Finding the Main Idea The Storm The rain began early in the morning. It fell as hard drops, one after another. The sky was full of dark purple clouds. Thunder began as a soft rumble and became louder and louder. Lightning crashed every few minutes, making the sky a brilliant white. What is the main idea? Circle the correct answer. A. The farms needed the rain. B. The thunder hurt the people’s ears. C. Lightning made the sky bright. D. The storm was very strong. Write three details in the story in the boxes. 1 2 Copyright © 2012 K12reader.com. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms. 3 www.k12reader.com Finding the Main Idea Saturday at the Carnival James and his sister, Anna, went to the carnival on Saturday. They rode the merry- go-round, the roller coaster and the Ferris wheel. James ate popcorn and a hot dog. Anna drank lemonade and ate an apple. They saw many exciting shows. They were tired when they went home. What is the main idea? Circle the correct answer. A. James and Anna were hungry. B. James and Anna did many things at the carnival. C. The merry-go-round was broken. D. The carnival was on Saturday. Write three details in the story in the boxes. 1 2 Copyright © 2012 K12reader.com. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms. 3 www.k12reader.com Find the Main Idea Planets in the Solar System Mercury There are eight planets in the Solar System, and each one is very different. Some planets, like Jupiter and Saturn are very large. Others, like Mercury and Mars are smaller. Jupiter has moons that are larger than Mercury. The planets also have different atmospheres. Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn have atmospheres of hydrogen and helium. The atmosphere on Venus is made up of carbon dioxide. Earth has a nitrogen and oxygen atmosphere. Neptune’s atmosphere is mostly hydrogen. The planets also have different temperatures. Uranus is the coldest and Venus is the hottest. Venus Earth Jupiter Find the Main Idea Mars Write the main idea of the paragraph in your own words. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Saturn Write two supporting ideas for the main idea. 1. _______________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Uranus 2. _______________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Neptune Copyright © 2012 K12reader.com. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms. www.k12reader.com Finding the Main Idea Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote Anne Anne of Green Gables ables in 1908. It’s the story of an orphan girl, Anne, who goes to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert in their house called Green Gables. In this selection, a neighbor has entered the backyard of Green Gables. Chapter I. Mrs. Rachel Lynde is Surprised With this Mrs. Rachel stepped out of the lane into the backyard of Green Gables. Very green and neat and precise was that yard, set about on one side with great patriarchal willows and the other with prim Lombardies. Not a stray stick nor stone was to be seen, for Mrs. Rachel would have seen it if there had been. Privately she was of the opinion that Marilla Cuthbert swept that yard over as often as she swept her house. One could have eaten a meal off the ground without overbrimming the proverbial peck of dirt. Write the main idea of the paragraph in the large oval below. Write the supporting ideas in the small ovals. Copyright © 2012 K12reader.com. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms. www.k12reader.com The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving Finding the Main Idea Washington Irving wrote “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in 1820. It is a haunting tale about a thin and timid teacher named Ichabod Crane, who has a terrifying encounter with the legendary Headless Horseman. In this passage, Ichabod is leaving for a party on an old, borrowed horse. Ichabod was a suitable fi gure for such a steed. Ichabod Crane runs from the He rode with short stirrups, which brought his Headless Horseman. knees nearly up to the pommel of the saddle; his sharp elbows stuck out like grasshoppers’; he carried his whip perpendicularly in his hand, like a sceptre, and as his horse jogged on, the motion of his arms was not unlike the fl apping of a pair of wings. A small wool hat rested on the top of his nose, for so his scanty strip of forehead might be called, and the skirts of his black coat fl uttered out almost to the horses tail. Such was the appearance of Ichabod and his steed as they shambled out of the gate of Hans Van Ripper, and it was altogether such an apparition as is seldom to be met with in broad daylight. The Main Idea and Supporting Ideas Write the main idea of the paragraph in your own words. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Write three supporting ideas for the main idea. 1. ___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2012 K12reader.com. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms. www.k12reader.com Finding the Main Idea 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne Jules Verne wrote 20,000 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1870. The narrator is Pierre Aronnax, a French marine biologist, who has been taken prisoner by Captain Nemo in his submarine called Nautilus. This passage describes the submarine’s library. Chapter X: The Man of the Seas It was a library. High pieces of furniture, of black Captain Nemo’s submarine, violet ebony inlaid with brass, supported upon their Nautilus wide shelves a great number of books uniformly bound. They followed the shape of the room, terminating at the lower part in huge divans, covered with brown leather, which were curved, to afford the greatest comfort. Light movable desks, made to slide in and out at will, allowed one to rest one’s book while reading. In the centre stood an immense table, covered with pamphlets, amongst which were some newspapers, already of old date. The electric light fl ooded everything; it was shed from four unpolished globes half sunk in the volutes of the ceiling. I looked with real admiration at this room, so ingeniously fi tted up, and I could scarcely believe my eyes. The Main Idea and Supporting Ideas Write the main idea of the paragraph in your own words. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Write two supporting ideas for the main idea. 1. ___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2012 K12reader.com. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms. www.k12reader.com Finding the Main Idea Benjamin Franklin: Scientist and Inventor While Benjamin Franklin is known as a statesman and diplomat, he was also an accomplished inventor and scientist. Franklin was mainly a printer by profession, but he also investigated natural phenomena, such as ocean currents and lightning. His marine research led to his publication of a map of the Gulf Stream currents. Franklin developed theories about electricity, made famous by his experiment with a kite and a key during a lightning storm. As a result of his work with electricity, Franklin invented the lightning rod, which protected buildings from lightning strikes. Always curious and imaginative, Franklin also invented the bifocal glasses, the Franklin stove, an odometer for carriages and a musical instrument called a glass armonica. He investigated evaporation as a cooling technique and designed nautical enhancements, including watertight compartments. From Franklin’s paper “Water-spouts and Whirlwinds” Write the main idea of the paragraph in the center circle below. Write the supporting ideas in the outside circles. Copyright © 2012 K12reader.com. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms. www.k12reader.com
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