Central Idea

Central Idea Practice

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Poll

How confident do you feel that you can identify the central idea of a paragraph?

• Bring it! I am confident.

• I am still learning to find the central idea

Think about the details which will lead you to the central idea.  
Someone rode a bike into wet cement.

Multiple Choice

Adults tend to eat a lot of pre-made food, but it’s not always healthy. For instance, a Big Mac has 530 calories with 28 grams of fat and a large order of fries has 450 calories and 22 grams of fat. Add a soda, and one meal comes close to 1,000 calories.

Which expresses the central idea best?

• 1,000 calories is a lot

• pre-made food is not always healthy

• Adults eat a lot of pre-made food

Multiple Choice

Parents who have parents to help with childcare are lucky. But the two generations may have a very different way of thinking about the proper way to raise a child. These differences can lead to tension, stress, and family fights.

What is the author's message?

• There are generational differences when it comes to childcare

• Parents are lucky to have help with childcare

• Generational differences often lead to fights

Multiple Choice

The traditional household with a stay-at-home mom and working dad has become the exception rather than the rule. Increasingly, Americans are waiting longer to marry and have children, and many are not marrying at all.

• a traditional household has a stay-at-home mom

• Americans are postponing marriage

• the traditional household is no longer the norm

Multiple Choice

People love to make plans: for a party, a vacation, or a family reunion. But when it comes to planning our financial future, many of us don’t know where to start. Fortunately, a little discipline and a sharp pencil are all you need to get on the road to financial security.

Which expresses the central idea best?

• People love dinner parties

• Financial planning isn’t hard

• The road to financial security is bumpy

Multiple Choice

Using credit cards is as American as apple pie. Unfortunately, so is debt. The average American charged more than $4,000 on credit cards last year. For many of us, the convenience of using charge cards instead of cash makes it easy to spend more than we have.

What is the main idea?

• Many Americans have credit card debt

• Credit cards are convenient

• Amercans love apple pie

Multiple Choice

The cold, probably the most common illness known, has no safe or effective cure. This is because a cold is produced by any one of more than 200 different viruses, making it nearly impossible for scientists to find a single remedy.

• the cold is a common illness

• there is no cure for a cold

• colds are caused by more than 200 viruses

Multiple Choice

For a growing number of kids, an active lifestyle is the exception rather than the rule. The attractions of television, computers, and video games keep children spending far more time sitting at home than running around in the great outdoors.

Which expresses the central idea best?

• Children love T.V.

• Children are less active than they used to be

• An active lifestyle is a healthy lifestyle