"How Smart Are Animals" Central Idea

"How Smart Are Animals" Central Idea

by Brendan Mccann

​Objectives

​-I can read a text and use a strategy to find the main idea.

Multiple Choice

What is the TOPIC of this article?

• Animal intelligence/ smartness

• Villa the brave dog

​Main/Central Idea- How do I find it??

​The Central or Main idea of a passage is the most important point in a paragraph, section, chapter, or entire article.

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​Look for clues:

​Does the title of the article or section give you a clue?

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​Look at topic sentences- the first sentences in a paragraph.

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​Multiple choice- read the answers choices. Ask yourself, "Does this answer cover ALL of the text, or a small piece of the text?

​Let's practice with this example:

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It is easy to confuse trainability with thinking. But just because an animal can learn to perform a trick doesn't mean that it knows what it is doing. In the IQ Zoo in Hotsprings, Arkansas, for example, animals perform some amazing tasks. A cat turns on the lights and plays the piano.

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What is this paragraph MAINLY about?

Multiple Choice

Read the passage:

It is easy to confuse trainability with thinking. But just because an animal can learn to perform a trick doesn't mean that it knows what it is doing. In the IQ Zoo in Hotsprings, Arkansas, for example, animals perform some amazing tasks. A cat turns on the lights and plays the piano.

Which sentence best states the main idea?

• A cat turns on the lights...

• In the IQ Zoo in Hotsprings, Arkansas, for example, animals perform some amazing tasks.

• It is easy to confuse trainability with thinking.

​Let's try one more:

​p. 111 Line 207:

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​Dealing with wild animals presents new problems. Laboratory pigeons and rats have been bred for many generations in cpativity. They are used to cages and humans, and large numbers are easy to acquire. Wild animals may not perform well in the laboratory because they are afraid or because the setting is so strange to them.

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​Strategy: look at the topic sentence when determining central idea of a paragraph. Where is the topic sentence?

Multiple Choice

Re-read the passage:

​Dealing with wild animals presents new problems. Laboratory pigeons and rats have been bred for many generations in cpativity. They are used to cages and humans, and large numbers are easy to acquire. Wild animals may not perform well in the laboratory because they are afraid or because the setting is so strange to them.

Which answer best states the main/central idea?

• Laboratory pigeons and rats have been bred for many generations in captivity.

• Wild animals may not perform well in the laboratory.

• Dealing with wild animals presents new problems.

Head over to Canvas and practice finding the main idea...​

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