Main Idea -- A Long Walk to Water

Main Idea in Passages from A Long Walk to Water

Main Idea

The main idea is usually the author's message about a topic.

Sometimes, this is stated directly, but it is often implied in literature.

Sometimes, main idea is referred to as the central idea or central theme.

Determining the main idea

We can determine the main idea of a passage by:

1. Looking at the title and/or pictures

2. Reading the first and last sentence of the passage

3. Noting words and phrases that are repeated

4. Summarizing the passage in one sentence

5. Determining what the text was mostly about

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this short passage from A Long Walk to Water?

"One of the women in Salva's group pushed forward and knelt down. She opened her container of water...

Salva looked at the hollow eyes and the cracked lips of the men lying on the hot sand, and his own mouth felt so dry that he nearly choked when he tried to swallow. ‘If you give them your water, you will not have enough for yourself!’ the same voice shouted. ‘It is useless—they will die, and you will die with them!'"

• You should help others in need no matter the cost.

• Survival can be a complex set of choices.

• Survival is a made of simple choices.

• You should always think about yourself first when it comes to survival.

Text Evidence

"One of the women in Salva's group pushed forward and knelt down. She opened her container of water...

Salva looked at the hollow eyes and the cracked lips of the men lying on the hot sand, and his own mouth felt so dry that he nearly choked when he tried to swallow. ‘If you give them your water, you will not have enough for yourself!’ the same voice shouted. ‘It is useless—they will die, and you will die with them!'"

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the short passage below?

"When they reached the bushes, Uncle pointed out a clump of rocks ahead and told Salva to walk as far as the rocks. After that, a lone acacia... another clump of rocks... a spot bare of everything except sand.

Uncle continued in this way for the rest of the walk. Each time, he spoke to Salva using his full name. Each time, Salva would think of his family and his village, and he was somehow able to keep his wounded feet moving forward, one painful step at a time."

• Giving up is the easiest and best thing to do when you face hard circumstances.

• Connection to family and community can be a strong motivator.

Multiple Choice

What is the central message of this short passage regarding Akeer and her illness?

“'Her sickness came from the water,' the nurse explained. 'She should drink only good clean water. If the water is dirty, you should boil it for a count of two hundred before she drinks.'”

• Drinking dirty water can lead to serious illness.

• Access to clean water is easy and necessary.

• Boiling water is the bets way to make sure water is safe to drink.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this short passage?

“There was a big lake three days’ walk from Nya’s village. Every year when the rains stopped and the pond near the village dried up, Nya’s family moved from their home to a camp near the big lake. Nya’s family did not live by the lake all year round because of the fighting. Her tribe, the Nuer, often fought with the rival Dinka tribe over the land surrounding the lake. Men and boys were hurt and even killed when the two groups clashed. So Nya and the rest of her village lived at the lake only during the five months of the dry season, when both tribes were so busy struggling for survival that the fighting occurred far less often.”

• Tribal fighting is a necessary part of some cultures.

• Sometimes, people will risk danger in order to survive.