Reading Main Idea and Author's Purpose

Reading Main Idea and Author's Purpose

by Stephanie Giermek

​What is author's purpose?

​What is it when we identify the “why” behind an author’s writing?

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We call it “author’s purpose”

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• What motivated the author to write the piece?

• What was their intent behind their writing and what did they hope to achieve with that writing?

  • By analyzing the author’s purpose, students gain a deeper understanding of the text.

​What is 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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A summary includes the main idea of each of the paragraphs in a story. It does not include the details of the paragraphs.

​China Under Attack

​Read the following story and answer the questions

​Chongqing, China, in 1944

​China Under Attack

​Japan attacked China in 1937, launching the second Chinese-Japanese War. At first, Japanese forces overpowered the Chinese. But when Japan bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1941, China gained a powerful ally—the United States. The United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945, forcing the country to surrender and ending World War II and the Chinese-Japanese War. Jonathan Miedel talked to his grandmother, Mary Yu Chang, about growing up in China during the war.

Multiple Choice

The first paragraph of this passage (in italics) was included to

• give historical context to Jonathan’s grandmother's story

• explain the use of the atom bomb

• explain why China was not in the war

• teach and explain the effects of war.

Multiple Choice

Read this sentence from the passage: “But when Japan bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1941, China gained a powerful ally—the United States.”

In this sentence, the word ally means

• device

• weapon

• friend

• enemy

​China Under Attack

​When the war began, my grandmother was only 6 years old. Her family lived in Shanghai, but her father had to leave because his job had been moved to the temporary capital, Chongqing.

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When he realized that the situation in Shanghai was getting worse, he sent for his family to join him.

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Multiple Choice

Where did Mary Yu Chang live before the Chinese-Japanese War?

• Shanghai

• Hong Kong

• North Vietnam

• Chongqing

​China Under Attack

​The most direct route from Shanghai to Chongqing was by boat on the Yangtze River. However, the Japanese had occupied many coastal cities by that time. My grandmother’s family had to take a huge detour. They traveled by sea to Hong Kong, then to North Vietnam. Then the rest of the trip was in crowded diesel trucks traveling through the mountains. "On some of the sharpest turns, some of the trucks slid off the edge of the cliffs," my grandmother recalled.

Multiple Choice

However, the Japanese had occupied many coastal cities by that time. My grandmother’s family had to take a huge detour. They traveled by sea to Hong Kong, then to North Vietnam

According to the excerpt above what does the word detour mean?

• To stay on the same path

• To avoid by going around

​China Under Attack

​Every time someone heard an airplane, the passengers would jump out of the trucks and crawl on their hands and knees through cornfields. My grandmother said that the leaves would cut her face. Everybody was covered in blood and mud.

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When my grandmother and her family finally arrived, Chongqing was extremely crowded with refugees. Fortunately, her dad’s company had houses for its employees. My grandmother’s new house only had two rooms, so it was extraordinarily cramped.

​China Under Attack

​When my grandmother was 8, her mother contracted tuberculosis and died. Her dad hired a caretaker to take care of my grandmother and her brother. On nice days, the caretaker would send my grandmother out to the rice paddies to collect slugs. Then the caretaker would fry the slugs with peppers. Peach trees provided another source of food. My grandmother would climb the sticky trees to get the fruit. She stated this was the one time during the war when she actually enjoyed herself.

​China Under Attack

​During her time in Chongqing, there were many air raids. The city had a detailed plan in the event of an air raid. If the siren went off and only one ball was placed on top of the pole on the mountain, it meant school was over. If a siren went off and two balls were on top of the mountain, everyone ran to the man-made tunnels in the mountain for shelter.

​China Under Attack

​During one of these attacks, bombs destroyed the tunnel next to the one my grandmother was in. She said that everybody inside was killed.

The war ended in 1945, when my grandmother was 12. On the return trip to Shanghai, her family took the direct route, along the Yangtze River.

​ China Under Attack

​Conclusion: This story taught me how terrible war can be. I learned that Chongqing was bombed more than 5,000 times during a five-year period. I never realized how much war could change everyday life. I believe my grandmother learned many valuable lessons in a difficult way. I hope these events have taught the world the terrible outcomes of war.

Multiple Choice

Which statement best describes the main idea of the passage?

• Air raids were a common occurrence in China during the war.

• Life was difficult for Mary Yu Chang and her family during the war.

• Chongqing was bombed thousands of times during the second Chinese-Japanese War.

• The Yangtze River is a direct route that people travel in China by boat.

Multiple Choice

When the war started, Mary Yu Chang was only six years old. According to the text, all of the following were effects of the war on her family EXCEPT

• the family had to join the army and fight

• the family had to hide in tunnels during bomb attacks

• the family had to live in a cramped house

• the family had to flee to Chongqing

Multiple Choice

The author learned a lot from his grandmother. The author is using this passage to communicate that.

• what to do in an air raid.

• eating slugs with peppers is a good way to survive

• the effects of war are horrible.

• tuberculosis is a terrible disease.

Multiple Choice

This passage is an example of

• a documentary.

• a nonfictional narrative.

• historical fiction.

• an autobiography.