppers. It measures the chemicals that provide the spicy taste of the peppers.
This story mainly tells _______
how scientists measure chemicals how hot and spicy peppers are used why people have trouble tasting hot peppers
how a machine helps the hot-pepper industry
24. Computers have changed quite a bit through the years. An early model could add 18 million numbers per hour. One person would have needed many years to do the same job. A modern computer can add 1 1/2 trillion numbers in less than three hours.
This story mainly tells _______
who uses computers
how long one person takes to do a job
how computers have gotten faster over time
how fast modern computers can add
25. There are many ways to learn about people. You can learn a lot about people by simply watching or talking to them. Looking at the floor can also give you information about people. You can tell where people walk most frequently because of the worn carpet. The next time you're riding in someone else's car, notice the music on the radio. The type of music played on the station can tell a lot about the person!
This story mainly tells _______
how to guess where people walk how to learn about people how to listen to the radio how to watch people
26. Ages ago living things like bugs and leaves got trapped in soft tree resin. The resin hardened into what we know as amber. It kept the trapped bugs and leaves in perfect shape. Now scientists are learning much about the distant past from amber samples. Some scientists say they are more useful than fossils.
This story mainly tells _______
where bugs and leaves got trapped what hard resin is called
why amber samples are important to scientists
what scientists think of fossils
27. Air plants, such as mosses and lichens, grow on buildings and stones and get their food and water from the air around them. Other plants such as mistletoe get their food and water from the trees they live on. Sometimes these trees die if the plants take away too much food or water.
This story mainly tells
_______
what kinds of plants grow on buildings
why mistletoe sometimes kills trees
how some plants don't live in soil how mosses and lichens get food and water
28. The spots on a fawn's coat let it hide in shady areas without being seen. The viceroy butterfly looks like the bad-tasting monarch, so birds avoid both. The hognose snake hisses and rolls on its back when it fears another animal. When the opossum is attacked, it plays dead. Distressed turtles hide in their shells until they're sure it's safe to come out again.
This story mainly tells _______
how some animals protect themselves
why some harmless animals look dangerous
why spots or stripes make animals less visible
why birds don't like monarch butterflies
29. The harmless hognose snake is a champion bluffer. When this snake is threatened, it hisses and acts as if it will bite. If you don't run away, the hognose snake \"plays dead.\" It rolls over on its back, wiggling around as if it's in distress. Then it \"dies\" with its mouth open and tongue hanging out. If you turn it on its stomach, the snake will roll over on its back again.
This story mainly tells _______
where the hognose snake is found what things frighten the hognose snake
how dangerous the hognose snake is how the hognose snake bluffs
30. It takes more than food to make babies grow up to be healthy and happy. If babies are not patted and hugged, they grow more slowly and are less healthy. Also they will not be as smart or happy when they become adults. Many studies show that love is the most important thing in children's lives.
The story mainly tells _______
why good food is important to babies
what makes babies grow up
that children need love to grow up healthy
how to have smart children
31. Many people in India don't eat beef, but they still find many uses for cattle. Cows provide milk for drinking and for other dairy products. Young cattle are used for plowing fields and carrying big loads.
This story mainly tells _______
how cows are used in India
where some people do not eat beef which cows plow fields what milk is used for
32. Doctors think that wearing red-tinted glasses can relieve sadness. Some people get very moody and sad in the winter. They may be affected by brief days. Bright lights help some people but not everyone. The reddish light coming
thorugh rose-colored glasses seems to make people feel happy.
This story mainly tells _______
why happy people wear rose-colored glasses
when some people get sad
how short the daylight in the winter is how colored glasses may help people feel better.
33. \"The War of the Worlds\" a radio story, once started a panic. Because many people didn't hear that it was just a story about monsters from space, they thought the fake news bulletins were true. People were frantic. It took hours to calm them down and convince them that it was only a radio play.
This story mainly tells _______
what people thought about news stories
why people were afraid of the monsters how a radio play fooled many people where the monsters in the story came from
34. Garlic is one of the ingredients that makes pasta sauce taste so good. Now doctors think garlic has healing powers, too. Early tests show that it can kill harmful germs. Garlic also has been found to have a good effect on the blood. Doctors think it can help protect people against heart disease.
This story mainly tells _______
how garlic can help keep people healthy
what goes into pasta sauce
how garlic kills harmful bacteria how garlic affects the blood
35. Product codes on items consist of bars and numbers on the product label. The first number tell which company made the item. The last numbers identify the product and size. A laser reads the bars at the checkout. A computer finds the price for that product and prints the price on the cash-register slip. Store owners can change prices of items by changing the computer. The records in the computer help the owners learn which goods sell well.
This story mainly tells _______
how the product codes are developed how the product-code system is effective
how one machine reads the numbers and bars
how the numbers are assigned to companies
36. Some college teachers in Michigan have made a small computer that looks like an orange. It will be picked and handled like real fruit. Since much fruit is damaged on its way to market, this machine will measure shaking and temperature changes. The computerized orange will help people find ways to avoid damaging fruits during shipping. This story mainly tells _______
where the computerized orange was created
how the computer company helped
make the machine
what the computerized orange looks like
about the purpose of the computerized orange
37. The beaver's front teeth have a hard, bright orange covering. These teeth are used to cut and tear the bark off trees. The back teeth are flat and rough and are used for chewing. There are two flaps of skin between the front and back teeth. These flaps keep water and splinters from entering the beaver's mouth
This story mainly tells _______
about the color of the front teeth how the two flaps of skin are used about the specially designed mouth of the beaver how splinters get into the beaver's mouth
38. Faberge, a jeweler, made eggs from rare mentals and jewels. A Russian emperor liked them so much that he often gave them away as gifts. The elaborate eggs are only a few inches high. Some have tiny clocks inside them. Others hold small pictures or toys. The highest price ever paid for a Faberge egg was more than $ million!
This story mainly tells _______ what Faberge eggs are like
who bought and gave the eggs as gifts
what Faberge eggs have in them how Faberge made the eggs
39. Virginia Hamilton started writing at a young age. People in her family were great storytellers. She loved to listen to their tales about her African American heritage. When she grew up, Hamilton brought the tales to life in stories. Now she is a famous writer of books for children.
This story mainly tells _______
when Virginia Hamilton started writing
how Hamilton's family told stories how family stories led to a writing career
what kind of tales Hamilton's family told
40. The lack of gravity in space makes even simple tasks a challenge. Astronauts have to wear boots that hold their feet to the floor so that they can walk around. Eating is a real chore. Dried and frozen foods are stored in plastic bags. To eat chicken soup, the astronauts cut a hole in one end of the bag and squeeze the soup into their mouths.
This story mainly tells _______
why there is little gravity in space
why easy tasks are challenging in space why space food is stored in plastic bags
how to eat chicken soup
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