Finding Main Idea

Finding Main Idea

Poll

How much do you know about finding the main idea of a story?

• A lot!!!

• Some, but not much.

• What is finding main idea?

Spots The Cat

Spots was a large grey and white cat. Spots lived in a barn on a farm. Spots liked living in the barn. It was warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There were many mice for Spots to chase. Best of all Spots had a nice place to sleep in the corner of the barn.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the story "Spots the Cat"

• The barn was dirty.

• Spots was grey and white.

• The barn was a great place for Spots to live.

• Spots loved to chase mice.

Jaws

You probably know sharks have very sharp teeth, but did you know they never run out of them. If a shark loses a tooth, another moves forward from within the shark's jaw, where it keeps a nearly unlimited supply of replacement teeth. This way, it's almost impossible for a shark to end up without a full set of teeth. This is a phenomenon unique to the shark. No other animal in the world has teeth quite like the shark's. A shark can go through as many as 20,000 teeth in its lifetime.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the story "Jaws"?

• A shark can go through 20,000 teeth in its lifetime.

• A shark's teeth is very sharp.

• When a shark loses a tooth, a replacement tooth moves forward.

• No other animal in the world has teeth as unique as the shark.

A Penny For Your Thoughts

A penny for your thoughts? If it’s a 1943 copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty thousand dollars. In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel since copper was needed for World War II, so the 1943 copper penny is ultra-rare. Another rarity is the 1955 double die penny. These pennies were mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters. If it’s uncirculated, it’d easily fetch $25,000 at an auction. Now that’s a pretty penny. 

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea for the story "A Penny For Your Thoughts"?

• Some pennies are rare and valuable.

• In 1943, pennies were made from steel instead of copper.

• In 1955, some pennies were double-stamped.

• Pretty pennies are uncirulated.

Butterflies

You know that butterflies are insects that glide through the air on colorful wings. Did you know they are also masters of disguise? For example, the viceroy butterfly has evolved to look almost exactly like the monarch, a poisonous butterfly that predators know to avoid. Though the viceroy itself is not poisonous, birds and other predators steer clear, mistaking it for the monarch. Another master of disguise is the buckeye butterfly. The buckeye sports “eyespots,” target-shaped spots resembling eyes, on the tips of its wings. Predators will aim for an eyespot, believing it to be the head of the buckeye, but will instead end up with just a wing tip, allowing the buckeye to escape.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the story "Butterflies"?

• Butterflies are insects that glide through the air on colorful wings.

• The Viceroy Butterfly looks poisonous to predators but it actually is not.

• The Buckeye Butterfly uses "eyespots" to escape predators

• Butterflies are masters of disguise.

Trick-Or-Treat

Before you put on that skeleton costume and rove door-to-door pandering for candy, take a minute to reflect on this tradition. Halloween is believed to have come from an ancient Celtic festival dating back some 2,000 years. November 1st was the Celtic New Year and marked the end of summer to the Celts. They celebrated on its eve by wearing costumes made of animal skins and dancing around bon fires. Over the next two millennia, this primitive celebration grew to be the candy fueled costume ball that we know today. 

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the story "Trick-Or-Treat"?

• Candy is delicious.

• Trick-or-treating is primitive.

• Halloween started almost 2,000 years ago.

• Early Halloween costumes were animal skins.