Main Idea

Main Idea

by Stephanie Giermek

​Main Idea

​The main idea of a paragraph is what the whole paragraph is mostly about.

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The details are small pieces of information that make the paragraph more interesting.

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The details give small pieces of information about the main idea.

​​Benjamin Sees a Sloth

Benjamin’s class was learning about unusual animals. Today they were going on a field trip to the zoo to see some of the animals they had learned about. Benjamin’s favorite was the sloth. He had never seen one, but he had learned a lot about them, and seen pictures of them. They were so cute. They had big round eyes, and looked like they were wearing a mask. The sloths in all of the pictures looked like they were smiling.

Multiple Choice

1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph? 

• Benjamin’s class was learning about unusual animals.

• Benjamin’s class was going on a field trip to the zoo

• Benjamin had learned a lot about sloths.

• The sloths in all of the pictures looked like they were smiling.

​​​Benjamin Sees a Sloth

Benjamin remembered a story he had read about sloths. The story said that many sloths live in the tropical forests in the South American country of Bolivia. Santa Cruz, a large city in Bolivia, has many large parks with old and beautiful trees. Years ago, many sloths lived in these trees. People liked to come to the parks and look for the sloths. Even though there were many sloths in the parks, they were hard to see. Their fur was as green as the leaves of the trees they lived in. Benjamin wished he could have visited one of those parks. He was sure he would have been able to spot the sloths, even if they were hard to see.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

• Many sloths live in the tropical forests of Bolivia

• Years ago, many sloths lived in the city parks of Santa Cruz

• People liked to come to the parks and look for the sloths.

• Benjamin wished he could have visited one of those parks.

​​​Benjamin Sees a Sloth

​The story went on to say that there was a problem with the sloths in the parks. Even though sloths don’t move very often, and are very, very slow, they do not like to be bothered. And if they are bothered, their long curved claws make very good weapons. Children in the parks of Santa Cruz, and even some adults, would poke at the sloths to try to get them to move. Some of these people got serious scratches and cuts from the sloths’ sharp claws. The city decided to move the sloths out of the parks and back to the forests that were their natural home. Benjamin decided that had been a good idea. The sloths would be safer, and so would the people.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the third paragraph?

• There was a problem with having the sloths in the city parks.

• Sloths don’t move often, and are very slow when they do move.

• The sloth’s long curved claws make very good weapons.

• Some people got serious scratches and cuts from the sloths’ claws.

​​​Benjamin Sees a Sloth

​Benjamin’s class arrived at the zoo, and they finally came to the section where the sloths lived. The sign said there were two sloths. It was a large area, with many trees. Benjamin looked and looked, but he didn’t see the sloths. He was very disappointed. Then his teacher said, “Look there!” and pointed. And there was one of the sloths, just ten feet away from Benjamin, a little higher than his head. And it was even cuter in person than it was in the pictures.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

• The sign said there were two sloths.

• It was a large area, with many trees.

• Benjamin looked and looked, but he didn’t see the sloths.

• The sloth was even cuter in person than it was in pictures.

​Credit: Online reading & math for K-5 © www.k5learning.com